Welcome to the DaviSound "NEWS UPDATES" Page!
ARCHIVED CHRONOLIGICAL NEWS ENTRIES FROM HAYNE DAVIS FOR 2020
In reverse order with the first entry at the bottom of the page and the last at the top as each new entry is added at the top of each prior entry.
2020 OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR! JUNE 1970- JUNE 2020
December 15, 2020'' DaviStrange - 2020 ! '' No question ... this has been the STRANGEST year of all my 72 on this planet to date! I am also "DaviSure" that most of you must feel the very same way! This is not a year we want to reflect back on too much for certain. Let's just get it on past and move on to better things.
But, since it WAS the year we had, such as it was, and since it was also supposed to have been a celebratory year here (our 50th anniversary year) reflecting back on our past history (most of which was disrupted by current events as documented through the updates posted below), I will go ahead and do a brief "DaviSummary" of 2020 while looking ahead for better things in 2021.
For most of us, 2020 turned out to be a year of loss...
Lost opportunities, lost time, and in some cases, sadly, lost friends and loved ones. I don't have to mention the "why" of it here, we all know it was the disruption of the novel Corona Virus that put the entire world into near "hibernation" for months on end with EVERYTHING slowed from shipping schedules to supply chains, to all our daily activities and routines all the way down the line. Then, of course, it was the final year of the STRANGEST four years I have ever lived through of exhausting situations plaguing us from Washington, one after another, almost on a daily basis.For me, personally, I am thankful that both my wife and I have, so far to date, avoided the virus. However, we were not so lucky with some of her chronic health issues which were in crisis back in the late spring and early summer. This, then, took somewhat of a toll on me as well with all the added stress involved and aggravated some of my own, old, chronic ailments. Fortunately, those situations have now greatly improved and I hope will soon just be among the other "good riddance" memories accumulated in 2020 as we head into a better year coming.
Unfortunately, I was among those in 2020 to experience the loss of some friends and family members. One particular shock was the loss of a longtime close friend and local client, Dave Waldrop just a few weeks ago. Naturally, as residents of the same county, I had known Dave most of my life. However, we did not start to become well aquainted until around the time I was doing local morning radio and his cousin, Jake Dickert, was my morning co-host (by telephone). It was also about the time Dave was making his second attempt at running for the S.C. House Of Representatives. He came to me to create and produce his advertising campaign, which I did, and which, fortunately was successful. Although I have always been skeptical of ALL politicians, Dave proved himself, time and again, to be one of the last true, caring, statesmen who continually put his consituents ahead of his own interests. He accomplished much while serving in Columbia and did much for the people of South Carolina as a whole, and particularly for his local district, especially helping the elderly.
However, it wasn't until Dave had retired from politics, and had concentrated his interests toward managing his farm and expanding his gorgeous home in western Newberry county, that we got to become close friends. This was through our various media projects over the years for his sprawling, country residential complex as well as for his nearby, beloved Methodist church.
One of the first projects I designed and installed for him was a full-blown media system for his entertainment center. This consisted of a large building, at the lower end of his home property, with bar and kitchen area inclusive and an adjoining, lengthy outdoor dining/convention area with a large stage at one end. He told me that he wanted it to be state-of-the-art and capable of interfacing/uploading to ESPN (or other major networks) in case he may want to host a major event or two out there. As it turned out, that's exactly what happened with several political rallies held on site as well as ESPN covering a fishing tournament held on his adjoining, multi-acre pond which was directly adjacent to the entertainment complex.
This was the first control center for the entertainment complex (2002)
which had audio and video feed capability throughout the entire facility
and also full audio/video control for the stage area.
Dave, and his wife, Debbie, generously donated their facility
to many individuals and civic groups in the community over the years.
Countless meetings, weddings, receptions, barbecues and banquets were held there.
After the success of this major project, Dave decided to upgrade his own, personal media systems. I designed, built and installed systems for his den, his bedrooms and his kitchen. Unfortunately, the only surviving photo that I could locate was the one of the den system shown below. This was Dave's pride and joy. Designed around an arena size Panasonic plasma video monitor (SOA of the day) it contained a full featured, DaviSound, surround-sound audio system housed in a custom designed, oak cabinet. The kitchen setup (not shown) was a similar, though scaled down, version with the same components (except for smaller Panasonic video monitor).
