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HaAavve U Met...?
March - April 2015behind it and I thought it was a cool name, so
that's another thing that just stuck.
As an engineer, what is your
weapon of choice?
Arron: That's a hard one to answer. I would
choose the DigiCo SD7 and dshow Venue
from DigiDesign. They are some of my
favourite consoles so far because of their
fl exibility more than anything else. I enjoy the
fact that you can load up a show fi le and just
go. Nothing else is needed.
If you could switch places with
anyone for a day, who would it be
and why?
Arron: Pooch Van Druten... He has a very
complex job and he mixes for bands like
Linkin Park. I heard one of his shows and it
was just mind-boggling. He has this kind of
drive and set-up whereby he's now using a
DiGiCo SD7 and he's running WAVs plugins on
it through his server and he's mixing the style
that I'm always striving to get. I just want to
sit behind his desk and just do his job.
What is Tabula Pte Ltd?
Arron: Tabula Pte Ltd is my company that
specialises in Live Sound Engineering and
Audio Consulti ng & Installati on. We're not
affi liated with any manufacturers, so you can
say we're "customisable for the client needs".
This includes budgets and systems. I fi nd out
what the customer wants and I work around
a budget and brand with them to get the
quality of sound within the budget they want.
This allows me to listen to customers needs
as opposed to just selling them a parti cular
brand that I have. I work with distributors,
retailers, outlets, so I'm not
cutti ng anyone out.
Do you consider yourself successful?
Arron: Ha.. That's a funny questi on. I
wouldn't say so just yet. For me, success
is creati ng a name or brand for yourself.
If the majority of people understand your
brand and who you are then that, for me, is
considered success. I haven't reached there
yet because some people know me and
others don't. It is what it is.How do you plan to reach your
defi niti on of success?
Arron: I'm in the midst of trying to organise
a niche service. I'm planning on moving into
a dedicated in-ear monitor system that's
portable and that can cater to live bands and
performances. I want to provide a service
and record, at the same ti me, so it will be like
providing a monitor engineer in a monitor
system that is portable that supplies sounds
for the whole band.Isn't that already being done?
Arron: Yes, but not in the size I plan to.
Normally, you would need to have one or two
desks and if you're using one desk to split the
channels, it becomes prett y diffi cult. There
are a lot of variables so I want to come in and
help to remove those variables and do it all in
one shot. This helps the clients because they
save on the cost of one board therefore, it's
cheaper. Also, I'll be using a one rack portable
unit that allows me to split all the channels
and also have digital returns - all through a
network.A lot of people don't understand
what audio engineers do. Have you
ever lost your cool when it comes to
a customer?
Arron: There are ti mes where you feel like
screaming your head off at some people butyou can't. Even if your client gets pissed at
you for no reason, no matt er what you have
to put on a happy face and try and cater to
them as much as possible. If that has never
happened to you, you're not in the audio
industry.In a country as small as Singapore,
does competi ti on become a
problem among engineers?
Arron: If you're dedicated to this industry,
especially in Singapore, there's more
opportuniti es in a way. You can strive and
become really good and you can really stand
out. In this industry, especially with the
audio engineers, we sti ck together. You come
together for gigs to help each other out, so
it's like we share the work and if someone
can't make it, we pass gigs on through a chat
group that we have. So its a really really small
network where people come together to help
each other out.Have you ever wanted to experience
the audio market outside of Asia?
Arron: I've thought about moving to Los
Angeles [USA], and diving into the industry
there. But, I have too many investments here
and my network is here. I would have to start
from scratch and I've already made so many
connecti ons here and know so many people
here that I would rather just stay here.If I wasn't a __, I would be a __?
Arron: I can't even answer that! I've only
been this. I've got the best job in the world! I
wouldn't change a single thing.What do you want to be
remembered as?
Arron: A nice guy. You know how some
people just do it for the job, and it comes
across as just a job? I want to be the guy
who does the job but is really nice doing it.
I want to become that buddy, that guy who
is reliable and responsible but also just very
chilled and fun to be around with.Know someone with a great story? Let us know by sending an email to: [email protected]