ABOUT SOUND REINFORCEMENT ON LOCATION

APAD Digital Recordings provides sound systems for performers or performing organizations in large halls or outdoor venues. Costs will vary considerably depending on your needs. We do NOT rent equipment by itself. We provide operators with our systems.

In order to help you in your decision making it is important for you to understand our philosophy of sound. The purpose of a sound system is NOT necessarily to make a performer louder! Think back to your last meal in an above average restaurant where entertainers came in and so overwhelmed you with their sound system that you couldn't talk with your guests. When you got home you felt drained; your ears hurt or your hearing seemed diminished (actual hearing damage did occur). How about the last wedding reception where the "band" blew you away. Even in our churches these days every person on the platform has to have a microphone in an attempt to dominate the audience. The over-riding philosophy is "we've got power and we're gonna let everybody know it." The poor person with a hearing aid usually has an excruciating experience!

The purpose of a sound system is to MOVE THE PERFORMER or PERSON SPEAKING CLOSER TO THE LISTENER in order to make the sound clearer and for the listener to feel more included. It transforms a large setting into a more intimate experience. This is accomplished by using speaker systems with "gain." It can be compared to the TV antenna on top of a house. That distant station is weak and snowy but when the antenna is aimed toward the station it exhibits gain and appears to move the station closer to the viewer by making the picture clearer and more vivid. In just the same way a speaker system should make the listener feel he is close to the performer/speaker and not be aware that he is listening to a speaker system.

High sound levels are very disorienting to most individuals. High sound pressure levels actually physically assault the body and the body reacts by pumping adrenalin into the system (fight or flight state). Contemporary performers like to exploit their audience this way because they become more receptive to innuendo and suggestion. High sound levels are also used to mask poor performances.

If you're looking for just LOUD systems please continue on down the Yellow Pages. If you're looking for quality help with your performance we can provide that and would be most pleased to talk with you. We have experience from high school auditoriums to crowds of 400,000 on the grounds of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.