Waldrop Home Den System
Although Dave often, jokingly, referred to himself as "just an old country farmer", he was QUITE the media enthusiast and he constantly put each of his systems through their paces each and every day. I was as proud of the results of these efforts as he was and, while I have designed and installed hundreds of systems for media centers, arenas, stadiums, churches, banquet halls etc.etc all over several states, Dave's systems have to be among my all-time favorites. Of course this was largely because of Dave himself and our resulting friendship. He will be (is being) missed!As this year comes to a close, I, again, want to thank all of you who frequent this News Updates area as well as our website in general. While not quite as busy as it once was, I am still amazed at the traffic we draw here on a monthly basis and I do, TRULY, appreciate all of you whom I have come to know, worldwide, over all these years. I also feel a closeness for many of you since each of you actually own a little part of me with your various DaviSound hand-built audio components! Although I have not met many of you, only talked by phone to a few of you, I have corresponded with ALL of you and feel I have gotten to know many of you very well that way. Indeed, some of you have actually become very close friends through this frequent correspondence even though we have never met in person. I look forward to continuing that in the future and, hopefully, establishing new friendships along the way!
With this edition we also close the book on our "anniversary year" although I plan to continually add some more reflections and "historical notes" along the way throughout the coming year form time to time since this year's efforts were so disrupted.
As I look ahead to the coming year, I have to believe that we will FINALLY say goodbye to much of the "strangeness" of 2020. We have, finally forthcoming, a new vaccine, a newly elected, competent presidential administration, and the University Of South Carolina has a new football coach! It just HAS to be a better New Year!
And, from my perspective, I can truthfully say that I am finally poised to complete and ship ALL the ongoing current projects here at DaviSound in the coming year and, as we move into January, I look forward to posting that progress here in the new monthly updates ahead!
So until "next year" ...
Happy Holidays throughout and please join me here again in late January with a brand new slate!Best Wishes to you all,
Hayne
eMail- DaviSound at DaviSound dot com
text- 803 - 944 - 7972
November 29, 2020 '' DaviShort '' and '' DaviScroll '' ... Because I have been VERY "DaviShort" of time and opportunity for gathering ideas/material for this month's News Updates ....This will be one of the "DaviShortest" updates I can remember!
I will try to do a more extensive year-end (and won't we all be glad to see this year end!) recap here in mid month December and, meanwhile ...
I ask you to PLEASE "DAVISCROLL" DOWN to review last month's post (it was noteworthy in case you missed it) as well as all of our other attempts for this past year's 50th anniversary monthly News Updates below.Until next time...
THANK YOU ALL for visiting (and DaviScrolling!)!Hayne
P.S. When you send me a text, PLEASE identify yourself by full name so I will know who I am replying to and can add your name and number to my contacts for future reference! Thanks!email- DaviSound at DaviSound dot com
text- 803 - 944 - 7972
October 30, 2020''DaviScary ... DaviStories!''
HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2020!
"DaviScared"?
No....not really. Just a good thematic intro for my feature of our DaviStories section of our website here around Halloween! (well maybe a little "DaviScared" about the upcoming election results! And, of course, 2020 has been a pretty scary year all around as we all know!)As we hit the last quarter and near the close of yet another year (which of course has flown by in many respects), a year which has been one of the weirdest of my lifetime and for most of you as well I'm sure, I wanted to further cellebrate our 50th aniversary year by, again, calling special attention to our DaviStories website area. Although I have been amiss in not updating it as frequently as I should, I did take time to add one section today. This was prompted by some recent news from longtime client, and old friend, Weston Ray of Weston House Recording in California. Here is that added section here below-
Over the years, Weston ( Weston Ray of Weston House Recording) has continually been one of our most enthusiastic supporters and endorsers as well as becoming a true, long-time friend and "penpal" in the process. Recently (summer 2020), he sent this photo of his rack of recovered DaviSound gear. If you look closely, you will see that it's a bit dusty and some of the units have missing or broken knobs. This is because the gear had been stored at his former studio after he vacated it some years ago in preparation for building a gorgeous new studio in a new location close to his home. Due to "red tape" technicalities with the former landlord, he was just recently able to obtain access and reclaim some of his neglected DaviSound gear collection mounted in the rack shown below. He is currently in the process of cleaning and refurbishing all of the units. Although Weston owns other units and DaviSound microphones besides this collection shown here, we were MOST glad to see him welcome home these "prodigal" pieces missing from his collection!
Even though the gear needed a bit of attention when this photo was taken, I wanted to add it since it was a good representation of some assorted DaviSound Tool Boxes as well as some very esoteric versions including some of the old metal faceplate designs from "long ago"! If you would like to see/hear more from Weston, his notes are scattered all over the DaviStories section and this particular addition is located right near the very bottom of the web page.
On another note...
