{"id":162,"date":"2018-08-17T14:56:05","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T14:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/?p=162"},"modified":"2021-10-01T12:16:34","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T17:16:34","slug":"this-veteran-sound-engineer-keeps-austin-bands-amplified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/2018\/08\/17\/this-veteran-sound-engineer-keeps-austin-bands-amplified\/","title":{"rendered":"This veteran sound engineer keeps Austin bands amplified"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ background_image=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/Jack.jpg” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ column_structure=”1_2,1_4,1_4″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/Rachel_AudiophileMONO2-1.mp3″ title=”Amplifying Austin bands” artist_name=”Rachel Rascoe | Next Generation Radio” album_name=”KUT Austin 2018″ _builder_version=”3.6″ background_color=”rgba(69,123,151,0.76)” custom_margin=”600px|||” child_filter_opacity=”12%” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”0ms” animation_starting_opacity=”4%” box_shadow_style=”preset1″][\/et_pb_audio][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″ custom_margin=”||-200px|”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ custom_margin=”||50px|”]<\/p>\n

This veteran sound engineer keeps Austin bands amplified<\/h1>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_text_color=”#e97f24″ header_3_text_color=”#e97f24″]<\/p>\n

by Rachel Rascoe<\/h3>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” column_structure=”1_2,1_2″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Austin’s young musicians often rely on analog gear years older than themselves to amplify their sound on stage. When this vintage gear needs tube replacements or a tune-up, some musicians turn to veteran audio engineer Jack Donahue. <\/span><\/p>\n

Donahue, 65, relocated to Austin after a long career in Boston, providing sound and electronics support for bands including Aerosmith, KISS and the Rolling Stones. He owns the South Austin repair shop <\/span>Audiotech Austin<\/span><\/a>, specializing in the repair of vintage analog gear.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOlder is better,\u201d Donahue said. \u201c[The sound is] clearer, it\u2019s warmer, it\u2019s less brittle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Austin musician Mackenzie Burke first stopped by Donahue\u2019s store to get his guitar amp fixed. Burke plays in local acts <\/span>Nolan Potter\u2019s Nightmare Band<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>The Nymphs<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf anyone around town is really into tube amplifiers, they probably know about him,\u201d Burke said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Burke ended up interning in Donahue\u2019s repair shop and now calls himself his \u201csubstitute grandson.\u201d Donahue\u2019s shop serves as a training ground for young musicians interested in learning about electronic repair. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of the few people left that studied vacuum tubes in a classroom setting,\u201d Donahue said. \u201cI may be a dinosaur, but I know my stuff.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just me,\u201d Burke said. \u201cHe has around 100 younger people who he has had as interns or taught in some way. A lot of people working in music around town have some of his knowledge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His former interns include Graham Low, bassist for local punk act <\/span>A Giant Dog<\/span><\/a>, according to <\/span>an interview<\/span><\/a> with the band. <\/span><\/p>\n

AudioTech Austin\u2019s Yelp page has the rare distinction of earning <\/span>a perfect score<\/span><\/a> with nothing but five star reviews from his customers, many of whom were helped out in a pinch before a concert or while on tour. <\/span><\/p>\n

Courtis Roush, a member of established local act the <\/span>Bright Light Social Hour<\/span><\/a>, says he got help from Donahue during South by Southwest in 2016. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn a whim, I stopped into a brand new shop. I met Jack Donahue and became one of his first customers,\u201d he said <\/span>on Facebook<\/span><\/a>. \u201cWe’ve been taking our old Fender and Ampeg amps to him for repair ever since. He’s an electronics wizard, a wonderful dude, and has the best Boston accent in the 78704.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His business is one of the last holdouts in \u201cSlackerville,\u201d a community of business and residential dwellings on South 1st Street established in the 1990s. <\/span><\/p>\n

Profits from Donahue\u2019s shop supplements his social security income. Burke says Donahue often cuts deals for customers in his repair shop, giving discounts to the wealth of younger Austin musicians who prefer tube amplifiers to solid state models. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe probably breaks even, but he\u2019s not trying to make money,\u201d Burke said. \u201cHe just really loves helping musicians and loves sound.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Donahue\u2019s latest project is a handmade tube amplifier, meant to supply the modern living room with a honey-toned, 1960s-quality sound. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was to build an amplifier that I could listen to a benchmark song, like Led Zepplin\u2019s \u2018Stairway to Heaven,\u2019 or Pink Floyd\u2019s \u2018Dark Side of the Moon,\u2019 and hear things that I had never heard before,\u201d Donahue said. <\/span><\/p>\n

Donahue and Burke built an entire \u201clistening room\u201d in the back of his shop to show off his custom tube amplifier\u2019s capabilities. Two speakers are built into the corners of the room, pointing diagonally at ear-level to anyone sitting on the centered velvet sofa. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely more of a passion project for Jack,\u201d Burke said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am so against that corporate mentality,\u201d Donahue said. \u201cI would rather sell two of these [amplifiers] a year and have the satisfaction that I put out a good product. Something that is going to still be here after I\u2019m not.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/aLL5t2jUbPA” _builder_version=”3.6″] 
\n[\/et_pb_video][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/indoors.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]Jack Donahue sitting inside his audio repair shop, one of the last businesses operating out of the \u201cSlackerville\u201d shopping center on South First Street. Photo by Rachel Rascoe<\/span>
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/Rachel-Audiogram.mp4″ _builder_version=”3.6″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/cat-2.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]Veteran audio engineer Jack Donahue holds one of his cats, Pat, next to a workbench. (Rachel Rascoe)
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/tube-amp.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]One of audio engineer Jack Donahue\u2019s passion projects is a handmade tube amplifier for high fidelity home audio systems. Photo by Rachel Rascoe.<\/span>
\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2018\/08\/tech.jpg” align_tablet=”center” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.23″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″] The internal components of an amplifier on Jack Donahue\u2019s workbench. Photo by Rachel Rascoe<\/span>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This veteran sound engineer keeps Austin bands amplified by Rachel Rascoe Austin’s young musicians often rely on analog gear years older than themselves to amplify their sound on stage. When this vintage gear needs tube replacements or a tune-up, some musicians turn to veteran audio engineer Jack Donahue. Donahue, 65, relocated to Austin after a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"coauthors":[7],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/austin2018.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}