My Say by Mario Benipayo

January/February 2006

entertainment technology asia

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Vol 7 Issue 1 January/February 2006

ZOUK Complex Country Report Thailand Exclusive – a land of culture and concerts MICA (P): 198/09/2005

Rental & Staging Hero Honda Indian TV Academy Awards Oman - “Light for the Arab World”

Installation Timbre Korean Churches put their faith in D.A.S.

B R A D

cover vol7 issue1

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The long road to better things Mario A.S. Benipayo

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learning how things worked form the older guys and bought any available magazine for extra knowledge.

With fondness, I look back on how a lot of things we did, back when I was in the rental biz, looked so simple in contrast to all the technology used in today’s productions, but just the same is at the end of the day, we wish to be able to tell ourselves, “a job well done”.

As the years went by, the gigs just got bigger & more demanding. The need to have a stronger sound system was a necessity. We bought our first BOSE 802 which you just had to have during that time. In terms of amps we went for the power amps made by Carver. The first was the Carver M500 power amp; it had two of the biggest UV Meters you’d ever see and for more power, a Soundcraftsmen M5002 Power Amp which employed the longest array of LEDs that spanned form almost both ends of the 19” rack.

Again, UV meters and LED meters…it was cool. Those were the amps of that time.

alking thru the mall the other day, I came across a friend who was setting up his system for an event that evening. I went over to chat and catch up on lost time. He showed me around and was quick to show me his amp racks that powered his array that was flown, his console and a lot of outboard gear. It was nice to see a system flown, amplification neatly laid out, cabling strapped together and a control booth that had all the new stuff.

Where most started Like most in our circles, my introduction to this industry was via our home hi-fi system. Back in 1981 my brothers and I were given our first home hi-fi system which consisted of a Cassette Deck, 2 Pioneer 3-way speakers and a Pioneer Receiver that gave out 60w/RMS per channel. That was lots of watts during those days. We used to play loud as we would love to see those UV meters on the amp go left to right, and see the 5-segment LED on the speakers go from green to red, yeah!! That was coolness at its best. My brothers and I would volunteer our system wherever we have parties in school or for some birthday of a friend. With each party getting bigger, so did the cost of replacing the tweeter that kept on blowing. My brother came up with an idea of forming a mobile disco and actually making money out of the effort. We bought some more stuff to beef-up the system, whatever we can trade for something better, we did. The Pioneer got traded for a Marantz that gave out 110 watts (we’re rockin’ now) and we assembled a dual 12” speaker with 3 tweeters.

I’d usually hang out for long hours

The introduction to real pro gear In 1985 we did a High School dance in a Gym; it was like the biggest thing during that time, for us at least. Knowing that it was way beyond our capacity, we asked a friend for system reinforcement.

The day came and he brought probably what could have been one of the first Crown Micro-Tech 600s in the country. We were thinking, “Hey man, where’s the knobs??

Where’s the LEDs?? Where’s the UV?? After a brief inspection, familiarization and connections, we were rocking and said to ourselves, “tonight will be good” and it was. In less than a week, it was decided, we will buy our first set of pro power amps, a Crown MT-600 and two MT-1200s. From that point on, Pro equipment was the way to go.

As young as we were and wanting to buy new stuff, the best financial institution to borrow money from were our parents. The nice thing too is that as long as you were a good and obedient son, they pretty much did not ask for the monthly payments. It was only after did they realize that it would be for something that would keep them awake late nights waiting for us to get home. We were at that time in

our early teens. They’d lend us some and the rest, we’d just had to work our ass off.

So we bought our first pro JBL speakers, upgraded the processors, bought more amps and before we knew it, we were doing various gigs from the simple mobile to live shows. Things were looking up.

Hanging out with the big boys In 1986 came the opportunity to work with one of the bigger rental companies and reinforce their system for a number of foreign acts that were coming over as part of their Asian tour. Back then, there was no single company that could offer all the requirements, it was a major player being supported by smaller companies that had similar equipment. The staple were Crown amplification, JBL Bi-radial horns, a dual 15” loaded Forsythe and horn loaded lows, in our case, we had the biggest “W” boxes during that time - 6’ x 4’ x 3’ feet in size loaded with 2 JBL 2225s.

There were only 2 companies that had them and it is not hard to imagine why. We were the first and probably the last to have those babies. A lot of common sense followed.

The late 80s was really the age of discovery and education for me. As there were no school for pro audio & lighting that we could go to, I took the opportunity to interact and learn from the visiting engineers that came with each band and got what I can. Asking them how they want to do things and why and

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learning thru the process.

Experience & interaction became the training ground for the future. Talk is cheap and knowledge in an investment that will never loose value. Acts like Randy Crawford, Al Corley, Bananarama, Patti Austin, Duran Duran, NKOTB, Bon Jovi, Vanilla Ice, Sting, Barry Manillow, Gloria Estefan, came bringing with them some of the best sound engineers of the time. They came and went but without leaving their fee of sharing what they know to guys like me who have used those experiences for our growth.

1988 was a milestone in our industry’s history. The idea of forming a trade association for the professional Audio and Lighting companies was sparked due to many common concerns about running their businesses such as rental rates, technological developments and equipment standardization. Thus, the Technical Guild for Entertainment (TGE) of the Philippines was born and remains

2006 E V E N T S

the premier technical organization to date.

1989, the Turbosound TMS-3 touring system arrived on our shores; it was the famed speaker of the time. The age of single box multi-way systems has dawned upon us. It was the biggest array of speakers owned by a single company and it earned its reputation well. It flew; it threw, but was expensive for most. So thru the abilities of the best local workshops and fabricators, a customized horn loaded 3-way system was born.

Called the AP-30, it soon became a standard speaker system in our land for years to come.

Though my rental business ended around 1994, I kept myself involved & updated with our industry and the technologies that continue to shape it. I still had the opportunity to do the live sound for some of the best bands our country has produced. I kept close to our organization.

In 1999, I eventually ventured into the import & distributions

business with the family. We handle a number of pro audio and lighting brands and focus a lot of attention to product support and customer satisfaction. I also do the occasional technical seminar from time to time to keep me close to the market and get their pulse.

Looking back Now, 6 years later, I look back and see an industry full of history. It has nurtured a generation of individuals who were merely hobbyists but are now supporting families.

The technologies that have been developed may have made the job simpler but made individual expectations greater. Education and experience has always been the key to a good foundation in this industry. Something I hope will not be washed out by the bright lights or deafened by the loud sound.

Mario A.S. Benipayo is the Managing Director of Forerunner Technologies Inc. based in the Philippines.

C A L E N D A R (Till June 2006)

NAMM 19 – 22 January 2006 Anaheim USA www.namm.com

SIB 11 – 14 March 2006 Remini Italy www.sibinternational.com

Integrated Systems Europe 1 – 3 February 2006 Brussels Belgium www.iseurope.org

NSCA 16 – 18 March 2006 Los Angeles USA www.nscaexpo.org

SIEL 12 – 15 February 2006 Paris France www.siel-expo.com

MUSIKMESSE / PRO LIGHT & SOUND 29 March – 1 April 2006 Frankfurt Germany www.prolight-sound.com

ENTECH 13 – 15 February 2006 Sydney Australia www.entech-tradeshow.com

Integrated Systems China 12 – 14 April 2006 Shanghai China www.is-china.com

PALME 23 – 25 April 2006 Dubai www.palmeonline.com Light + Building Frankfurt Germany www.lightbuilding.messefrankfurt.com CALM 31 May – 3 June 2006 Beijing China www.calmonline.com Broadcast Asia 20 – 23 June 2006 Singapore www.broadcastasia.com

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