To comply with some self emposed decorum of disclosure, Charles Peachock sent me an Audio Ape some years ago just to see if I would like it. I used it, loved it and gladly paid for the 2.0 Upgrade. He asked me to review the Audio Ape and this is what I came up with.
Jay Johnson and The Audio Ape
On stage, a ventriloquist controls all the voices, movements, timing, jokes and sounds coming from a puppet while pretending not to be responsible. Some might say that’s a classic case of a control freak in denial. Well, I‘m a ventriloquist... Here’s my story, you decide.
Music has always been a part of my act. Over 45 years the delivery format has changed exponentially. I have traveled with full orchestra charts, 5 piece band charts, cued up cassette tapes, CDs, mini disks, MP3’s and thumb drives. There is one thing, though, that hasn’t changed: Whether it is a conductor, band leader or sound person, someone has to know my act and execute the cues at the right time.
Because of this, over the years, my cues became simple, few and hopefully “bullet proof”. I joke that they are easy enough to be “done while mixing a Margarita”. (It’s true. I once worked a comedy club where the Bartender doubled as the audio man with the sound board behind the bar. If I heard the blender going I knew I had to wait for my cue.)
For me, the timing of my sound cues is as important as the timing of my jokes. If you have ever experienced that “eternal stage wait” between calling for a sound cue and NOT hearing it, you know the nightmare. There have been remote control systems designed before; but, the problem with most old remote control sound systems in the past is not just their large size and short range, but you still had to travel with some sort of music player that the remote could control. Short of hiring a sound man to learn your show and travel with you, is there another way?
Finally there is. It is a digital solution, The Audio Ape. The Audio Ape is a remote control sound system that’s small, easy, effective and controls the sound on my iPad which already travels with me. By using the music function, programming and display capacities of the iPad (or iPhone), Audio Ape is a sound designer and audio programmer in a package that’s not much bigger than a deck of cards.
Audio Ape interfaces with several great sound apps, my preference is GoButton. It allows me to fade, edit, cut and stack sound cues without destroying the original tracks. I can reprogram different cues easily and control them with a touch of the Audio Ape Remote button about the size of a zippo lighter. I even modified a remote to function as an ankle switch. Now instead of trying to limit the number and complexity of my sound cues, I am looking for ways to expand them. It has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for my live performances. With Audio Ape I can directly control, underscore, tag and orchestrate my performance with music and sound effects.
As a ventriloquist my bottom line is this: I don’t trust anyone to control the operation and timing of my puppets on stage, why would I want someone to control the operation and timing of my sound cues? Is that a control freak in denial or a professional entertainer who wants to do the best show every time? You decide.
As you were,
Jay
1 comment:
I agree Jay. Absolutely love my Audio Ape. (And GoButton Pro!) In corporate shows I have included silent looping tracks renamed to create cues for V.I.P.’s in the audience. My iPad lays at the front of the stage unseen by the audience and I am able to control music & teleprompter with a tiny remote. I even use three remotes, one attached to my mic stand, a second connected to my puppet stand & a third modified into a foot switch.
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