Clifford A Henricksen

Clifford A Henricksen

Cliff Henricksen is a musician and musical-arts inventor and technologist. Self-taught as a musician and educated at MIT in Mechanical Engineering, he taught himself how to apply engineering basics to electroacoustics and a technologies for the musical entertainment fields. He has invented and engineered a wide variety of technologies and products well-known in the professional audio businesses and today maintains a steady balance between work in audio and work as a musical artist.

He was born in Kew Gardens on Long Island (NY) on 12 July, 1943, son of Norwegian immigrant Birger (“Bill”) and Alice (nee Totland) Henricksen. They lived in Elmont Long Island NY until Cliff left home to attend college and find his way in the world. Formerly first engineer on ocean-going ships for the Moore McCormack Company, Bill established a day job working as a land-based mechanic and welder so he could have a better home-life. He was also an accomplished musician, playing accordion, drums and fiddle. Bill later became both a well- known square dance caller, using a live-musician country band called “the Ranch Boys”, played drums in night club combo gigs and had his own “society orchestra” that played fancy events in places like New York City’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. His facility with things mechanical, love of music and fascination with musical technological was probably the most important single influence in Cliff’s formative years. Microphones, PA systems, home hifi systems and tape recorders were a constant and ever-changing part of the Henricksen household. This exposure became a permanent part of Cliff’s technical and artistic influences. By the time he got to graduate school at MIT, Cliff was playing regularly with a Boston-based cover band and still was able to make 8am lectures in Engineering. He also met his future wife, then Bonnie Zimmermann, and started a family that today numbers 9 siblings (5 males, 4 females). Today Cliff and Bonnie live in Framingham, their children living in a variety of American cities.

Cliff began his career in pro audio by starting a research group at Altec Lansing in Anaheim CA in 1968. As a natural course of this work, he met and befriended Bill Putnam and Allen Sides, both becoming important inspirations for achieving a balance between audio aesthetics and engineering excellence, through Bill via work in and around the UREI Time Align studio monitor loudspeaker and through Allen via his evolving Ocean Way studio business, then in a garage in Santa Monica. Allen was a fundamental and profound influence in showing Cliff how to listen diagnostically to all kinds of audio qualities of speakers, microphones and electronics. The importance of “aesthetics first” has since then been a guiding principle of all of his work. Because of this code of work, Cliff is one of the few audio professionals able to voice major arena sound systems by ear and to develop L1 and T1 “Tone Match” presets for Bose Corporation strictly by listening.

After a long career working for a variety of well-known US audio companies, Cliff is now owner/operator of Cliff Innovations LLC, working on microphones, sound system technologies and other inventions for the musical arts. Cliff is also, to this day, a very active performing and

Background, Experience and Code of Work

Cliff Henricksen is a life-long musician and musical-arts technologist. He is especially aware of the importance of the musical arts and their benefits to the human race. As an experienced player and composer, he knows this from a true artist’s perspective. And as an MIT-educated scientist and engineer he has worked long and hard to become a prolific inventor and innovator in the professional audio and musical sound businesses.

Cliff is presently owner of Cliff Innovations LLC in Framingham Massachusetts, where he is developing new electroacoustic technologies and is in the process of bringing a new, advanced ribbon microphone to market, for use in recording and broadcasting.

He has held key senior technical positions at Altec Lansing (Anaheim CA), Community Professional Systems, Electro-Voice, US Sound and Bose Corporation, where he has invented and developed key, breakthrough technologies and products that have advanced and inspired the art of live music and professional/engineered sound for over 40 years. In doing so, this has led to enhanced market presence and increased business for his employers.

He was co-owner of US Sound, a “supercontractor” with a patented and proprietary sound system components and overall system concept of his creation. It was called “Coherent Zone Technology”. Engineered systems were installed, first, in the OMNI Arena (Atlanta) and later at Madison Square Garden and used for many years for normal MSG events of all kinds. A road system was developed for The Judds and for solo shows of Wynonna Judd, mixed by house engineer John Cooper, and for Bruce Springsteen in collaboration with Audio Analysts of Colorado Springs. US Sound was sold at its prime to Bose Corporation where its product line (renamed “Panaray LT”) still is the mainstay of Bose’s large-venue engineered sound business.

Cliff’s US patents include 7,936,891 B2, 3,991,286, 4,050,541, 4,187,926, 4,130,023, 4,811,403, 7,260,235 , 7, 319,767, D 249,509 and UK 1,514,007.

Cliff is widely-published via well-known and respected technical papers, magazine articles and books.

Cliff was honored as a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society, appointed a Kentucky Colonel (by the Governor of Kentucky for his contributions to the amplified musical arts) and included in the Electronic Musician’s “Hall of Fame” for his basic invention of the Bose L1 line array for live performance.

