by Flip Michaels
EQUALIZATION MYTHS
Get ready. Get set. Time to kill some myths. Where knobs/faders exist, knobs/faders will inevitably be misadjusted!
1. Equalized misoperation is the primary cause of bad audio.
2. No audio system out there exists that won't eventually be made worse through improper equalization.
During the last twenty-some years, people have created "rituals" when equalizing. Go to a couple of nightclubs in your hometown. I guarantee you'll see and hear it. Agreed? (Yes Flip, now what's your point?!) My point is to remind all of us Prod Pros that the "tuning" of a sound system through random adjustment of the equalizer reeks of voodoo, ESPECIALLY in our medium. We work in an audio sect where members seem to lay hands on special EQ devices attempting to heal the afflicted sounds. Some work, most don't.
If you scan your market's dial anywhere as much as I do (just ask my wife!), I'm sure you know the calls of a station that over-compresses or that uses an EQ like an auto's bass control! Have you rented a car in the past few years? If so, it's a safe bet both the bass and treble controls were fully cranked. Just goes to show, even if only two controls are available, people will misadjust them.
Remember, equalizers continue to be the most maladjusted controls in radio. Please pass it on. WHEW! Thanks for letting me vent, I feel better now.
ELECTRIC-MIND
The Chinese language is one of total originality and deep down simplicity. Did you know that each sound has its own symbol in Chinese? They use no alphabet and, until recently, had no word for computer. Technology advancements are now everywhere and so, the Chinese, too, needed a word for computer. Voila: ELECTRIC-MIND (or "Nn Naw"). And you thought I was just sitting deep in the bowels of the Internet amid mountains of Styrofoam peanuts and discarded Mountain Dew cans!
STICK THIS IN YOUR DRIVE:
Need a new Restricted Radiotelephone Operator's Permit? How about taking a Commercial Radio Operator License test? Now you can do all this and more by visiting www.fcc.gov/wtb/colems.html. Yes! The FCC is on the Internet and ready to receive your e-mail. Seriously, it's a great site to (quickly) remedy any name changes, stolen/mutilated licenses, etc. Check it out.
Another hot spot is at the Radio/TV Museum of New York: www.mtr.org Inside this museum, visit the Ralph Guild Radio Listening Room (fifth floor), with its five preprogrammed listening series radio collections. You'll be reminded of how lucky you really are to be playing in that sandbox of yours for a living.
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