AES PNW Meeting Report - Sound Man

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Meeting held Wednesday, February 7, 2007 at Shoreline Community College, Shoreline, WA.

AES PNW Section Meeting Report Sound Man - From WWII to MP3 A Film by Scott Budman and Don Hardy and Magnetic Recording - Theory and History by Steve Turnidge and Rick Chinn, PNW Section Committee

Flyer for the Soundman Movie.	Rick Chinn (l) and Steve Turnidge ® present an overview of analog magnetic recording Audience at PNW 2007 meeting on analog magnetic recording.
Photos by Bob Gudgel

The PNW Section's February 2007 meeting was dedicated to analog recording, beginning with a showing of the documentary film, "Sound Man - From WWII to MP3" and concluding with an overview of magnetic recording fundamentals. About 30 persons attended, of which 10 were AES members. The meeting was held at Shoreline Community College in Shoreline, WA.

"Sound Man" is the story of Jack Mullin, a Bay Area engineer turned WWII soldier, who came upon a certain recording machine during his service in Europe. This engineer/soldier had the foresight to recognize the technology and future for the machines he saw and he took it upon himself to bring two of them back to the United States. The contraption, known as the Magnetophone, was to become the lynchpin for the U.S. recording industry, allowing the sounds of Bing Crosby and Les Paul, among others, to be edited and saved for future generations. From then on, it was only a step to the shift from records to tapes and the growth of Ampex, one of the early titans of the Silicon Valley. Having helped revolutionize the entertainment world, Jack Mullin, quietly living with his family, was happy to stay out of the spotlight.

Jack Mullin's influence extends from the introduction of tape recording to the U.S. following World War II to the rise of the iPod in recent times. "Sound Man" sheds welcome light on the career of this neglected pioneer, responsible for the innovation described as "a musician's dream." "Sound Man's" subtitle, "From WWII to MP3," indicates the important contributions of this fascinating personality, finally given deserved tribute. Director Don Hardy assembled a great array of interviews (including musicians Les Paul, Greg Kihn, Chuck D., and Stephen Stills, Bing Crosby's widow Kathryn, Mullin's friends and family) to bring us the story of this essential player in the music industry, a true "sound man."

Door prizes were awarded during the break:

Stephanie Renaud, a comb-bound book of materials about Jack Mullin.
CDs courtesy Starbucks/Hear Music:
- Ray Miller, Ella Fitzgerald CD
- Steve Mack, Doors CD
- Jesse Crofutt, Low Stars CD
- John Weist, Lillith Faire CD
- Glenn Pittaway, Rendezvous a Paris CD
- Aaron Gates, Low Stars CD
Courtesy Rick Rodrigues and Flke:
- Gerry Amandes, Fluke Pocket DMM
- Steve Kuo, Wavetek Meterman DMM
Brian Nelson, Shure SM57 t-shirt, from Opus 4 Studios

Finally, PNW Committee members Rick Chinn and Steve Turnidge gave a presentation describing the inner workings of analog magnetic tape recording - its history and theory.

The Pacific Northwest Section extends its thanks and appreciation to Don Hardy and Lucky Exit Films for allowing us to view this motion picture.

Reported by Gary Louie, PNW Section Secretary

Last Modified 9/10/2015 17:30:00, (dtl)