Hugo Martinez - electronic violinist: Live gear

Notes

Tuesday, November 7, 2006 CONSUMER ALERT -- Mackie advertises their CFX and DFX mixer series as having (as of today, 2006-11-07, this is quoted from their website at http://www.mackie.com/products/cfx16mkii/index.html) "onboard EMAC™ 32-bit digital effects" and "we've developed sophisticated 32-bit digital effects that rival dedicated outboard processors. Our EMAC effects sound clean and realistic — especially compared to the crude, jangling 16-bit effects on most of the other "effects" mixers on the market." Reads good, huh? However, while the EMAC processor might be 32-bit, the effect resolution is only 16-bit. Amazed? At Mackie's site, read this PDF file: http://www.mackie.com/pdf/CFXmkII_SS.pdf. Perhaps a misprint? After 45 minutes on hold, I spoke to a Mackie tech rep and he said yes, the resolution is 16-bit.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Wasn't sure it would happen, but my neck is healing. I'm not returning to the pain of my solo act, but I'm again networking and performing on the violin with other musicians... and that feels great! My wife Ana has been an absolute sweetheart. My shoulder is not doing so well, but that's ok... I'm spending more time on my second instrument - the electric bass - which keeps my fingers strong so I don't have to abuse my body as much with the violin. Don't know where I'll go from here... I do have a software site that I started couple of years ago... I'll try to keep things updated... 'bye for now.

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Goodbye, everyone -- and THANK YOU

Friday, July 5, 2002 My system is now based around JBL EON10 G2 speakers and a Mackie DFX-6 mixer. Stay tuned.

Thursday, August 31, 2000 (updated November 1, 2000) Why I use a portable MP3 CD player: my MiniDisc backup player / recorder broke and when I shopped for a MiniDisc player-only version, none had a line-out. Not wanting to again buy an expensive MiniDisc combo recorder / player, I replaced both MiniDisc units with a cheap Sony 5-disc carousel (MP3 CD players did not exist) and stuffed it with CD-R versions of my MiniDiscs. A plus was that I avoided the clumsy MiniDisc shuffle on stage. The CD player was fine except for the weight... the LED's were dim in sunlight... worst thing was, remembering to remove and store all the discs at the end of a gig. If I forgot, next gig I'd be shaking the player, trying to get to the CDs that got bounced around during transport. Once, on stage, I had to borrow a screwdriver to disassemble the 5-disc carousel so that I could recover the errant CD's. I endured because I knew this was all temporary, because portable MP3 CD players were on the way. So, I now use an MPTrip MP3 CD player. It's quirky (takes practice and patience to deal with its weird and clunky interface; also doesn't like heat [heat makes it skip] -- to prevent skipping, I shield it from the sun and I also replaced the supplied 4.5v power supply with a 3v so it runs cooler) but it works. Sounds great. Really nice to have all my set and break music on one CD. Beats everything else I've tried.

Thursday, July 13, 2000 I replaced the two Sony MiniDisc units with one MPTrip portable MP3 CD player. I also replaced the Mackie 1202-VLZ mixer with a Rolls RM65 one-space mixer. I missed my DOD R-430 EQ so I put it back and removed the Alesis EQ. As I no longer need a sliding shelf, I removed it. I replaced the 2-space drawer with a 3-space Middle Atlantic drawer. I switched from a 10-space SKB case to a 12-space model.

Saturday, June 26, 1999 I have used the JBL WRK1000 wireless speakers around the house and at two gigs. They have worked well but I wish they had more range. I did try to slightly boost their range by replacing the transmitter's 12v transformer with a 13.5 unit from Radio Shack (273-1668) but I don't recommend you try this -- please don't complain if you fry your transmitter or violate FCC rules.

Sunday, June 6, 1999   Sometimes I am asked to keep the volume low yet the client wants to hear me from afar.   I can't use remote wired speakers -- usually there are doorways or other traffic areas in the path of the speaker wires. Taping the wires to the floor is not only messy and inconvenient -- tape doesn't work on grass, sand or dirt and sticks poorly to carpets.
          On the net I read a vague reference to wireless speakers seen at a NAMM show.
          At Guitar Center I asked about wireless speakers. They did not carry them. Phoned Sam Ash and Mars Music. Nothing. Maybe it's a consumer thing? I went to Circuit City. Nope. Finally at Best Buy I found Advent and JBL.
          Though Advent claims better range and can use batteries, JBL had better ergonomics and a tone control. It was close but I picked JBL. Soon I'll post more.

Saturday, September 12, 1998 After months of procrastinating, I again phoned the Quicklock people. This time I spoke to Linda and she shipped the parts ASAP. The stands now look and work great.

Sunday, March 22, 1998 Months ago, the Crate speaker stands were destroyed in an accident at a festival. The festival organizers graciously replaced them with a pair of used Quicklocks -- these Quicklocks are the best speaker stands I've used. However, they are missing the rubber feet tips. A pair of adapters are also needed for the tops so that the speakers may fit properly. The distributor promised to ship me -- at no charge to me -- the replacement parts. After several months, I have yet to receive these parts. So far, I've cannibalized the Ultimates, putting their rubber feet on the Quicklocks using duct tape to make them fit. I've also wound duct tape on the tops of the Quicklocks so that they would better fit the speakers.

Wednesday, August 20, 1997 The Crate speaker stands are light and I like the little locking pins (too bad the Ultimates don't have them) -- I don't have to risk breaking the plastic fittings by turning them too tight. However, the stands extend too far down -- I have to be very careful about how I spread the legs, particularly on uneven floors.

Saturday, January 25, 1997 To save more weight, I replaced the two Stewart PA-1000 amps with one Stewart World 2.1 amp. I also replaced the DOD R-430 2-channel 15-band graphic equalizer with the Alesis M-EQ230 graphic equalizer.

Thursday, January 16, 1997 I recently upgraded my P.A. with the goal of minimizing weight & setup time while increasing reliability and ease-of-use. I added a Sony MZ-R3 MiniDisc digital recorder/player to accompany my MZ-R2; added a Raxxess sliding shelf; added a Raxxess 2-space steel drawer with key lock; replaced the Ultimate speaker stands (the plastic fittings were cracking) with Crate stands; replaced the Korg KMX-122 line mixer with a Mackie 1202-VLZ mixer; replaced the ART DR2a stereo digital reverb with an Alesis Nanoverb; replaced the SKB 4-space and 6-space ATA equipment cases with one SKB 10-space; and removed the Fostex 3070 stereo compressor limiter and the Alesis M-EQ230 2-channel 30-band graphic equalizer.

Live gear
Hugo's main electronics connect to most concert or club mixing boards and amplifiers. As an option, Hugo may assemble a compact self-contained P.A.:
1 - Samson Concert Series II wireless transmitter and receiver
1 - Line 6 Pod Pro effects unit
1 - MPTrip portable MP3 CD player
2 - JBL EON10 G2 bi-amped speakers (for some venues, two additional EON10 speakers are used)
1 - Mackie DFX-6 mixer
2 - Stage lights @ 300w
2 - On-Stage speaker stands, black
1 - Lighting stand, black
1 - Tama drum throne
2 - JBL carrying bags for EON10 G2 speakers
2 - Bogen carrying bags for speaker stands
1 - SKB Velcro pop-up mixer case
	Hugo's Suzuki 2003 Aerio SX and music equipment at El Dorado.