-=> Quoting Bonnie Goodwin to Chris Horn <=-
 BG> Whenever possible I use test equipment on setups, but having recently
 BG> worked a number of major productions, I have noted that the sound
 BG> check is mostly bringing the system up with music of the operator's
 BG> choice and little or no testing at all!!! Amazingly enough!
That is not uncommon, and has always bothered me. Naturally, there are
times when something fritzes out at an inopportune momment, leaving no
time for a proper alignment, but at least a crude measurement and a 
quick tweak should always be done. Years ago, the band I worked for
at the time was bitchin' about the added expense of the RTA I made 
them buy, but it always gave me a crude idea of what was going on with
the room/system interaction, so that I could smooth out the worst of
the response problems, and eventually they figured out what it was 
that I was shootin' for.
 BG> When I was doing a lot of permenant installs and having to provide
 BG> "proof of performance" testing, I have used at the very leasy pink
 BG> noise and a 1/3 octave display with calbrated mic.. specifically, I was
 BG> using an IVIE test set. When I get the chance to install my studios,
 BG> the first purchase will be a Crown TEF system, which I have used before
 BG> (the original TEF10) and get a great deal of info out of the displays
 BG> that is useful for correcting faults in systems.
Yeah, a TEF analyzer is nice, no doubt about it, and the learning 
curve isn't too steep, which is a nice characteristic. The Crown system
is also not too horribly expensive.
 BG> I suspect that there are few practicing audio people  that really know
 BG> how to use the equipment and have the time to do a complete alignment
 BG> from venue to venue. Even when working on a traveling road musical
 BG> locally, I never once heard one test tone or signal. They did seem to
 BG> have a 1/3 octave readout and a calibrated mic, but never once did
 BG> they seem to use the capabilities for system frequency response
 BG> testing.. just more "das blinken lighten" to impress the ignorant.
While I *do* like to see all those LEDs dancing around, it is true 
that many engineers have little if any use for their measurement
toys. My personal favorite is the Meyer SIM system, but I still
can't afford one, and don't yet have enough experience with the
system to use it to its full potential; the learning curve is steep,
and I don't have time to take the SIM course. If I end up buying
one, I will certainly take the training course. Take care.
... "If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy, would it?"
--- Blue Wave/DOS v2.30
---------------