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10 Questions with Thaddeus
Hogarth
1. When did you fall in love with playing music?
My love affair with music started at age six or seven.
My mother was a piano player and singer and gave me a very early
start on piano. I got my first guitar at nine and never looked back.
I still think of those early days as a very magical time. Even now,
when being a musician has its moments of frustration, I look back
and try to re-create the magic.
2. Who are some of your musical or artistic
inspirations/influences? My musical influences include
Stevie Wonder, Bob Marley, Al Green, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana,
George Benson, Joan Armatrading, Earth Wind and Fire, the Isley
Brothers, Robben Ford and Judie Tzuke. There were also many great
jazz artists that had a profound effect on my development but their
influence is less apparent.
3. What are some of the frustrations or challenges
you’ve faced with amplifying your music for performances in the
past?
A major challenge is
delivering an accurate enough representation of a recorded piece of
work in a live setting. Other frustrations have to do with the
balance of instruments, which can determine the overall feel or
groove of a song. The luxuries and liberties of the control room
don’t translate to the live setting where so much has been left to
the mercy of sound engineers.
4. Can you give a brief description of the system you
were using before the Bose system? Traditional Tri-Amp
systems. Back line, monitors, house system.
5. What were your first impressions of the new system
from Bose? Quite simply stated: Good sound, easy
operation and it’s very easy to transport and set up.
6. How do audiences benefit from the Bose
system? Fans who have seen my act on a regular basis
tell me the band now sounds like a very good live recording,
wherever they sit in the club.
7. What kind of challenges do you think musicians
will face in adopting this new approach? I think the
biggest challenge will be convincing electric guitarists to just
leave their amps at home. There’s a happy compromise for the
unyielding tube amp guitarist and that is to install a beam blocker
in front of the amplifier speaker. This diminishes the harsh
directionality of the amp and disperses the sound. You can then mic
the amplifier and then amplify through the system for a more even
mix with the rest of the instrumentation.
8. What
is the response you get to playing with this
system? Audiences are much happier with the overall
sound—wherever they are in the room. There are no complaints of the
guitar being too loud from folks in the front row. All around, the
comments are positive about the live sound. We also save money by
not hiring a soundman since the system puts control back into the
hands of the musician on stage.
9. What venues have you used the new Bose system in?
(What size, setting, seating capacity)? On average we
have been using the system in clubs and recital rooms with
capacities between 150-300.
10. What do you think will be the common
misconceptions about this system? Most folks are
surprised that the system is being used independently and that all
the sound they are hearing comes from the Personal Amplification
System. A common misconception is that the Bose system is being used
in addition to the house system instead of just on its
own. |