The Suck Knob

Better Sound Through Training

  Hello and welcome to The Suck Knob! The name of this site is based on a cartoon of Gary Larson's. This particular cartoon, using the metaphor of performance as risk taking, captures the true essence of the subjective reasoning we audio guys use. The power to make a change carries the weight of responsibility. Please don't post any Gary Larson cartoons, imagery or any other copyrighted materials in the forums. I'm a firm believer in the protection of intellectual property and the rights of the creators.This site is about audio, not cartoons. So right, we do audio and all the other little things that make up entertainment production. But our primary focus is audio. How to make it sound musical. After all, it's mostly music that we do and it better sound musical rather than too loud, overly bright or tubby and honky. Oh my god, I so love all the adjectives one might use to describe the nature or character of a sound.

Training to be Successful!

   There are a lot of schools and web sites out there that would have you believe that they can teach you how to mix studio or live audio. It seems as though what's advertised and available are primarily studio operation schools with some live production thrown in somewhere along the line. And I really don't doubt that you might learn a thing or two at one of those schools. The Production Institute of America is all about teaching young sound engineers, LD's, system techs and A/V specialists the basics of live production. In the hands of the uneducated, every knob on a mixing console or a lighting board is a suck knob. What we're doing here is science after all, not art.The art part comes in later but you'll have to stay tuned to hear that story! A large, flown audio system and all it's attendant adjustments and controls is a far more complicated thing to operate than a studio, I mean come on man, you don't have to unplug everything and take it to a new location and then rewire it all back together again with a studio everyday do you?  :) The forums are going to be a good place to get your questions answered and the web site will eventually be chock full 'o audio goodness.

About Myself and the Production Institute of America!

 My name is Ric Wallace and I've been a sound engineer for nearly thirty years. And no, my hearing isn't bad! Despite mixing bands like the Butthole Surfers for years, my hearing is in very good shape. I worked hard to protect my hearing and the hearing of my audience throughout my career. I've always believed that it is my duty, to give my customers the best experience they can have. I always considered the band and the audience to be equally important when it came to achieving high quality results.

 I'm currently the Technical Director for Campus Life at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA. The original stomping grounds of the the B52's and home of R.E.M., Widespread Panic, Vic Chesnutt and many other fine bands. I've pretty much worked for all of them at one time or another!

 My hands-on Live Audio Mixing  seminar will be held this coming Fall in Athens and Atlanta. Participants will learn how to setup a large portable PA system. Setup as in; connect, test and tune the PA for the room and prepare the stage and monitor system for the band. Participants will do the same hands-on work in a small and large club PA system environment. Participants will mix FOH and monitors at the Georgia Theater in Athens and various other clubs in Atlanta. We'll be in the clubs all day working on different techniques and troubleshooting and then after load in, there will be stage setup, monitor tuning, advanced feedback suppression techniques and many other of the processes that I use to achieve fast, musical sounding results. Then that evening participants will mix all the bands! These will be nights with popular local bands and big audiences. It doesn't matter whether you work in a church or a civic center, participants will take away a new set of personal tools to deal with the challenges of modern audio systems. We'll focus closely on the differences between digital and analog mixers.

Once again remember folks, get the science right, before you destroy the art.