Why Bose?
 

lauantai 22. heinäkuuta 2017 16.06.24 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

|| You have some good memories, and hopefully a few photos too:-)

Funny you should mention photos though. I've got a pet peeve, with most
people having a camera and video recording device on them at all times they
seem to spend most of their lives recording the moment instead of living in
it. Why go to a concert then spend the evening watching a tiny shaky screen
as you record it? And it seems 8 out or 10 people are doing this! I bet they
don't even watch half of what they record (unless they want to see what they
missed...).


Agreed. And times have changed. When I no longer needed the security of a staff job, I was able to pick and choose, and had a lot more spare time, so I was able to return to music as a player after many years on the other side of the control room window.

I took up the saxophone, and soon after that joined a big band:
http://www.mosabackabigband.com/data...29f0d98d24.jpg

We play 12 concerts a year, usually to capacity audiences. I enjoy it immensely:-) We have a pro photographer "on the staff". Most concert halls these days have a HD video camera system, so raw material on a DVD is a part of the deal. In addition, we have plenty of record industry know-how, within the band, production, recording, editing, mixing, graphic design, sleeve note writing, translation, copyright/law, sales etc, and so we can produce our own CDs, for internal use, for PR use (project samplers for promoters) and commercial CD's for sale at our concerts.


Depending on your relationship status you may have been better off. That
said us single guys (and a couple of the married ones) had some very
memorable experiences.

I was married to a record company:-)



Much later, in the 1980s after I had left the UK, I was recording a
band called "The Tigers". It had been a three week project, and, as
was customary, I was due two weeks paid leave after it. I mentioned
this to one of the band who said "We are off to Gotenburg tomorrow
for a ten day tour. Come with us. I did. It was brilliant.

Awesome! That's a problem in New Zealand - the tyrrany of distance. You can
only get so big here and then most bands go to Australia as it's closest
(and cheapest). I often wonder how we would have gone if we'd had access to
a larger audience.

Places like the UK have so many good bands, that I can see the advantage of
your band being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

They were well-organised, and had two roadies, one of whom mixed the
gig. He was happy to hand this chore over to me. Some gigs were at
dance halls, some in hotels, and others in village community centres.
We were well fed, and there was no shortage of Absolut either.

Heh! Sounds great fun. We didn't have roadies as such, we all chipped in
which was great, I'd have hated to have been considered 'the roadie' (as I
was basically support staff). That said I always got equal pay to the other
guys as they said my job was just as important as theirs and they'd only
really started going places after I joined in - free at first, at local
gigs. I was originally friends with the drummer (who was married to Split
Enz keyboardists Eddie Rayner's sister). Back then NZ was so small.

I agree with you about the many roles within the band being of equal importance. But all too often, the lead singer (for example) might say to the others "without me the band would have no gigs, and you would not have a job. I have known many many roadies (including the Moody Blues, Marmalade, and Thin Lizzy, etc etc) I was amazed at the diverse of their skills, from instrument tuning/repairs, concert rigging, soundchecks, equipment/cable checks/repairs, truck and van maintenance, knowledge of the best/cheapest hotels, lodgings, pubs, restaurants, cafes etc. You name it, they did it. People generally think of roadies as long haired hangers-on with a bottle of beer in one had and a roll of gaffer tape in the other - this could not be farther from the truth!

Iain

Why Bose?
 

In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
Alas my performing experiences weren't quite in that class..

http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history...PantoPlus.html :-)

Quite the opposite Jim. Pics at the link above show you to be in a class
of your own. You would have been a hit in any Gilbert and SuLlivan
production:-)

Ahem. "Class of your own" can have more than one meaning. :-)

However, undeterred, in the next day or so the photos of me in a grass
skirt and pair of coconut shells should be released. ;-

From a trip to Hawai'i in 1980. I couldn't work out which trip, so I've
assumed the first one. No doubt they'd heard of my success in QMC Pantos...

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Why Bose?
 

In article , ~misfit~
wrote:
http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history...PantoPlus.html :-)


Heh!

(Did I spy a Triumph Spitfire? "Pram"? I had one of those for a few
years, was lots of fun!)

Yes. Damson was the name they gave the colour, but I only have the one
photo of it, in B&W.

