The sessions will take up an afternoon, and will cover everything a retail assistant should know - from assembling a PA for a variety of applications and budgets to actually miking up and soundchecking various types of live acts, from a lone singer/songwriter to a multi-piece band with drums and amplified guitars, basses, and keyboards. By the end of each PA School session, attendees should know everything they need to sell a live rig to a small to medium sized band, from what microphones and amps to recommend to loudspeakers and processing.
The first event is being held at Harman Pro UK's headquarters in Potters Bar, just north of the M25, on Wednesday, 16 April. Max Lindsay-Johnson, managing director of Harman Pro UK, comments: "Our reps have been telling us for some time that there's a general lack of understanding about specifying and setting up PA and small-to-medium-scale sound reinforcement systems in the world of UK retail. Some shops have only one sales person who really understands how PA systems are put together and what to recommend.
"The PA School part of last year's roadshow was a great success and made us realise that there's a need amongst retailers for better PA- and sound-reinforcement-related training. Our PA School events are designed to address that need. Obviously, we will be focusing on the use of Harman Group equipment at these sessions, but the knowledge we can offer PA School attendees should stand them in good stead to sell PA systems from any manufacturer, and improve PA knowledge, overall sales, and customer satisfaction throughout the world of UK audio and PA retail."
(Jim Evans)
