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Speaking of Varsity
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<blockquote data-quote="Francesco Sgambellone" data-source="post: 19406" data-attributes="member: 347"><p>Re: Speaking of Varsity</p><p></p><p>Hello everyone. I want to thank John for the invitation. I would like to participate in any way possible. But first I want to relate the story of how the "protractor engineers" story got started.</p><p> </p><p>I was travelling aroung the US doing festival gigs. Headline slots, radio festivals. Any one who's done these type of gigs can attest that it can get rough and lowdown some days. Even as the headliner. </p><p> I arrived at the festival in the Northwest corner of the country at 5 am. We usually load in at that hour, do a full linecheck and split. Everything on stage is cleared as a courtesy to the rest of the acts. (My guys are super cool about this, by the way.) The band never soundchecks unless something has gone horribly wrong the previous show. Cool, right? So I make my way to the FOH position and meet the system engineer. I explain that the gear least that they sent me (which I ok'd) and what is actually there and in play, are 2 different things. The response was and I quote, "well, it is what it is." That response would get me fired from my current employer. And rightfully so. I quickly realized that there was no point in getting this guy on my side. It was way too early for him, he had probably been there late last night and I was the least of his worries. I got my rig together, plugged into the PA, and did my thing. After line check the fun started.</p><p> I had seen several of the artists the night before at another radio festival. There were several exceptional mixers there and there were a few that should have been arrested for the crimes they commited against good sound. Sampled drums at obscene levels, 808's that shook the earth, and my personal favorite, the uzi into the skillet kick drums at mach 5. I explained to this guy that even though I could be fine and mix the show appropriatley, some of these fellows would try and nuke his system because that is what good sound is about, right? Not even a response. He just went back to his chair and watched as I disconnected my cables from the system drive, wrapped my stuff in plastic and left. What can I do? Whine like a jerk or just do the best I can? </p><p> I started getting the phone calls about 1:30 that afternoon. It seems that the first guy at bat managed to start the low end of the main array ablaze. This guy only managed to burn 4 cabinets worth of lows on one side. Well we can imagine what happened next, cant we? As the afternoon progressed the rest of the paper in the low end continued to snap,crackle, and burn until there was nothing left of it on either side in the main hangs. Awesome!!!! </p><p> I took a picture of the rta display and comically posted it to my facebook page. The response was amazing! The photo made it to pro sound web, AND QUICKLY GOT THE PARTY STARTED. I guess if you are used to working with perfect gear and maybe even have an "unburn the pa file stored away in one of your digital processors, you could do what I couldn't. Which is to fix a burned PA. Sorry, i don't have a tool for that in my kit. But the "protractor engineers" do and were ready willing and able to annoy the shit out of me with thier stupid replies. Not all of them on facebook or PSW mind you, I wasnt even safe from texts and Emails. Now I was quickly becoming, "the guy who burned a whole PA." I was mad enough that I wanted top punch myself in the neck. It's one thing to be a dick but I would never do that purposely to someones rig, no matter what. </p><p> I have worked as a system engineer for almost 16 years and have been involved with sound since I was a teenager. I love my job and for the most part, I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world. Not a lot of people can really do what they love for a living. I am truly lucky. And none of that fake bullshit self love Academy Award nonsense either. Most people who get to travel the world like I do have to get shot at for a living. So no matter how bad my day gets, I always try to be cool to everyone I meet. We are all in this together. My friends know that I can be rather caustic and sarcastic, but it's never meant to be meanspirited or hurtful. The protractor engineer was never meant to insult anyone. I was just angry and needed to vent. I am really sorry if I did offend anyone. Anyone who had anything to do with audio is cool with me. I will say this as well, I have meet more good system engineers. Eder Moura, Tim MucCulloch, and some others I can't remember by name but will see again this year. These guys are real pros, they know their shit and are happy to help. Thats what the job is. As a system engineer, you should know this, If you are the band's mixer, I DONT WANT YOUR JOB. But if you are being an idiot with the system, it's my job to help you get what you need if at all possible. That's the gig. We are there to help if possible, to try and teach what we know and can pass on with the certainty that it will help. </p><p> </p><p> Now that my blood pressure has settled, thanks for letting me vent.