Jim

--
Please use the address on the audiomisc page if you wish to email me.
Electronics https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~www_pa...o/electron.htm
Armstrong Audio http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/Armstrong/armstrong.html
Audio Misc http://www.audiomisc.co.uk/index.html

Why Bose?
 

lauantai 22. heinäkuuta 2017 18.46.34 UTC+3 Jim Lesurf kirjoitti:
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
Alas my performing experiences weren't quite in that class..

http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history...PantoPlus.html :-)

Quite the opposite Jim. Pics at the link above show you to be in a class
of your own. You would have been a hit in any Gilbert and SuLlivan
production:-)

Ahem. "Class of your own" can have more than one meaning. :-)

A fact that had not escaped me:-)
"Beyond comparison" was an expression that Duke Ellington used.

Seeing your pictures brought Kenny Everett to mind (and "all in the best possible taste:-)

However, undeterred, in the next day or so the photos of me in a grass
skirt and pair of coconut shells should be released. ;-

Is the world ready for this? :-)

Iain

Why Bose?
 

lauantai 22. heinäkuuta 2017 16.06.24 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
lauantai 22. heinäkuuta 2017 4.49.22 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:

We owned a bus
that I had converted to 70:30 freight / passenger with double-doors
on the back to fit the rather large speaker systems (mostly JBL) and
amplification (mostly Perreaux) in. No Bose in sight, though there
were a couple of large clubs that had secondary PA systems for the
back of the club and bar area that were Bose.

I also fully reconditioned the engine of the bus during a rare week
off (A Bedford 300 diesel) and did some singing during practices! It
was a wonderful, crazy time. :)
--

You were a useful fellow:-) Something about "....weight in gold" comes to mind.

Your post got me thinking again about my ten days "on the road" with The Tigers.

Their bus was a Scania, which in this part of the world was and still is highly regarded, even over Mercedes- They are incredibly reliable. Many Scanias have 1M km on the clock and are still going strong. The cargo area was centre, below the passenger seats, and accessible from either side.

The roadies, both of whom had licences to drive anything from a moped to a Scammell prime-mover took total charge gig to gig, and everyone, but everyone was expected to take part in loading and unloading (but not strip down or set up - that was a precise job for roadies only - everything checked first and then placed in the correct box). There were often extra hands at the gig willing to give a hand. The flight cases were loaded in reverse order, and so came off in the right order - instruments, amps, monitor wedges, PA, mic stands, cables, mics. The first case on, (and last off) contained a crate of beer. No case even those with mic stands and cables was too heavy for two people to lift.

These are many of the things I have tried to remember, in my own location recording gigs. I prefer twenty light-weight cases to ten heavy ones.

During the drive from gig to gig, people sat on their own, reading or dozing. I didn't have my own seat, so I sat at the front, next to the driver. He was a great fan of Iain Matthews, and everytime we found ourselves following a small car, he would sing sub-voce "There's a diesel on my tail, doing ninety miles an hour, my expression in the mirror's mighty pale........."

Iain

Why Bose?
 

~misfit~ wrote:

--------------------------


I have an engineer mate who has a few of the Perreaux TO3 amps and he runs
then through JBLs. (something) 100 something (?) speakers, 3-way with 12"
woofer, about mid-thigh high, apparently classics.


** That would be the L100 "Century" - based on the similar 4310 and 4311 studio monitors.





They've also moved around NZ quite a lot. They started in Napier, went to
Christchurch and are now based in Auckland I think. I know Martin van Rooyen
is still with them as he emailed me from Perreaux last year. He's been with
them for a very long time.



** AFAIK, Peter Perreaux was the founder and chief designer - no?

I'm pretty sure most of his factory's output went across the Tasman to Sydney for distribution round Australia.

I know Jands in Sydney were very ****ed off at the time because THEY could not return the favour with any of their models because of import restrictions in NZ. A 100% import duty, IIRC.


..... Phil

Why Bose?
 

Iain Churches wrote:

--------------------------


Dave. Now is the time to stop digging, or you will soon be able
to discuss this topic with both Trevor and Phil, face to face.

You didn't answer my question about the vocalist and quartet, which suggests that you are unaware that at such a gig, bass and guitar use their own combo amps. The drums often need no amplification at all, so what you heard was probably just a vocal via Bose. It is quite possible that an amp/EQ/speaker with a response curve like a dog's leg made the vocal sound quite good :-)

The other possibility is that you are simply trolling:-)


** When called on any of his mad opinions, Plowman instantly resorts to derision, fatuous comments, context shifting and plain trolling.