I checked our site stats the other day and found that we continue to get a lot of newcomer traffic to our site (although email and texts have been lagging lately) from all over the world. I noticed quite a few from Russia this past month ... hope they are not hackers!While I realize most newcomers will, indeed, browse our entire site, I still want to urge everyone to focus atention to the DaviStories section this month. I, myself, was amazed at all the special "DaviStories" related there which have accumulated over the years when I revisited it this month. And, HOPEFULLY, I can find the time to add a few more DaviStories, which I have on hand, in the coming weeks ahead.
Before I close this edition out, I want to, once again, call attention to our beautiful new TB-50, the innaugural edition named for our 50th anniversary this year. It has been 95% completed now for several months but we have been awaiting the arrival of the remaining special order parts for the power supply from Germany (the power supply was one of several "re-dos" we performed on this unit during construction). I thought we had everything in our last shipment but, then, realized several more needed components were back-ordered by the German factory. Like everything ordered from overseas these days during the pandemic, these parts took "forever" to get here. But, all of the components are now, at last, finally in the house so we will be putting these finishing touches on this unit shortly and then back to focusing attention on a new TB-4 which is also underway.
The new TB-50 50th Anniversary Commemorative Tool Box
While on the subject of the new TB-50 ...
I thought it might be fun to include a snapshot of the special "HIGH TECH LABS", with all the"special high-end equipment", where the cabinet for this nice new unit was constructed!
This was taken back when the faceplate of the unit was being fabricated...
I show this because most people wouldn't believe
the "humble" equipment I use to fabricate our cabinets!Very often, when the weather permits, I like to set up a temporary work table outside ...
This was a beautiful day so out to the back yard I went with a few simple tools
to tackle the intricate faceplate work for the new TB-50 shown above.
This one was especially tricky since I only had ONE PIECE of Purpleheart...
the client's requested exotic wood.
No room for error there ... and fortunately there were no errors, simple setup and all!
Well, that's it for another monthly edition of DaviSound News Updates! And, as always, I SINCERELY thank you all for "tuning in" and reading.
Please join me here again next month and, meanwhile, STAY SAFE (and don't get "DaviSpooked")!Hayne
eMail- DaviSound at DaviSound dot com ... Text - 803 - 944 - 7972
September 25, 2020'' DaviStable DaviSeptember '' and '' DaviSircuits ''
Yes, fortunately, things are a bit more stable around here now than they have been all summer, since Memorial Day weekend in fact. And I am not just talking about "stable circuitry" (which, of course, our audio circuits always are!).Thankfully, things have stabilized somewhat with all the family health conditions which have been mentioned in this year's updates by necessity. This has also allowed for my work schedule to "stabilize" to a great degree also the past couple of weeks and I am anxiously optimistic that it will continue so through the end of the year allowing me to have current projects well in tow and a new TB-4 assembly, that is just underway, ready to ship before the holidays.
I do not have the usual "ramble fever" this month so this one will be a ''DaviShorter'' one for certain. I just want the current clients to know that I am, once again, settling into a steady work routine and that typically means a lot of good productivity throughout the fall season.
So... look forward to a possible "October Surprise" or two here next month ... and, when it does come, it WILL be GOOD NEWS I assure you ... God knows we could all use some for a change in this country!
Meanwhile, as for ''DaviSircuits'', I am working on finishing up the last batch of ''MasterPiece'' Modules on current order to pave the way for the work on the remaining current projects on the benches here. This order is for our long standing, main European client who utilizes our modules exclusively in their own esoteric audio projects. While we also have a few orders every month from DIY enthusiasts, these are, also, mainly overseas buyers. It is a bit distressing to note that the interest in DIY audio has declined very much in the past decade or so, especially in the U.S. To be honest, a lack of inquiry and a withering of interest has been another of the reasons (others mentioned in last update) that I have not been overly motivated to finish the ''DaviSecrets'' updates to our old ''Tech Reports''.
But, since ''MasterPieces'' are truly unique to DaviSound, and very easy to employ with our included literature, they do still continue to keep me at the soldering table many hours each month creating them for the outside demand as well as for our own Tool Boxes.
As our 50th anniversary year continues to roll on past, I continue to urge newcomers to please check out our COMPLETE website including DaviSound Origins and also News Archives where you will find two entries written on our 30th and 40th anniversaries which offer some additrional reflections about our beginnings and evolution. The only place "News Archives" is actively linked is at the bottom of the News Updates (below). Therefore, unless newcomers scroll all the way through, it may be missed which is why I mention it here.
And so, I close this one out while I look forward to fall and the ''DaviStableness'' that it invariably seems to bring with it! I just hope the same can soon be said for these United States although I fear all that unstableness will get much worse before getting any better!
Thank you all very much for reading and please tune in again here next month!
