Written by Norris Wooten on 17 May 2012
Original Post by DeDe Mulligan
Every event planner wants their attendees to talk and remember their event for many months, and even years, after the meeting is long over. And for all the right reasons — not the wrong ones.
Here are a few ideas to make your event extra special and memorable.
Build anticipation
Spend time making your invitation very intriguing. Send the sample invitation to 20 people and get their feedback. Use Social Media to get people excited about the event. Tweet something new every day, ask questions, and/or send out speaker information. Have a contest. Set up a blogging schedule and invite guest bloggers to write for you.
Set the tone
During the planning process, think about the first impressions you would like to set.
If the event location is hard to find, send out maps with the invitation. Make sure the address comes up on a GPS system. Specify parking instructions and if you have room in the budget, offer valet parking. Decorate the entrance as well as the meeting room. Have ambassadors or greeters at the registration area ready to greet and welcome attendees.
Close attention to detail separates the pros from the amateurs
Does the room convey an atmosphere that will engage attendees? If not, continue to change it until it does. Pay close attention to the following items: Decor, Color Scheme, Table Linens, Room and Table Setup, Temperature of the Room, Sound and Lighting rental system, and Presentation Services Audio Visual Equipment
Food for thought
In most cultures, food is the major focus of social gatherings, and meetings and events are not an exception to this rule. Great food and service will be remembered for a long time to come. Hire a caterer that provides both. Consider a caterer who brings creative ideas and resources to the food presentation, perhaps making it even part of the decor. People tend to remember when and where they were served good food. You can even be creative with your menu selections, try re-naming dishes to tie them in with your theme.
A little something to take away
Let your attendees know they are appreciated by providing them with a thank-you bag or favor at the end of the event. Freebies are great and people love receiving gifts. Ask for business cards and raffle off a desirable and valuable gift at the end of the meeting day. Have ambassadors available to personally thank attendees for coming to the event.
Clear Sound Atlanta can provide you with audio rentals to make your event really stand out with every attendee. Contact us today for the Right Sound for Your Event.
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Written by Norris Wooten on 10 May 2012
Original post by DeDe Mulligan
When event planners book a hotel or conference center, they are often told that they are required or encouraged to use their in-house AV company for the meeting.
This isn’t always the case. Here are five things to consider when engaging with any AV provider, from an equipment, budget, and resource prospective.
Check the employee turnover rate of the providers you are considering.
If the in-house supplier has a large turnover rate, especially their AV technicians, the playing field is level with any outside provider. That in-house supplier may actually have LESS experience at the meeting facility than the outside vendor. Ask this question of all your potential providers because long-term employment with minimum turnover shows stability within the organization.
The in-house supplier is working for the hotel, not for you.
Sad, but true. The in-house AV company is most interested in keeping the people at the hotel happy; where an outside partner is contracted directly with you, the event planner. The outside company wants you to call on them again and again for business, so they will do everything in their power to keep you satisfied.
Send out at least 3 RFPs, including one to the in-house company.
Merle Klein, Director of Meeting Operations at MFM Lamey Group said, “Bids from in-house companies are almost always WAY over the top.” Remember, a cut of what the in-house provider charges you is going directly to the venue.
EVERYTHING is negotiable.
Many times the hotel or conference services staff will require you to use the in-house AV provider or pay a 25% up-charge if you do not. The truth of the matter is everything is negotiable, as long as you do it before you sign on the dotted line with the venue.
Know what type of equipment you need.
Before going out to bid, know exactly what type sound equipment you need to make your event successful. Many times the in-house provider has a limited equipment selection. Because AV is usually a significant portion of the planner’s budget and instrumental to the success of the event, having the right type of equipment is paramount.
Are you planning an event in Georgia? Call Clear Sound Atlanta at 404.437.4307 to provide you with The Right Sound For Your Event!
Tags: audio visual equipment rental atlanta, av equipment atlanta, av rental atlanta, sound, sound system rental atlanta
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Written by Norris Wooten on 01 May 2012
Clear Sound Atlanta was launched to remedy a common problem many local musicians face during live performances — poor sound quality.