</p><p> </p><p>Frank Sgambellone.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Francesco Sgambellone, post: 19406, member: 347"] Re: Speaking of Varsity Hello everyone. I want to thank John for the invitation. I would like to participate in any way possible. But first I want to relate the story of how the "protractor engineers" story got started. I was travelling aroung the US doing festival gigs. Headline slots, radio festivals. Any one who's done these type of gigs can attest that it can get rough and lowdown some days. Even as the headliner. I arrived at the festival in the Northwest corner of the country at 5 am. We usually load in at that hour, do a full linecheck and split. Everything on stage is cleared as a courtesy to the rest of the acts. (My guys are super cool about this, by the way.) The band never soundchecks unless something has gone horribly wrong the previous show. Cool, right? So I make my way to the FOH position and meet the system engineer. I explain that the gear least that they sent me (which I ok'd) and what is actually there and in play, are 2 different things. The response was and I quote, "well, it is what it is." That response would get me fired from my current employer. And rightfully so. I quickly realized that there was no point in getting this guy on my side. It was way too early for him, he had probably been there late last night and I was the least of his worries. I got my rig together, plugged into the PA, and did my thing. After line check the fun started. I had seen several of the artists the night before at another radio festival. There were several exceptional mixers there and there were a few that should have been arrested for the crimes they commited against good sound. Sampled drums at obscene levels, 808's that shook the earth, and my personal favorite, the uzi into the skillet kick drums at mach 5. I explained to this guy that even though I could be fine and mix the show appropriatley, some of these fellows would try and nuke his system because that is what good sound is about, right? Not even a response. He just went back to his chair and watched as I disconnected my cables from the system drive, wrapped my stuff in plastic and left. What can I do? Whine like a jerk or just do the best I can? I started getting the phone calls about 1:30 that afternoon. It seems that the first guy at bat managed to start the low end of the main array ablaze. This guy only managed to burn 4 cabinets worth of lows on one side. Well we can imagine what happened next, cant we? As the afternoon progressed the rest of the paper in the low end continued to snap,crackle, and burn until there was nothing left of it on either side in the main hangs. Awesome!!!! I took a picture of the rta display and comically posted it to my facebook page. The response was amazing! The photo made it to pro sound web, AND QUICKLY GOT THE PARTY STARTED. I guess if you are used to working with perfect gear and maybe even have an "unburn the pa file stored away in one of your digital processors, you could do what I couldn't. Which is to fix a burned PA. Sorry, i don't have a tool for that in my kit. But the "protractor engineers" do and were ready willing and able to annoy the shit out of me with thier stupid replies. Not all of them on facebook or PSW mind you, I wasnt even safe from texts and Emails. Now I was quickly becoming, "the guy who burned a whole PA." I was mad enough that I wanted top punch myself in the neck. It's one thing to be a dick but I would never do that purposely to someones rig, no matter what. I have worked as a system engineer for almost 16 years and have been involved with sound since I was a teenager. I love my job and for the most part, I consider myself the luckiest guy in the world. Not a lot of people can really do what they love for a living. I am truly lucky. And none of that fake bullshit self love Academy Award nonsense either. Most people who get to travel the world like I do have to get shot at for a living. So no matter how bad my day gets, I always try to be cool to everyone I meet. We are all in this together. My friends know that I can be rather caustic and sarcastic, but it's never meant to be meanspirited or hurtful. The protractor engineer was never meant to insult anyone. I was just angry and needed to vent. I am really sorry if I did offend anyone. Anyone who had anything to do with audio is cool with me. I will say this as well, I have meet more good system engineers. Eder Moura, Tim MucCulloch, and some others I can't remember by name but will see again this year. These guys are real pros, they know their shit and are happy to help. Thats what the job is. As a system engineer, you should know this, If you are the band's mixer, I DONT WANT YOUR JOB. But if you are being an idiot with the system, it's my job to help you get what you need if at all possible. That's the gig. We are there to help if possible, to try and teach what we know and can pass on with the certainty that it will help. Now that my blood pressure has settled, thanks for letting me vent. Frank Sgambellone. [/QUOTE]
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