Hayne
eMail- DaviSound at DaviSound dotcom
Text- 803-944-7972
August 21, 2020
'' DaviSynchronicities '' Last month I mentioned that one of my emailers had mentioned something about how he would like me to cover some of my personal career highlights in this section while we are "DaviSelebrating" our 50th year through these News Updates in 2020.Well, while no single event all that "DaviSpectacular" has ever really occurred, at least in my opinion, there have been quite a few very special experiences which I have enjoyed over the years as a result of the many varied aspects of my media career. I really think, though, that the place for those might just be in an autobiography at some point since they are too numerous too mention in this format and I would hate to try and select one or two from all the others.
HOWEVER !...
Speaking of autobiographies ... a local friend who has visited with me, and worked with me, off and on over the years has continually suggested that ..."You really ought to write a book!". Well, if I ever get the time, before my memory fades, I may just have to try and attempt that. So far, I haven't even managed to find the time/opportunity to finish the LONG, LONG awaited "DaviSecrets"... the updated edition of our old "Tech Reports" (and since I do suffer from Vestibular Migraines with aura which are sometimes triggered by long hours on a computer, I tend to procrastinate spending much time typing on this thing). However, this person did remind me of one event that happened to me along the way that was so extraordinary as to actually DEFY COINCIDENCE that I decided to share it herewith.This really has nothing to do with audio, particularly, nor any of my "adventurous" work related activities across the media spectrum over the years. This was a little, simple, work bench occurrance but, as I say, of such rare significance that I am still most AWED by it and so I will share it here with you for that reason. Hopefully you will share some of my awe when I relate this or, at the least, find it to be an entertaining read. But I must tell you that I swear by all that is Holy that it was, indeed, a real event, as unbelieveable as it may seem (so unbelievable it may seem like a fairy tale!), and my revelation of it is 100% completely true and honest. I guess you will just have to take my word for it because there is no other way to "prove" it as I was the only witness.
Before I tell the tale ...
Let me preface by saying that I have always lived a little something of a real life "Forest Gump" existence in that my path has crossed with many significant figures along the way to many significant events over the years. The friend that suggested the forthcoming true story has been aware of many of these and thus the "you really ought to write a book" comment. She has been aware of many of these "striking coincidences" that have followed me most of my life and, believe me, there have been quite a few ...MANY in fact, aside from the one that I consider to be the most remarkable which I am about to relate here shortly. But, to give you just one example of these little remarkable coincidences, let me just tell you of one that happened this past weekend before I tell you of the "biggie".I was on my way to the grocery store this past Saturday afternon when I heard a particular old pop song on the radio. I have always liked the tune so it caught my ear and I realized that it was not the original version, or at least the hit version, that I remembered from 1985. This rendition had a '50s/'60s flavor to it so I thought at first it just might have been an obscure oldy that I had somehow been unaware of all my life (highly unlikely!) but the more I listened I realized that it was just a remake of the '85 hit done more in the old "doo wop" style. Now, this little tune, the '85 hit version, had been real special to me not only because I enjoyed the recording myself and the way it was produced, but also because my young daughter, five years old at the time, LOVED it! So we played it constantly and she and I danced around to it for many weeks when it was popular. That made it "especially special" to me as you might imagine.
All that being the case, I decided to contact the program director of the local station (another old friend and former employee) and see if she could find out who was doing the song. She did and it turned out to be a recent cover by a North Carolina "beach music" band. Meanwhile, I had been researching the song on the Internet and, after scrolling past dozens of links relating to the original version, I finally stumbled across the name of the writer of the song. I had NEVER heard of this guy in all my years around the music business even though he was obviously well known in some circles. This had been his biggest hit as a songwriter but, as I say, I had never known of him ... or so I thought. However, the name kept "ringing a bell" and I just couldn't get it off my mind all weekend. So, on Monday it dawned on me to look through my client folders just on a hunch and ... YES, lo and behold, there was a file folder with his name on it. I looked into it and found that he had purchased a TB-8 Monitor Amp in 2008 and had also purchased a pair of "DaviSnake" microphones a bit later.
So, there we have TWO rather striking coincidences for one small example of what I mean by my life of amazing "DaviSynchronicity". The first one being the remarkable fact that the writer of one of the more meaningful songs in my life, for reasons just mentioned, also turned out to be a DaviSound client. The second being the fact that I heard the song by chance on my brief trip to the store which sparked all of this little "domino effect". By the way, if you wonder why I do NOT mention the particular song by name or the writer by name, it goes along with my lifelong pledge of not revealing our clients and honoring their anonimity, unless they specifically authorize me to do so!
