Dennis GouldMOBILE, Ala. — As a music and radio producer for over 20 years, I’m always on the lookout for new technology and tools to improve my work. I own Soundworks Inc. in Mobile, Ala., a full-service studio producing audio for films, television, radio and more from the local to national scale. I also serve as engineer and producer for “Today’s Homeowner With Danny Lipford,” a nationally syndicated home improvement radio program.
When I began engineering and producing “Today’s Homeowner With Danny Lipford,” I was already a friend of the hosts and a fan of the show. I’ve known Danny and his co-host Allen Lyle for a long time. The show airs on 120 stations nationwide, and provides a fun and interesting format for callers to get great expert advice for their home projects.
Home improvement has never been this much fun. But sometimes producing it can also be work.
With Danny and Allen always on the go, I needed a better solution for providing quality long-distance production from the road. In the past, we would use POTS or cellphones and … you know how that sounds.
Luckily, a colleague suggested getting in touch with John Lackness at Tieline to see what he could offer. John sent us a Bridge-IT, and we downloaded the Tieline Report-IT and TieServer apps on our phones. With a little assistance from our IT department, I was able to set up the recommended static IP address, register the unit and literally get on with the show.
Report-IT App Using Danny’s iPhone, the Tieline Mic Adapter (with a 30-pin to Thunderbolt adapter cable), a Mackie 402VLZ4 mixer and two Shure KSM32 mics, we fired up the rig. We were in business.
A few weeks and a couple of tests later and it was show day. I was pretty anxious.
Music … Announcer … Cue Danny … “Hello, and welcome to ‘Today’s Homeowner.’ I’m Danny Lipford along with my co-host Allen Lyle …” came through the control room speakers.
“Yes!” I screamed, then looked at the board. My mic was potted down. I laughed at myself and set up our first caller. I knew it was going to be a good day. And it was a great show!
The quality was as good or better than ISDN. The Internet connection was stable. Our callers and hosts could hear each other well with minimal delay, and our road warrior hosts Danny and Allen received clear cues from me back in the home studio.
Two hours later — bring up show-close music … Danny: “I don’t believe the show is over …”
I screamed, “Yes!” again. My mic was potted down. I’m cool.
The Bridge-IT and Report-IT app were cost-effective and produced a quality broadcast for our audience and fans. We definitely made the right choice for our show and appreciate all of the help from the team at Tieline.
For information, contact Tieline USA in Indiana at (317) 845-8000 or visit www.tieline.com.
