Blog

I really haven’t done much with our website for quite a while.  My last post was highlighting our 2019 season at Pinnacle Ridge winery, where we were the in-house production.  It was an AMAZING season and we worked with so many talented permormers.
During the off-season we bought a few new cool tools to add to the system, and the plan was to post about all of it  as we integrated them all into use.

… Then COVID happened…  all music performances were cancelled.  By the end of the summer, owners had decided it was time to retire and sold the winery.  The new owners were going to operate a much smaller brewery and had no interest in continuing on the musical performances.  It was a shame, as the location was known as one of the best locations in the region, and was even featured by the Reading Eagle as such.    All of the gear was removed from the venue and mothballed, hoping that a new gig would bring it out again.

I did a few gigs in 2022 as a fill-in engineer, and eventually landed an in-house gig at First Street Sportsbar in Lehighton, not far from home.  They had their own in-house system, and all of our gear still sat idle… Unfortunately the  COVID shutdown really stunted the live music business at First Street, and the crowds never came back.  Eventually the venue closed its doors, and went silent.

From 2020 through 2022, I was doing some work for a friend’s tribute band, Mystery City.  They had an audio engineer, and I was brought along to help setup, make sure things worked, fix things that were broken, and assist in any other ways necessary.  At the end of 2022, the audio engineer decided to step down, and I am now taking carry of duties behind the console.  The band’s reputation and reach are growing, and I am enjoying being the A1!  There will be lots of posts coming along, as I get all of the gear cleaned up and out on the road again… and another surprise later in the year will be some more work at an 800-seat regional venue as they complete some renovations and expand their musical performance offerings.

Time to start the new season of “Concerts in the Barn” at Pinnacle Ridge Winery.

The first in a series of production improvements is adding some new microphones to our locker.  A bunch of Shure Beta series and Sennheiser microphones are being added this year.    These new additions not only will help with the live sound, but will also help produce significantly improved recorded tracks.

The Beta 98AMP is our preferred drum microphone due to its extremely small size allowing placement even in the tightest of kits.   Getting it so close to the drum head allows us more accurate sounds from toms with less cymbal bleed.

The new Beta 58 will be used primarily for vocals.  With a supercardioid pattern, it helps reject more background noise… and improves vocal ‘presence’.

The Sennheiser E609 microphones are great on guitars.   Not only do they sound great, they also help clean up the stage.  These mics have a side address element, and are easy to simply lay over a guitar cabinet, not needing a stand.

We are now offering our service as in-house audio and lighting production, from May through October, at Pinnacle Ridge Winery in Kutztown, PA.   Having provided audio services for several events during 2017, allowed us to build on our relationship with the owners and their staff.  During the ‘off-season’, the upstairs barn area was renovated to provide a luxurious (yet appropriately rustic) new bar and expanded seating.

To complement these additions, Klock Productions added an updated light show, as well as moving in our full audio system to support the great roster of artists that will be visiting the venue.  The addtition of a large number of smaller distributed speakers throughout the venue allows for greater clarity without excessive volume into the expansion, as well as supporting a large outdoor seating area.

Find out an updated performance calendar at their website: pinridge.com
In addition to the great music events, their wines are some of the best!