No, while it may surprise some of you, I do NOT always know the reputation and background of many of my clients and often have not known of their work unless they call my attention to it. Of course I have naturally heard of some of the more famous of you but there are others who may be quite accomplished that I simply have not recognized, especially some of you more modern "youngsters"!
BUT NOW ...
with this preface out of the way ... lets get on with the most remarkable "DaviSynchronicity" ever ( and just perhaps the most remarkable that has ever happened to ANYONE / ANYWHERE / ANYTIME!) !Back in 1987 - 1989 when we were planning and developing our forthcoming local FM station, while we were awaiting FCC procedures and our forthcoming construction permit, I had been advised previously by our lawyers that I should abstain from all my outside broadcast contracting and consulting activities to avoid being accused of violating the, then in place, FCC conflict of interest requirements (nowadays of course, after the Bush administration's drastic restructure (destruction is more like it) of the FCC as I had known it most of my broadcasting life, none of this now makes any difference. Nowadays, conglomerates can own as many stations and media outlets in the same market as they choose to thereby monopolizing the airways and brainwashing the local "sheeple" for their own interest, the very thing the original divestiture laws were in place to protect ( and some wonder why I don't trust the Republicans...although who possiblly could these days? ... but that's another can of worms [cauldron of snakes] entirely).
Anyway, since those laws were in place back in the day, I had totally suspended my media production/consulting activities which never were fully reinstated to this day. This was also just after I had lost my "right arm assistant" of the prior seven years at DaviSound so, along with some area sound system installations, I was, at that time, mostly just working on projects for the forthcoming radio station including the three custom consoles that were to be utilized therein. Also during this time I was doing a lot of work from my home workroom, as well as the DaviSound facility, and since I didn't want to "live" at the facility, I did most of my circuit work on my home work bench, especially at night.
Unlike most electronics enthusiasts, my journey into the realm of circuit design and construction did NOT begin at an early age or by tinkering with primitive radio circuits, crystal sets and the like, as is the case with most enthusiasts. This may seem odd because of my passion for radio but that passion always involved the PROGRAMMING and PRODUCTION side of radio rather than the technical side. As most of you know, my early interest in electronics was centered around highest quality AUDIO circuit design and I had never really explored radio frequency circuitry to any degree. All that changed during that "lull period" from 1987-1989 when I was spending many long winter nights in my home work room. Suffice it to say, the "radio bug" (experimental circuit related) bit in a big way and it wasn't long that I began studying radio circuit design in earnest and finally decided to try building my own, first, primitive, TRF (tuned radio frequency) radio receiver.
Now, although I had promised the FCC that I would no longer be affiliated with other broadcast stations in any fashion if we were awarded the construction permit for our FM, this certainly did not rule out my work for ad agencies and other direct media clients. So, I had just recently written and produced a series of radio commercials for the Shakepeare corporation which were being aired nationally on late night radio. This was a campaign for Shakepeare CB radio antennas which was aimed primarily at cross country truckers and so it was being run on all the late night 50 KWatt stations across the country.
In case , by now, you may have guessed what is coming ... let me confirm. The very first thing I heard blaring through on my crude little TRF radio receiver, that was connected to a 50' longwire antenna in my backyard, as soon as I connected the power supply ... WAS MY VERY OWN VOICE! It was coming from WWL in New Orleans who happened to be airing one of my commercials at the very moment I fired up my first TRF radio receiver circuit which happened to be broadly tuned to WWL! Just what are the odds? I would say at least a billion to one? As hard as this may be to fathom, and it certainly was for me ( I suspected someone "somewhere up there/out there" was messing with me BIGTIME!), I SWEAR to you this event actually ocurred one winter night in my home work room those many years ago! Make of it what you will, I will NEVER get the past the personal awe of it!
So... that's my "biggie" out of many other similar, mysterious "striking coincidences" (some philosophers say there is no such thing as coincidence- this one makes you wonder for sure!). Maybe it will give some of you something else to ponder for a little while besides the tragic state of our country at the moment.
MEANWHILE ... ( as fellow South Carolininan, Steven Colbert might say ) ...
I promise next month to get back to the specifics of our current audio projects as well as focusing on more of the history of DaviSound Tool Boxes. Until then, STAY SAFE (and keep loading the Vitamin C, D and zinc!) !Thanks for joining me for this unusual edition and please "tune in" again here next month!
