Published August 28, 2008 07:32 pm - When music from Anderson’s Town Center Park fills the city during the weekday lunch hour, it might not be a spur-of-the-moment concert for downtown workers and patrons.
AT RANDOM: Audio firms test park speakers
By Aleasha Sandley
When music from Anderson’s Town Center Park fills the city during the weekday lunch hour, it might not be a spur-of-the-moment concert for downtown workers and patrons.
Entertaining though it may be, the music is probably coming from David Baker, Jai Baker and Reagan Grubbs, who like to use the park to test the speakers from their audio businesses.
“This is a nice place to do it,” David Baker said. “It’s open with a stage, and the buildings around it keeps the sound in.”
David Baker co-owns TVI Audio; with a new office in Anderson and another office in South Bend, TVI sells speakers to both local and national customers, from churches to shows by national hip-hop recording artists like Akon and T-Pain.
But before the speakers make it into the hands of musicians and audio crews, David Baker and his cohorts must test them in a realistic setting. His brother, Jai Baker, is an independent musician and singer for the self-titled house band at Hoosier Park. Jai Baker often lends his musical talent to test the speakers, producing the melodies that can be heard throughout Anderson on test days.
“You want the speakers to sound as real as me standing here,” said Grubbs, who owns another Anderson audio company, Quest Audio, which sets up audio equipment at local and regional events. “There are frequencies you have to dial out to get it to sound natural. It’s like tuning a car to get it to sound good.”
Grubbs also has helped the Bakers in their downtown testing projects. They have tested at Town Center Park three times and will probably continue to test there, although they do receive the occasional complaint about the loud music in the park from people going there to eat lunch.
On Wednesday, David Baker, Jai Baker and Grubbs were in the park, testing new prototype products, analyzing their sound and tweaking them for tonight’s Hoosier Park show by Jai Baker’s band. The show is important as it is opening night for thoroughbred racing at the horse track and casino.
Jai Baker will play two shows tonight in the facility’s family area, one from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and another from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Creating the best sound possible for all their events is the goal of both TVI and Quest Audio.
“I just like good audio,” Grubbs said. “It’s great to hear a good sound.”