Achieving clear sound is a science that requires quality sound equipment and an experienced sound professional.
It’s time to switch to Clear Sound Atlanta if during sound check, or during a live performance you experience any of the following:
- A musician isn’t playing in time or looks lost.
- The house mix doesn’t sound right.
- Musicians are signaling they need more volume or “more me” in their mix.
Clear Sound Atlanta was originally founded to support live music performances. CSA provides sound reinforcement for small jazz bands and acoustical groups to larger funk, rock, and R&B ensembles.
CSA has an extensive inventory of sound equipment and a team of service-oriented sound technicians who are professionally trained to deliver high quality sound.
Contact us today for additional information about our sound reinforcement services.
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Tags: live band sound system, sound company atlanta, sound system rental atlanta
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Written by Norris Wooten on 17 December 2011
Music is an important part of the worship experience and the right sound system equipment and design can enhance the quality of any worship service or church sponsored event.
Over the years, CSA has learned how to meet the varying sound reinforcement needs for churches and gospel groups.
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Tags: sound system for church, sound system rental atlanta
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Written by Norris Wooten on 07 December 2011
Clear Sound Atlanta has the technical expertise and creativity design and set-up a sound system that will compliment any special occasion environment.
Clear Sound Atlanta supports a wide range of events. Our team will coordinate with your event planner to ensure proper sound reinforcement.
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Tags: pa system atlanta, sound system rental atlanta, speaker rental atlanta
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Written by Norris Wooten on 02 December 2011
Clear Sound Atlanta was originally founded to support live music performances.
CSA provides sound reinforcement for small jazz bands and acoustical groups to larger funk, rock, and R&B ensembles.
We offer several packages that are specifically designed for live music performances.
VIEW PACKAGES
Tags: live band sound system, live music sound system, sound system
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Written by Norris Wooten on 08 October 2011
Original Article Written By Kevin Becka on October 6th, 2011
Even though we could all see the inevitable with Steve Jobs looking more and more frail as time went on, his passing is sad and shocking. His impact on consumers is beyond any other CEO’s in history but he also effected audio production in a big way.
Since the early 80′s Apple products have always had a way of making you feel good and like you’re on the cutting edge of technology. Whether its feeling cool about having an iPhone in your pocket to show your pictures and videos to your friends, listening to music on the go, or running audio software on your Apple laptop, iPad or tower, it’s all like so futuristic and COOL.
Although the early apple computers weren’t as cool for music makers as the Commodore 64 running Dr. T software, Apple quickly started moving toward heftier music production ability with the release of the IIgs in 1986 which included a 32-voice Ensoniq 5503, ‘wavetable’ sample-based music synthesizer chip, 64 kB dedicated RAM and 256 kB of standard RAM.
So what would I say to Steve Jobs if I could sit down next to him and have a coffee? I’d start with thank you. Thanks Steve for empowering me, making me feel good, and professional. Thank you for making me think outside the box, making me a better sound professional, musician, and producer. But most of all, thanks for being a hero to the end. At a time when many heroes have fallen due to human weakness, greed, drugs and just plain being stupid, you remained a man of integrity until the end. It was an honor to live during your lifetime.
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Written by Norris Wooten on 30 September 2011
Original article written by Chris Huff of Behind the Mixer
iPads are turning up in the audio booth as a new sound source. Much like my article on using different types of smart-phones as audio sources, iPads are something you need to consider. Let’s look a how to get the audio out.
In the case of the iPad, it’s got a headphone (stereo-out) plug and the audio mixer channel inputs are for balanced signals. Therefore, while it might be easy to think the cables work the same way because the plugs look the same, it’s like having two plastic pipes where one is used to carry drinking water and the other is to carry…umm…the other stuff. Both might be PVC pipe but with different contents.