Hayne
July 29, 2020
'' DaviSummer 2020 '' Well, this was SUPPOSED to be the summer of "DaviSelebration" for us, with the arrival of our 50th business anniversary but instead it turned, somewhat, into a summer of "DaviSickness" as addressed in my prior posts (scroll below). NO... it was NOT the corona virus (so far, thankfully) but instead an escalation of my wife's chronic symptoms (including a crisis situation early last month), crisis issues with the health of her mom and stepdad, and a slight problem for yours truly along the way (very minor in my case).Fortunately, things are appearing a little better at this juncture, at least not worsening with some improvement showing all around, so we continue on now with our usual "glass half full" optimism come what may from Murphy's Laws, Inc.
I had mentioned that we had received surprisingly few emails from clients and past clients so far this year compared to 2013, when we announced the closing of our old studio facility, when we received a "flood" of email from all over the world, some of it shared in these news updates at the time. However, the past few weeks the flood gates opened again and I received quite a deluge of well-wishes, comments and suggestions from quite a few of you! I did respond personally to each of them so if you did not get my reply it is only because something went wrong in "cyberspace" so, in that case, please let me know and I will resend. As I always point out when talking about email....I ALWAYS respond! So, if you ever send ANYTHING to me and I do not reply it simply means I did not get it for some reason (and with our email service that sometimes happens so I have to emphasize this fact frequently!) so please, please resend until you get my reply!
I did get quite a few suggestions as to what you would like to see (and HEAR) on our commemorative efforts this year and I do wish I could incorporate them all. However, the way things have been going, I am lucky to find the time/energy to collate and post anything!
I did manage a few hours the other day in the outside storage shed trying to find some memorabilia and what I found was primarily a lot of moisture damaged, old paper work for the most part. Fortunately, the old index card catalogs of our old client lists are still intact so I became sidetracked and used up most of my time thumbing through them, once again recognizing old names and reflecting on projects and events from years past.
One thing of some interest that I did run across was a copy of an affadavit that we had to prepare for an FCC Washington hearing where I had to appear as an "expert witness". This three-page document was a partial list of our broadcast/media clients from 1970 - 1981 and I snapped some photos of it for presentation here, below. I hope it is readable. Note that, at the time, I cut it off after three pages since I felt that should suffice to show that my credentials were intact without having to further waste my secretary's time sorting through all of the files and typing them out on the old manual typewriter of the day. I present it here to show a representation of the type of work we did through our facility in the seventies and early eighties. Although this is just a "smidget" of our lists of just over 1200 worldwide clients over the years, I felt it might be of some interest during this anniversary year. Somewhere, there is a framed logo collage of some of the more recognizable names and establishments that we worked for ... the "biggies" ... and I hope to run across it before I am through digging through the stacks of memorabilia out in the cabinet .... so "stay tuned" for that in future editions.
As I say, this is only a very partial list and, as noted at the end, only includes those for whom we did numerous projects and not the one-time clients. By cutting it off at the "G" section, we also excluded most of the K call letter stations and many of those "biggy" clients I mentioned as well. Of course we also maintained separate files for our music industry/recording clients and our engineering clients ... this above list was to include broadcast related clientele only.
Many of you wanted to hear some of our past productions (the main request) and I hope to include those in the near future as I try to make progress with the eventual, new, Mother Cleo Productions website.
A couple of well-wishers asked to see me document a chronological "bio" of my work "highlights" over the years and, while that would take SOME doing, I might give it a try for next month. Tune in to find out if I can make it happen as I now get down to the more serious, immediate work at hand of finishing our current, ongoing DaviSound audio projects!
Thank you all!
Hayne
PS- For any newcomers who missed the extensive reposts of some "reminiscing photos" of the old facility presented earlier this year, please scroll below to the April edition!
June 30, 2020
'' DaviSetback '' Well, instead of the expected, celebratory "flashback" edition that I had been planning and working on for this edition that some of you were expecting to see here, I have to report that it hasn't been much of a celebratory atmosphere around here this past month. I can tell you that things are now, finally improving as of the last week or two but the first of the month has not been a good time for me on the domestic front so I had to put aside most of my work that was not absolutely a priority and, as much as I wanted to get a special page up for this month's 50th anniversary edition, it just wasn't in that category based on the other comparative issues at hand.My wife's ongoing, chronic health struggles took a fast downturn right aorund the first of the month and we experienced a crisis situation with her for about a week starting with a trip to the ER and followed by a lot of stress and research on my part to try and help get to the bottom of the sudden, severe issues she experienced around Memorial Day and the week thereafter. While the doctors were not a lot of help in providing any answers or solutions to the immediate crisis, I spent hours researching far into the depths of the internet and cross linking all of her multitude of assorted medications (and she IS on a plethora of prescribed drugs!) on legitimate medical sites until I was able to start unravelling the puzzle.
