RIP Dave Hill....I'm Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and in our culture the Crane is one of our leaders. The Crane Clan is defined as this: "The crane stands in the water observing the world above the water line. Because the crane observes the outside world the Crane clan is known as the Outside Chief. The outside chief is responsible for negotiating with people from other communities." From what I know of Dave (from what I read about him....and using his Cranesong gear), he was certainly a leader in more than just audio....and it has been said that he was certainly very open and welcoming to others at not only trade shows but also to ideas to improve his products and audio in general....I wish I had met the man in person but am thankful I found his great Cranesong products....my thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends....my condolences to all....and in honour of the man I would like to share a painting I did some time ago....of a Great Blue Heron (part of the Crane family) and a photo of a heron taking flight (as Dave's gear has allowed many of us to):

 

 

Studio Jiimaan wrote:

RIP Dave Hill....I'm Anishinaabe (Ojibway) and in our culture the Crane is one of our leaders. The Crane Clan is defined as this: "The crane stands in the water observing the world above the water http://essaypapers…

Thank you for the topic!

Thanks for sharing some cultural stuff there, Jiimaan. Very cool. Dave Hill was one of the great ones for sure. I used the STC-8 for years. Very smooth compressor. Had an email from Dave long time ago. He posted a few times here way back in our early days as well. He will be missed indeed.

Dave Hill of CraneSong shares his journey in pro audio at Winter Namm 2020

very cool

I got a shock - then discovered this isn't the UK Dave Hill, crazy guitarist with Slade - the 70s UK pop band.

Dave Hill was a seriously great electronics genius. We have a Cranesong Hedd (early version) that we play all the playback through as well as have it on the patchbay for the grand piano tracks. RIP Mr. Hill

 

Dave Hill was one of my great idols.  When I got my first cranesong unit, the first thing I did was take it apart.   I remember my initial confusion looking at the massive oversized PCB.  I spent a great deal of time studying his work, and learned so much from just trying to understand what he had done.  When I spoke to him he was very open about his design and taught me a few things about proper design. 

 

He was doing something that really admire, he building his units to sound good, and not worrying about the cost point until he got the sound right.  He was not afraid to use common parts if they sounded good.  I was amazed to find a LM3886 as the main headphone amplifier in the early version of the Avocet. But it sounded great the way he implemented it.  He was quite open to discuss his design, which for me was an amazing chance to think at higher level, even if it was only for a moment.