|
|
(SOUND) ( SOUND ) Perfection of Ohio LLC SoundManBG@aol.com (614) 361-8824 Festivals, Concerts, Bands, Clubs Corporate Events
|
|
|
Articles From the November/December 2004 edition of the CBA "BluesPaper"
Perfecting Your Sound... By Deb Landolt |
|
|
Long
after the applause has died down and the bands at Wyandotte Lake have
signed their autographs, thanked their fans, and gone home, one man
is still laboring into the late evening hoping to finally pack it up
and call it a night. It’s approaching 10pm and sound man Bill Guttliep
has been tirelessly running sound since well before 7am for 2 days straight.
While many people might balk at the long and demanding hours for such
a stressful and often thankless job, this just comes with the territory
for the owner of Sound Perfection of Ohio, LLC. What seems to set this
man apart from the competition is his relentless and dogged determination
in pursuit of his singular goal. His goal, simply stated, is to make
good musicians sound fabulous.
Thanks, in part, to his work on some recent high profile projects in the Central Ohio blues community, including the CBA’s Red White and Blues, Wyandotte Lake’s Blues Cruise-In, and The Delaware Blues Challenge, Mr. Guttliep is fast gaining a reputation for his unparalleled professionalism and unmatched quality in his work. Bob Thomas, President of Exhibit and Event Management, and CBA Secretary and Trustee had this to say about Bill’s work at the July Red White and Blues Event: “Bill was in charge of all our electrical hookups for the stage and vendors. He was more than tenacious and would dog down ANY problem anyone had until it was completely solved. He takes this stuff personally and will not rest until all challenges are conquered.”
Tom
DeLorenzo, organizer of the Delaware Downtown Music Project’s Delaware
Blues Challenge (DBC) was similarly impressed with Bill’s club work,
and subsequent work at the DBC. “His quick mastery of equipment is impressive.
So much so, that when the opportunity presented itself to have Bill
provide sound for my DDMP Delaware Blues Challenge, I jumped at the
chance to secure his services. “In my opinion, his work at the DBC was
superb. After all, when most people are graded just for showing
up, Bill beat them hands-down there as well. In order to accomplish
our goal for the event, Bill started the day alongside me at 4:30am;
completely without issue or complaint. On the technical side,
moving from inside venues to the DBC’s open-air show, he was presented
with specific issues to each band, 12-in-all; none of which hindered
Bill in the least. He is definitely a “get the job done right
the first time” kind of guy.”
The toughest customers aside from the event planner and the average audience are, arguably, the musicians themselves. More often than not, musicians who work with hired sound have to settle for less than optimal performance while still having to pay a high premium of their own earnings. This forces many bands to run their own sound simultaneously while performing, Oftentimes, both the performance and the mix suffers as a result since a musician cannot hammer out a solo and effectively monitor levels at the same time. Most notable among the list of superlatives were musicians’ comments about Bill’s constant presence at the board. “Bill did sound for us at Wyandotte Lake”, said Steve Woods, formerly of the Juke Joint Saints and the Dave Chisolm Band. “Some musician friends of mine who came out to hear the band remarked that the mix was excellent. Bill was very conscientious in his setup and continual monitoring of the sound. He was also quick to adjust the monitors for each individual player when requested.”
"He's always at the board working. He's a fine sound man," said Robert Hughes who uses Sound Perfection of Ohio exclusively for his Hughes Blues gigs and other events. Mr. DeLorenzo, echoed those sentiments, "(Robert) Hughes brought me in to cover percussion on two of his recent gigs; Bill did sound on both. I have to say that his attention to the board is unrivaled. When so many soundmen are notorious for "sleeping at the board" or disappearing, Bill was glued to his gear, wide awake and involved throughout."
Bill's attention to detail and likable nature have helped him earn the respect of some of the area's finest musicians, among them Patrick McLaughlin: "Bill has been a regular at my jam sessions for quite some time. Over time, he has become a personal friend and someone I fell I can look up to both personally and professionally. Bill would do just about anything for his friends and that same loyalty carries over into his professional standards. What sets him apart from the competition is that he has the best equipment, is highly knowledgeable and dependable and has a great ear for the performer that he's working with. He will go above and beyond what is expected and stay consistently focused and positive throughout. It's a pleasure to work with him."