It turned out that the "straw that broke the back" was a cumulative effect, when combined with the "witch's brew" assortment she was already taking, of her latest prescribed Parkinson's drug by the neurologist. Once I read of the side effects and their reasons, in multiple white papers which described her symptoms to a T, I pulled her off that drug immediately. The results were noticed in just two days and she began an improvement (from the particular crisis symptoms) that continues gradually every day since.
We had been in the process of trying to line her up with a new primary care doctor as her old one had left just prior to all of this. Then, this week, after hours on the phone in weeks prior trying to find, and line things up with a new physician, when we FINALLY got established with a new doctor for her, we were turned away at the door on our first visit yesterday because the doctor had just gone home sick with the Corona virus! Such is life with the Davis' "Murphy's Law Curse"!
Anyway, this was not intended to be another detailed belaboring of all our personal hassles here on the homefront these days but I felt I had to explain in SOME detail, just a few of the many related reasons why you did not find the long announced "DaviSelebration" special edition page here. It has been a ROUGH month here with many distractions in many directions.
While a single, big "DaviSpecial Edition" page will like not be forthcoming now at this juncture, I will, instead, "DaviScatter" some special segments in each month as I try to continue to provide snippets of past memories and document more of the history of DaviSound along with many of our Tool Boxes during each month to come for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, I do hope all of you are in good health and that you will have a safe and happy mid summer holiday! Please tune in next month when I will try to have a more positive "News Update" for ALL of us!
Thank you all,
Hayne
PS- If you missed our last update last month... please scroll down and have a look at the New DaviSound TB-50 Tool Box that commemorates our 50 year anniversary!
May 17, 2020
'' DaviShall '' ! You will remember from our last episode boys and girls ...
I "honored" my daughter and my late mother by using their pet phrase, "We Shall See" as to whether or not I would, indeed, have the "hoped for" website uploads done by around mid-month for an early update. As it turns out... I SHALL! Or, rather, I DID!I did manage to get "computerized" once again (albeit somewhat antiquated) and, if you are reading this, it means I DID get the first photos edited and uploaded for the long awaited, new TB-50 introduction that I have been talking about, and trying to make happen, for the past six months!
I should point out in advance, though, that my "camera" (cell phone version), while not antiquated, sure performs as if it were. I apologize in advance for the lack of quality of the photos (or maybe there is just no way to capture the true, "reallity" of the fine appearance of our Tool Box finishes with a digital photo- I have NEVER really been satisfied by any digital photo yet, including those we used to have done by outside professionals, or when my wife (semi-pro photographer herself at the time) shot them with her Nikon. These presented here though are particularly bothered by digital distortion in spite of my best efforts to clean them up with my humble editiing suite. So, please try to see beyond that when you view the photos below.
So... having said all that by way of introduction ...
Here then, is our all new, client designed and custom created, TB-50!
In case you are wondering, the innaugural unit features a Purpleheart faceplate, a Wenge top and an Oak cabinet. The rear panel was originally oak but, unfortunately, it split during testing when removing a stubborn XLR plug from a jack and had to be replaced. A RARE event for sure with our quality, seasoned Oak! We decided to use a piece of light, Cherry for the current rear panel replacement and, considering what we had to go through to replace a panel on an already finished cabinet, I think it turned out well. This was months ago....just one of the many "Murphy's Law" plagues that has followed this unit throughout construction. In fact, it is STILL suffering from the "Murphy plague" as now I am rebuilding the MP3 module that was discovered defective just as I was doing the final (so we thought) audio proof before packing and shipping! And, once again, the "defect" turned out to be a faulty manufactured capacitor (one of two, crucial timing capacitors utilized in the DaviSmart optical compressor circuitry).
I will spare a repeat of the "DaviSermon" I presented last year about the difficulty (actually near impossibility) of obtaining consistent, quality components these days. Suffice it to say, it does make life that much harder for a builder of highest quality audio gear!
I should point out that YOU CAN still get SOME quality components made in the USA. The particular knobs we used on the TB50 were original (New Old Stock) DaviSound designs used throughout our early recording consoles. We only have a few left that I use where appropriate on special pieces. These were Daka-ware, circa early 1970s, made in Chigago. It is my understanding that this particular design has been reinstated by demand and now offered again by Davies Molding Company- The Daka-ware Story (in case you are interested) .
In case you are wondering ... Yes, I DO plan to offer remakes of this unit in our regular lineup...the TB-50 is now a permanent part of the DaviSound Tool Box lineup ... and, hopefully, future editions can come to fruition without all the "DaviSnags" we encountered with this first edition. I should remind you, again, that I am no longer offering point of purchase orders from our website. While I plan to continue offering Tool Boxes for as long as possible, ALL ORDERS must now be discussed by email in advance as I anticipate being necessarily selective on the number of projects undertaken at any given time throughout the future. Thank you for your understanding!
