President: Kerry J Haps
Vice-President: Michael Kolar
Secretary: Chris Cwiak
Treasurer: Eric Roth
EARdrum Editor/Publisher: Kerry J Haps

Volume 22 Number 4
April, 2007

EARS meets at Urban Guerilla Engineers
2225 W. Polk Street, first floor, Chicago, IL
Tuesday, April 24th 7:30pm

Hey Hey!

EARS meets this month at our own Danny Leake's place, Urban Guerilla Engineers. Someone recently asked me, "If I were to describe Danny Leake to someone I was inviting to the meeting, what else could I tell them, other than that he recorded The Police... what is he also known for?" Well, aside from the fact that he could also mention working with Stevie Wonder, Lupe Fiasco, Hank WIlliams Jr, Kanye West, Willie Nelson, Michelle Williams, Janet Jackson, Ramsey Lewis, Dennis DeYoung, The Irish Tenors, Three Mo Tenors (hmmm... now I KNOW Danny's not a Tenor!) Jackie Allen, Natalie Cole, Brian McKnight... and many others in his 30 year career, he could also simply say that Danny is the real deal, a gentleman among us who's been there, done that, and thus has a story or two to tell. (Actually I just asked the guy, "Isn't that enough? What else do you need?")

Lately he's been on the road a lot and when in town doing a lot of mastering at his place, which he's excited to introduce us to.

Check out www.urban-guerrilla-engineers.com for more info and directions and while you're at it, take a look at www.myspace.com/DannyLeake. Parking should be easy on the street at that time of day.

Not surprisingly in these times, this Mastering Room is at his home, so space is tight. But Hey! That's where the work gets done. Who's gonna argue with that? We'll make do and maybe this will also serve as a good chance to think about how things really happen these days. Do please R.S.V.P. so I can give him an idea how many we're expecting.

Refreshments will be provided. See ya there.

KJH

But wait! There's more!

I'd also like to inform you of a very interesting meeting the next night, Wednesday, April 25th, that the Chicago chapter of the AES has put together: "A Case Study in Modern Acoustical Design: The Shure Performance and Listening Center." Russ Berger will present on the theory of the facility's design, touch on the practical aspects of how the place came together, and share pictures of the construction process. Attendees will be able to explore the facility and discuss it with the lead designer himself. See below for the complete announcement from AES. Please keep in mind that space is very limited so R.S.V.P. is strictly required.

KJH

Suggestions Welcome!

If you have any ideas for the EARdrum, our website, or future meetings, please email me. We should be able to get the website updated (and then keep it that way) soon. We have a lot of great meetings lining up for the rest of the year, some good website plans, and a lot of good fresh energy and hopes for a more vibrant, participatory EARS, so of course we're very interested in your input on everything EARS.

KJH

An EARS online Forum:

Dues Paying Members will soon be invited to join an online forum that we're working on. Watch your inboxes for info on that. I really hope that will provide an opportunity for more interaction and be a place where we can virtually hang out between meetings. There are a lot of good forums out there, TapeOP, Gearslutz, and numerous others more specific to individual DAWS, and other products. I wouldn't hope to compete with all that, but I think a lot of us would appreciate a forum just for us here at EARS.

KJH

Recap/Appreciation File:

EARS MEETING AT Brick Audio, 3-27-07:

Our night at Brick Audio was a great time. Bill Beith's hospitality was a delight. (Bill... I need more of those brownies!) Thanks to Bill for the drinks and snacks. Bill's put a heck of a lot of time and resources into his nearly complete facility, which he showed off to us along with explanations of the design philosophies and challenges and some hints at what's left to do. He also gave us quite an education on the origin, design, and now redesign of his plate reverbs. They'll be available again soon and with some very interesting updates! Our secretary wasn't able to make it and I'm just not that much of a note-taker, so I'm afraid you're better off going straight to him if you'd like more detail. In any case it's always great to get together with the EARS community and talk shop.

