Published Articles

I've written extensively for a range of Pro Audio publications and maintain an ongoing relationship with Audio Technology (an Australasian Technical Journal). Here are a selection of published articles:

MATCHING MICROPHONES & PREAMPS

I get asked "which pre-amp should I buy" a few times a week at least. To put to rest the technical side of this conversation I wrote a Microphone to pre-amp matching article for Issue 117 of Audio Technology which includes an online calculator where you can input key technical specifications of both Mics and pre-amps and the calculator will reveal whether they match well (technically)......Use the links below to open the article.....hope this helps.

Matching Microphones and Preamps article

Microphone to Preamp Matching Calculator calculator

UNDERSTANDING THE DECIBEL

The decibel is the common language of audio folk but many remain unsure how to speak this language fluently. In this primer I’ll break decibels down to their nuts and bolts, provide some ‘rules of thumb’ for their usage, argue which flavours are the most essential, and for those who are maths averse, all without citing a single logarithmic
equation. Hopefully we’ll traverse the yellow brick road of volts, watts and sound pressure levels to emerge adept and fluent decibel linguists.

Understanding the Decibel

LIVE SOUND GAIN STRUCTURE

PA systems come in all shapes and sizes but it’s not just money and wattage that provides for a great sound. The importance of gain structure within the system is paramount.

Live Sound Gain Structure

DEMYSTIFYING DIRECTIONAL BASS

To anyone who understands a bit about the behaviour of low frequency sound waves,
directional bass might seem physically implausible. But as Hugh Covill points out,
directional bass is not only a physical reality, it’s an idea that’s been around for decades.

Demystifying Directional Bass

PAG-NAG

PAG is an acronym for Potential Acoustic Gain. It’s a measure of how much you can
increase the amplification of a sound system before it begins to feedback. NAG is an acronym for Needed Acoustic Gain and is a measure of how much gain is required for a particular application. The PAG-NAG calculation therefore goes basically something like this… How much acoustic gain have I got to work with and how much acoustic gain do I need? If the gain required (NAG) is more than the gain available (PAG) then your show will be plagued with feedback. Mathematically, the goal is for PAG minus NAG to equal zero (or preferably a positive number).

Potential Acoustic Gain vs. Needed Acoustic Gain

THEATRICAL SOUND DESIGN

Live Sound for Theatre Productions might require a little less brute force than your average concert PA, but the issues are no less complicated.

Sound Design for Theatre

THE DECIBEL RULER

Hopefully, this chart will bring decibel concepts into focus. Travelling from left to right will take you through how the decibel used from input to output, with the very far right scale demonstrating subjective listening responses to changes in level.

The Decibel Ruler