Despite
the few months Sound Perfection has been in business, Bill Guttliep
is anything but new to the field. As a longtime member of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and having thirty five combined
years of experience as a master electrician and successful entrepreneur,
he started designing and building light shows during the 60’s psychedelic
era at the tender age of 14.“I
built one of the first 32 channel control panels for lighting, manual
and fully automatic,” he said. “By getting parts from Radio Shack with
allowance money, I had one of the first music activated controls on
the market. Fender and Kostem used my designs 5 years later. One of
my kaleidoscope designs is on the cover of an Iron Butterfly Album.
Pretty soon all the major bands throughout Cleveland wanted me
to run my light show for them. By 16 years of age, I had the major rental
company for light shows. I
ran shows at the Agora, Hullabaloo, all major events both indoors and
outdoors in Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs. I then got into sound.
In those days we used a Shure Vocal Master, which consisted of two column
speakers and a master controller. At various gigs, I had the option
of running the old Analog 24 channel Yamaha.”
Over the years, he built successful businesses from the ground up including a welding and fabricating company, underwater vehicle repair and manufacturing company and electrical contracting company. "I have wired and fabricated for lighting and sound and have worked on hundreds of projects from Cleveland, Ohio to Key West, Florida, including stages on the beach and stages and sound systems built into yachts and auditoriums."
Ironically
though, Sound Perfection of Ohio was born partly out of necessity and
partly by accident. “I
was playing Harp and was involved in many attempts with several different
individuals to form bands.
I had acquired PA equipment and after all of these attempts
failed for various reasons, I was about to give up and sell
everything, until July 2, 2004,
when I was involved as the Chief Electrician for the CBA Red,
White, and Blues. Being
involved with the sound, stage lighting, cabling, and setup made me miss
this side of the business.”
Bill
continues to stay one step ahead of the game, providing state-of-the-art
equipment for his clients. He uses: Mackie CFX 20 ch with digital effects;
Yamaha 32/14fx ch with dual effects; Makcie 1521 FOH; Makcie 1801 subs
FOH; Parametric auto EQ fully programmable, which automatically monitors
EQ throughout performance; FOH; (Four) ultra-high performance 2-ch digital
feedback 6 channel DMX controller and Truss system destroyer/parametric
EQ; (Six) Yamaha monitors; primary and secondary racks, compressors,
gates, limiters, and amps. In the next few weeks, he plans to add lighting
to his growing list of services. At press time, Bill is in the process
of acquiring Par 64 can a 1
Clearly,
Bill Guttliep has proven his mettle both in the
mastery of his equipment and his dedication to the people he serves.
This dedication is accurately reflected in his company’s mission statement:
“Sound Perfection of Ohio is in business to provide state of the art
performance in live sound reinforcement for Bands and Corporate Events,
to work hard for our customers and provide the best sound for their
performance they have ever heard. We strive to do a professional job
from the time of unloading and set up, to working the mixer throughout
the performance, to tear down, loading up and moving on. We keep up
with modern and innovative equipment to enhance performance as well
as stay on the leading edge ahead of the competition.” “Bill’s
dedication to providing great service (with state-of-the-art equipment in
tow) clearly shows in his work”, adds Mr. DeLorenzo.“For
me, Bill Guttliep’s Sound Perfection of Ohio is the only one to call.”
When
he is not on the job making other musicians sound fabulous, Bill can
often be found playing his harmonica at the Patrick McLaughlin jams
on Tuesdays at the Blues Station, Thursdays at the After Hours Sports
Lounge, and at the CBA blues jams at the Thirsty Ear the first and third
Sundays of each month.
Prospective
clients can reach Bill Guttliep at 614-361-8824 or via email at soundmanBG@aol.com
Thanks
to Bill Guttliep, Andrea Gregory, Patrick McLaughlin, Steve Woods, Bob
Thomas, Robert Hughes for their support in writing this article and also
to Tom DeLorenzo for support and for providing a photo and title.
Sound Man Bill Guttliep 3939 Columbia Street Hilliard OH 43026 (614) 361-8824 |