Education

• BSME Union College, Schenectady NY
• MSME Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Massachusetts

Professional Appointments

• Principal, Cliff Innovations, Framingham MA 2009-present
• Senior Engineer, Bose Corporation, Framingham MA, 1993-2009
• VP of Engineering/Co-owner, US Sound, Ship Bottom NJ 1987-1993
• Senior Engineer/Manager of Transducer Group, Electro-Voice, Buchanan MI, 1983-1987
• VP of Engineering, Community Professional Systems, Chester PA, 1980-1983
• Manager of Acoustics Research, Altec Lansing Professional, Anaheim CA, 1974-1980

Professional Milestones (chronologically)

Bose Corporation “Room Match” engineered sound system: Many in-development/patents-pending (confidential). Co-inventor of the basic electroacoustic technology and means of creating flexible, scalable sound systems using parametric n/c machining and related business-system techniques and unique assembly methods.

Bose Corporation L1® family: Builder/first-live-music-user of first L1 prototypes and inventor of core L1 technologies and methodology , collaborating with Ken Jacob of Bose. Creator of and naming of “Tone Match” instrument/delivery system integration used on all L1 and T1 products, creator of most “ToneMatch” voicing filters by ear, often in collaboration with major instrument makers and microphone manufacturers. Creator of a large volume of support copy, used in advertising of all kinds. Responsible for engineering development and personal use of the first prototype systems. (This overall concept is changing the entire culture of live amplified music.) Held keyboard/vocal chair for the duration of the “Linemen” L1-demo band, this band actually being built around the L1 with local “A-list” players. Many concerts stunned audiences with both superb musicianship, arrangements and sound quality in the US, Canada and Europe. Countless concerts were performed in Bose Corporation’s own auditorium and live-music theater, where Cliff also performed solo during these shows, playing piano and singing, often performing his own well-received compositions.

Bose Corporation MA12 and MB4: Early spin-offs of the L1 program, before it became such. These components are still mainstays of the engineered sound product line.

Bose Corporation Panaray LT family: Design of core arraying loudspeaker family for high-end large-venue sound including invention and engineering of “V4” manifolded midrange driver.

Bose Corporation sound system for the Holy Mosque, Mecca : Designed a unique horn-waveguide system for this acoustically-challenging, aesthetically-demanding all-marble facility.

Bose Corporation arena sound systems (GM Place/Vancouver BC, Staples Arena/LA, Air Canada Center/Toronto): Internal design consultant and final in-situ system voicing/commissioning by ear.

Universal Islands of Adventure, Orlando (for Bose) : Inspired dock-piling-themed line array systems and voiced all sound zones by ear, with Bruce Myers, on startup of this facility.

Fender Musical Instruments Passport PD150 and PD250 systems: Basic electroacoustic concept invention and development of first working prototypes (Part of a Bose/Fender collaboration)

Audio Analysts/Bruce Springsteen Systems - Collaboration with co-owner Albert Leccesse on a very high acoustic output, exceptionally clear monitor speaker for the artist, based on the US Sound CZ44 (now Bose LT4402). Also, design and use of a wide-angle end cluster for shows at the unusually-long Wembley Arena in the UK.

US Sound Coherent Zone Loudspeaker family: Invention, component and system design, production engineering, tech support.

US Sound Arena Sound Systems (The OMNI/Atlanta, Madison Square Garden/NYC): System concept, design (first “exploded-cluster” arena system in America), installation engineering and supervision, final system voicing by ear. Systems sold directly to the arenas.

US Sound Touring Sound System/The Judds/Wynonna Judd : First “Coherent Zone” sound system design including first high-directivity mid/high, 18” bass system and very low-profile stage monitor for improved visual qualities.

Electro Voice MT™ Manifold Technology sound reinforcement system: Basic research and invention leading to this breakthrough, multiple manifolded-driver product design. This work and product concept may well have inspired a lot of new ideas (throughout the industry) in systems concepts and designs.

Electro Voice HP horns, DL woofer family, DH1 compression driver: Engineering management of the team to produce these component series, contributed many innovations.

Community M4™ midrange driver: Developed basic equations of operation including the phaseplug and motor design, co-developed the product, authored several technical and tech/marketing papers and articles.

Altec Lansing Manta Ray Horn family: Invention, patenting, co-development and design of large- and small-format horns for various coverage patterns and uses, including consumer hifi.

Altec Lansing Tangerine Phase plug family : Invention, patenting, design, prototype building and production engineering of 3 phaseplugs for 2.83”, 1.75” and 1.75” piezo-driven diaphragms (“LZT” driver for consumer systems). Developed original equations of operation and co-authored patent and technical articles. Also gave it the name, earning a distinct market awareness and “buzz”.

