by Chris Foreman
Stan Miller founded Stanal Sound in the early 1970s and became one of touring sound’s best known and most influential audio engineers and business owners. Stanal Sound provided concert sound for a long list of well-known artists including Neil Diamond, Johnny Cash, John Denver, The Supremes, the Young Americans and many others. Starting his company in the early days of the industry, Stan pioneered tour sound innovations including hanging systems, fiberglass-covered loudspeaker cabinets and molded fiberglass horns and he was influential in the development of Yamaha’s PM Series mixing consoles, JBL’s Concert Series and Vertec line arrays and many other tour sound products. He led the artistry of tour sound with surround sound at the Greek Theater and he worked with recording artists like Wally Heider on live recordings such as Neil Diamond’s “Hot August Night.”
Like many other audio industry professionals, I credit my years working with Stan as the launching pad for my career in professional audio and, recently, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with him to review the history of Stanal Sound, the many technical developments Stan pioneered and why, in his “retirement”, he continues to work with Neil Diamond on upcoming tours.
Our conversation took place at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California in January of 2015. We’ve converted it into a podcast and divided it into three sections, each from 9 to 12 minutes in length. I hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as I enjoyed the conversation itself.
Here are links to the podcasts and we’ve also posted a profile of Stan Miller from Live Sound Magazine, June, 2011 here.
Stan Miller at NAMM 2015 – Part 1 of 3 [sc_embed_player fileurl=”https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/podcasts.proaudioencyclopedia.com/Stan+Miller+Interview+at+NAMM+2015+-+Part+1+of+3.mp3″]
Stan Miller at NAMM 2015 – Part 2 of 3 [sc_embed_player fileurl=”https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/podcasts.proaudioencyclopedia.com/Stan+Miller+Interview+at+NAMM+2015+-+Part+2+of+3.mp3″]
Stan Miller at NAMM 2015 – Part 3 of 3 [sc_embed_player fileurl=”https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/podcasts.proaudioencyclopedia.com/Stan+Miller+Interview+at+NAMM+2015+-+Part+3+of+3.mp3″]
While you listen, you may also enjoy these photos, provided by Stan, that illustrate some high points in his career.
Young Americans Japan Tour – May, 1969
Stan Miller and Neil Diamond, Early 1970s
Stan Miller and Johnny Cash – Early 1970s
Altec Lansing Stacked System with Multicell Horns and 211 Bins
Early Hanging System – Known as the “Flying Junk Yard”
Hanging System with JBL Concert Series Loudspeakers
Stan at the Mixing Console – Recent Neil Diamond Tour
Editors Note: A profile of Stan Miller, as published in Live Sound Magazine, can be found here.