Next month, June, is officially THE 50th anniversary month for DaviSound so I do hope to get a special edition put together (probably nearer the end of the month this time) to commemorate that milestone event. Please do join me here next time as I continue my "DaviSentimental Journey" down memory lane. Meanwhile, if you missed the last edition that recaptured a few of the more recent memories of our old facility, please scroll down to view the post of two weeks ago.
As always, THANKS FOR TUNING IN!
Hayne
P.S. - I almost forgot to mention, please do send us email with any questions/suggestions you might have or anything you would like me to address as we "DaviSelebrate" our past with nostalgic updates for the rest of the year. If you are an OLD client, from the Mother Cleo days or the early MCP/DaviSound years, we would expecially like to hear from you! I was expecting a lot of email in recent weeks but, surprisingly, the email had been at an all-time LOW these past few weeks... the OPPOSITE of what I expected during this anniversary year. But, over the weekend, the dam burst and the old inbox turned up with a deluge of email that I will be answering at every opportunity in the days ahead. Hope to hear from YOU soon! (You can also text me at 803-944-7972)
April 29, 2020
'' DaviStimulated '' ! Yep ...
I just received notice that I received my "DaviStimulus" payment (badly needed!). I was truly suprised since I figured it would be like every other bureaucratic entanglement I usually have to continually "un-snarl" my way through from insurance companies and clinics (for my wife) to website hosting companies, assorted accounts etc., always having to spend valuable time chasing down someone's mistake consistently these days it seems. But, thankfully, this time "Uncle Sam" got it right and found me just in time to prevent that particular aggravation! I truly hope each of you can say the same!Yes, Murphy's Law has ALWAYS followed me to some extent and, while giving me just a little break in recent years, old Murphy has come back with a real vengeance so far this year! My trek in the past couple of months has really been like picking my way down a thorny path through a multiple obstacle course! But, as aggravating, and truly hampering and frustrating beyond my control as they have been, my obstacles seem very small when I think of all the folks and families who have been hit hard by this virus this year. So, by comparison, I certainly have no reason to "whine" or complain although I feel I do have to report it here, in general, once again to explain all the continual delays and "DaviSnags" that I have experienced disrupting our plans going into this year. This is particularly true in regard to our planned "DaviSelebration" of our 50th anniversary coming up next month.
Now, while STILL not quite there yet, I feel I am within just a couple of more weeks, tops, of finally being able to post new photos and extensive edits to the website (refer to last month's "obstacle" regarding computers). I have just about finished restoring and reloading an old, old (but functional) laptop that I salvaged from the storage shed and it should be ready and capable for multiple uploads fairly soon. I would say that I will have a new, photo ladened news update here by mid month. But, instead of making that firm a prediction again only to have to explain it away by Murphy's Law interuptions when it can't be fulfilled, maybe I will just adapt the old phrase my Mother used to use when I would try to pin her down on something I wanted (which has also been inherently adopted by my daughter as well) which is ... "WE SHALL SEE"!
MEANWHILE ... (as fellow South Carolininan, Steven Colbert might say) ...
I thought I would continue my 50th anniversary "DaviSentimental" journey down memory lane this month by simply importing some script from prior news updates ... this is fairly easy text editing that can be done from the Android yet it will provide a little "photo color" to this, otherwise, "bleak" news update and certainly continue with our "reflections" theme for the year.2013 was quite a pivotal year for me since it was the year that we began vacating our old DaviSound facility. It was also quite eventful. So, rather than just redirect you to that year's archived updates in entirety, I thought I would just import some relevant sections of those news updates for those of you who might have missed them back then, or who might like to revisit them with me here. I do find myself missing the old building in which I spent a large part of my life so these imported photos are very "DaviSpecial" to me!
What follows here below are some interesting posts from the year 2013 ...
If you have been following our ongoing posts for this year all below on this news page ... you will recall the "DaviSaga" regarding the "caged critter" that got inside and which became an unwilling/unwanted captive resident. You will also recall just how trashed this room was from the photos we posted on this page at the time. Well, as you can see, although not "squeaky clean" from all its "residue" left behind this "after" photo, taken during mid-cleaning and fumigation ...shows most of the debris cleaned away and the remaining electronic items sorted for forthcoming removal. You would truly have to see the "before" to appreciate the "after" and all the effort it took to get there!
The fireplace on this side of the room was literally covered in strewn boxes, parts and stored gear ... all the way up to the mantle piece which was also torn loose and had to be removed. Two tower computers and about a half dozen antique radios were badly damaged in the "critter's" rampages. 