His absurd method of arriving at conclusions is just like the blind man who, on taking hold of an elephant's tail exclaimed:

" Ahhh, an elephant is just like a snake ! "



...... Phil

Why Bose?
 

Once upon a time on usenet Jim Lesurf wrote:
In article , ~misfit~
wrote:
http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history...PantoPlus.html :-)


Heh!

(Did I spy a Triumph Spitfire? "Pram"? I had one of those for a few
years, was lots of fun!)

Yes. Damson was the name they gave the colour, but I only have the one
photo of it, in B&W.

Mine was red, a sort of ochre-red. don't know what Triumph called it. I
don't have a single photo unfortunately. Mine also had a removable hard-top
which was great for winter or when I knew I'd have to park in less secure
areas.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Why Bose?
 

Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
lauantai 22. heinäkuuta 2017 18.46.34 UTC+3 Jim Lesurf kirjoitti:
In article ,
Iain Churches wrote:
Alas my performing experiences weren't quite in that class..

http://jcgl.orpheusweb.co.uk/history...PantoPlus.html :-)

Quite the opposite Jim. Pics at the link above show you to be in a
class of your own. You would have been a hit in any Gilbert and
SuLlivan production:-)

Ahem. "Class of your own" can have more than one meaning. :-)

A fact that had not escaped me:-)
"Beyond comparison" was an expression that Duke Ellington used.

Seeing your pictures brought Kenny Everett to mind (and "all in the
best possible taste:-)


LOL, I thought Python and the two old ladies skits.

However, undeterred, in the next day or so the photos of me in a
grass skirt and pair of coconut shells should be released. ;-

Is the world ready for this? :-)

Publish and be damned! ;)
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

Why Bose?
 

Once upon a time on usenet Phil Allison wrote:
~misfit~ wrote:

--------------------------


I have an engineer mate who has a few of the Perreaux TO3 amps and
he runs then through JBLs. (something) 100 something (?) speakers,
3-way with 12" woofer, about mid-thigh high, apparently classics.


** That would be the L100 "Century" - based on the similar 4310 and
4311 studio monitors.


That's the one. He has a couple of pairs of those. Actually three IIRC, one
in need of new tweeters.

They've also moved around NZ quite a lot. They started in Napier,
went to Christchurch and are now based in Auckland I think. I know
Martin van Rooyen is still with them as he emailed me from Perreaux
last year. He's been with them for a very long time.

** AFAIK, Peter Perreaux was the founder and chief designer - no?

Yes. However I think it was Martin van Rooyen who had the business /
marketing nous. I'm not sure if he's been there from day one but he's
certainly been with the company for a while.

I just did a quick Google and found a few cryptic references like this one
"Peter Perreaux was a genius but followed Cat Stevens and lost the plot - or
found himself." but can't seem to find definitive info on the period when
the company hit a lull, before Martin took over.

Martin van Rooyen bought the company in 1999. There's not a lot of info I
can find but I have the feeling he had been with the company for quite a
while before that. Also I was wrong with my previous statement that I
thought the company went Napier - Christchurch - Auckland. Seems it went
Napier - Auckland - then to Dunedin in 2005.

I knew the early stuff was made in Napier as not only is it printed on my
old amp (and the gear I used with the band) but Napier was a favourite stop
for the band and we also called in at the Perreaux 'factory' a couple times
while we were there. When I say 'factory' it was just a small leased
commercial building with, IIRC, a panelbeater next door.

Also while searching I found the original video about the amp throwing that
I saw back in 1983 on a news / 'magazine' type show on TV;
https://youtu.be/e5Xb89BGOl4
They'd expanded a bit by then from when I visited a few years earlier. I'm
not even sure it's the same premises.

I'm pretty sure most of his factory's output went across the Tasman
to Sydney for distribution round Australia.

It could well have - though some found its way to the US, Europe and the UK
too. Also there's quite a bit of it surfacing second-hand in NZ these days.

I know Jands in Sydney were very ****ed off at the time because THEY
could not return the favour with any of their models because of
import restrictions in NZ. A 100% import duty, IIRC.

It was very high. I remember buying a Nakamichi casette deck duty free and
the savings over buying local almost paid for the ticket price. Watches were
the same, I'm still wearing a watch that I bought duty free back in the
1980s after a trip to Melbourne.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)