Time to Convert
Purchase a 3.5 mm (1/8″) mini plug to dual 1/4″ or dual XLR cable. Internally, the mixer will know what to do with a TS (unbalanced) plug, which is what you end up with using said cable.
The even better way to go is to use a Radial ProAV2 DI. This little wonder gives you a 3.5 mm input jack with dual, balanced XLRs out. Simply plug that 3.5mm plug directly into the Radial DI and it will convert the signal to the right type as well as convert the signal to the proper line level as pro and consumer-grade electronics usually output at different levels. The DI plugs into your board using a right and left xlr cable. You also get a bunch of other I/O jacks in case you need them. It’s a bit more money, but well worth it.
Summary
Converting audio from an input device, like an iPad, to your board can be easy when you have the right tools at hand…and you know the type of signal that’s coming out of your equipment and the type of signal that’s expected to come in.
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Written by Norris Wooten on 31 July 2011
One way you can offset the overall cost of a wedding is to take on the task of providing the music yourself. Obviously, creating a do-it-yourself wedding DJ system will require a bit more effort on your part. This guide will explain the basics of what you need to do, point out many pitfalls, and give you some creative ideas on how you can spice up your event.
The Song List
One of the most important jobs you need to do is to create the song list for the day’s events. You need to figure out exactly which songs will be played at the wedding. You also need to determine the order in which they’ll be played and when they will be played. Once the list of songs is compiled, you need to acquire all of the music and organize it for your playback system.
The Playback System
You’ll have to choose a device to play music at the wedding. The most common way to do this is with an iPod or another kind of MP3 player. If you go the iPod route, you need to create a custom Playlist for the wedding in iTunes. It’s a smart idea to have the wedding’s Playlist loaded onto more than one iPod (as a safety backup). Another playback option is to connect a laptop computer to the sound system that’s loaded with all of the songs you need. No matter what playback system you end up using, it’s a smart idea to always have a backup.
The Sound System
Some wedding venues come with an included sound system, while others do not. If your wedding venue doesn’t have an included sound system, you’re going to need to provide one yourself. The good news is that Clear Sound Atlanta can provide you with a high quality, competitively priced sound system for your special day.
Clear Sound Atlanta has the technical expertise and creativity design and set-up a sound system that will compliment your venue. Our team will coordinate with your event planner to ensure proper sound reinforcement.
WEDDING SOUND SYSTEM PACKAGES
Dance the Night Away with Disco Lights
People love to cut loose on the dance floor at weddings, and having a few disco lights can really draw people in. The good news about dance lights is that they’re pretty easy to use. We sell disco lights at B&H which have sound sensors built into them. The sound sensors react to changes in the music, and automatically come up with a light show that’s in sync with the music.
LEDs are a good option for dance lights. They run cool, so you don’t have to worry about anyone touching them and burning their hands, and they’re pretty affordable. The American-DJ Color Burst 8 DMX Color Wash LED Light is a good option because of its tasteful low profile, and wide range of colors and effects.
Thanks for checking out this Clear Sound Atlanta Blogpost! Hopefully it’s given you some ideas about how you’ll approach your wedding sound system. If you have any questions about wedding sound systems contact Clear Sound Atlanta.
Original Article by By Sam Mallery | bhphotovideo.com
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Written by Norris Wooten on 21 July 2011
Are you considering upgrading your audio system? Clear Sound Atlanta will perform a 9 point inspection of your audio system to determine your sound reinforcement needs:
- Inspect electrical layout and quality (technical ground, circuits, amperage, location)
- Estimate acoustical properties (echo, reverb, intelligibility, ceiling height, and windows)
- Analyze signal flow, wiring and routing
- Observe gain structure
- Assess total system functionality
- Create current equipment list
- Take current equipment photos and perspective photos
- Record room dimensions and layout
- Notate general client complaints
Contact Norris Wooten at 404.437.4307 to schedule your 9 Point Inspection.
Discounts are available for houses of worship.
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Every event planner wants their attendees to talk and remember their event for many months, and even years, after the meeting is long over. And for all the right reasons — not the wrong ones.