The next night, by the way, Bill and I took a little drive down to the University of St. Francis in Joliet where our own Jeff Jaskowiak had setup a lecture featuring our V.P. from last year, Mark Rubel speaking on the topic of "How can a musician make money in this digital 21st century?". Let me tell you, Mark did an amazing job tackling this formidable question. I could tell you all about it, but I've got money to make... In fact... after the lecture, as we looked for a place to get a little refreshment and catch up, we somehow ended up at a casino and I just had to pull the one arm bandit. Well, let's just say that I won and leave it at that until after April 15. :)

KJH

New/Future member?

Congrats! to Hudson Fair and his wife Ewa, proud parents of a newborn (and handsome... he said several times in his email announcement) baby boy. August Harry Julian Fair was born March 28th. Gucio (Polish nick-name for August) has all his fingers, toes, and (I expect) excellent, undamaged (until his teens) ears. Rumor has it that our own Harry Brotman is the inspiration for the first of his middle names. (Hudson's gonna kill me for that... :)

KJH

AUDIO ENGINEERING SOCIETY CHICAGO SECTION MEETING

Please forward this notice to interested friends and colleagues. Members and nonmembers are welcome. Not a member of the AES? For information about joining, go to http://www.aes.org/info/join.cfm.

HTML version available at Chicago Section website soon:
http://www.aes.org/sections/chicago/.
PDF version available soon:
http://www.aes.org/sections/chicago/aes_notice_apr2007.pdf

TOPIC: A Case Study in Modern Acoustical Design: The Shure Performance and Listening Center
PRESENTER: Russ Berger
DATE: Wednesday, April 25
TIME: 7:30pm, dinner (optional) at 6:30pm
LOCATION: Shure Incorporated, 5800 Touhy Ave, Niles, Illinois.
When arriving by car, approach from the east by heading west on Touhy, then turn right into parking lot just east of the Shure building, which is on the corner of Touhy and Lehigh. Enter the building at the east entrance (not south) and register at the guard desk.

**NOTE: Due to practical constraints, the number of attendees may be limited and RSVP is required for all. Contact Treasurer Jon Boley at Boley_Jon@shure.com or 847-600-8559 by Apr 23. Please indicate:
1. Whether you are an AES member or have some other professional affiliation.
2. Whether you would like to RSVP for dinner.
Pizza will be provided. Price is $7 for nonmembers, $5 for members and students.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Russel E. Berger II is President of Russ Berger Design Group, Incorporated. Russ directs all the firm's activities, which involve the design of audio recording, broadcast and television studios, as well as home theater and entertainment facilities. His past experience in the studio as musician, engineer and owner gives him unusual insight as a consultant into all aspects and phases of facility design. Russ can usually be found at the office working on a design, or on the road at a project site.

Russ has over 2,500 design projects to his credit. National Public Radio headquarters, Whitney Houston's personal studio, NFL Films headquarters, and Sony Music are but a few of his more prominent designs. In recognition of his work, the industry has presented him with eight TEC Awards for technical excellence and creativity in acoustics and studio design. In addition, he has been asked to lecture nationwide on facilities planning, studio and small room acoustics, audio electronics, audio monitoring, and microphone technique. He has also published numerous articles on studio acoustics and the application of computer techniques in the design of acoustic and electroacoustic systems. Russ is one of the original licensees of the TEF measurement system.

Russ's educational background is in Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Houston in Houston, Texas and Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas; 1971-1975. He is a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the Audio Engineering Society, the National Council of Acoustical Consultants (board member), the Society of Professional Audio Recording Services, the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

ABOUT THE PRESENTATION:

The meeting will take place at Shure's Performance and Listening Center (PLC), a state-of-the-art recording and product testing facility designed by the Russ Berger Design Group of Addison, Texas (www.rbdg.com). Russ Berger himself will present on the theory of the facility's design, touch on the practical aspects of how the place came together, and share pictures of the construction process. Attendees will be able to explore the facility and discuss it with the lead designer himself.

Completed in 2005, the PLC is an acoustically isolated, multi-room "building within a building" located in the Shure Technology Annex. It includes a main room large enough to simulate a small performance space, an isolation booth, a spacious control room, and a theater-style evaluation room.

More information about the PLC can be found here.