Altec Lansing Auto-Q automatic directivity measurement technology : Inventor, patented.

Altec Lansing Voice of the Highway system for automotive sound systems: Gave it the name, base on the iconic “Voice of the Theater”.

Patents

Clifford A. Henricksen

1. US Patent 7,936,891 B2 (Bose L1 Model2 “articulated array”)
2. US Patent 7,260,235 (Line electroacoustical transducing Bose L1 line array for live music)
3. US Patent 7,319,767 (Line array electroacoustical transducing Overall mechanical arrangement of Bose L1 model 1)
4. US Patent D249,509 (Acoustical transformer for coupling sound waves from the diaphragm to the throat of a horn-type loudspeaker )
5. US Patent 3,991,286 (Heat dissipating device for loudspeaker voice coil )
6. US Patent 4,050,541 (Acoustical transformer for horn-type loudspeaker Altec "Tangerine " phase plug)
7. US Patent 4,187,926 (Loudspeaker horn Altec “Manta-Ray” diffraction-slot constant-directivity horn)
8. US Patent 4,130,023 (Method and apparatus for testing and evaluating loudspeaker performance Auto-Q directivity measurement method) discussed in above paper
9. US Patent 4,811,403 (Ultralight loudspeaker enclosures US Sound/Bose Corporation lightweight loudspeaker systems construction method) 3/7/89
10. Other patents pending

Technical Publications

Clifford A. Henricksen

1. "Loudspeakers Enclosures and Headphones", Handbook for Sound Engineers-The New Audio Cyclopedia, Howard W. Sams Co. 1987
2. "Sound Reinforcement in the Year 2000"
   • a) Invited paper, presented at the 6th International Audio Engineering Society (AES) Conference on Sound Reinforcement, May 5-8, Nashville TN, Proceedings published March 1989
   • b) Presented at the Altec Lansing All-Technical Engineered Sound Conference October 16-17 1988 , Montreal Quebec Canada (Invited paper)
3. "Heat Transfer Mechanisms in Loudspeakers; Analysis Measurement and Design" Journal of the AES, vol 35, no.10, October 1987
4. "Directivity Response of Single Direct-Radiator Loudspeakers in Enclosures" Altec Technical Letter 227
5. "Phase Plug Modelling and Analysis: Circumferential Versus Radial Types" Presented at the 59th Convention of the AES,Hamburg, Germany, March 1978, AES preprint 1328(F5)
6. "The Manta-Ray Horns" (co-authored with Mark Ureda), Journal of the AES, vol 26 no. 9, September 1978
7. "Auto Q: A New Directivity Measurement System" Presented at 60th AES Convention, May 1978, Los Angeles, AES preprint 1360(F6)
8. "Vented Box Design Method for Altec Low-Frequency Loudspeakers" Altec Technical Letter 245
9. "Ultimate Performance of Wide-Range High Frequency Compression Drivers" Journal of the AES vol 24, No 8, October 1976
10. "Engineering Justifications for Selected Portions of the AES Recommended Practice for Specification of Loudspeaker Components" Presented as the 72nd Convention, October 1982, Anaheim CA, AES reprint 32(G10)
11. "Sound System Design Using Mechanical Specifications of Drivers" Syn-Aud-Con Tech Topics vol 11 No.2
12. "A High-Efficiency One-Decade Midrange Loudspeaker" (co-author with Bruce Howze) Paper on the Community M4 driver-Presented at the 70th convention, New York , October 1981, AES preprint 1848(D8)

Magazine Publications

1. "State-of-the-Art Specs,Finally!" Sound and Video Contractor, September 1984
2. "Low-Frequency Driver Performance" Sound and Video Contractor, June 1986
3. "Unearthing the Mysteries of the Leslie Cabinet" Recording Engineer/Producer, April 1981
4. "Designing a Conical Bass-Horn Control Room" Recording Engineer/Producer, March 1987
5. Guest Editorial-"No Sweat, No Music-A Player Laments the Spread of Computer Dependency" Keyboard Magazine, August 1985
6. "Jammin' in the Rockies- rediscovery of the Ancient Roller Playground" Skateboard Magazine , October 1976
7. Book Review of "Loudspeakers" edited by John Borwick, Sound and Communications Magazine, March 1989.

Books

• Henricksen, Clifford A. (July 2010). The Gasoline Chronicles (1st ed.). Boston, MA.: Lulu (company). ISBN 9780557541027.
• Henricksen, Clifford A. (September 2011). A Church of One (2nd ed.). Boston, MA.: Lulu (company). ISBN 9781257706556.

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