AUCTIONEER MAKES THE CALL
BAG END is top bid to make the sale

The insistent, staccato voice of a talented auctioneer concentrating on the close of a sale is something to behold. He uses phrasing and rhythm all his own - a kind of "Music Americana".

For any small boy growing up in rural America, going to an auction was high adventure - and the auctioneer - with his spell-binding, rapid-fire chant - was the star and ringmaster of the show, speaking a seemingly unintelligible language.

But what the small lad didn't realize was the key to success for the auctioneer was to be understood clearly. And as auctions became bigger and moved indoors, the need to be clearly understood became a bigger challenge.

One of the largest auctioneers in the world today is R.B. Ritchie Brothers of Vancouver, British Columbia. Ritchie Brothers operates more than 70 auction facilities around the world, in Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and South America, as well as in Canada and the United States.

As part of an expansion plan, Ritchie Brothers has just opened a new 100-acre auction facility in Morris, IL, about 60 miles southwest of Chicago.

Ritchie Brothers' facilities specially-designed auction facilities have some unique requirements. They specialize in reselling heavy industrial equipment, such as earth-moving equipment, tractor-trailer rigs, and dump trucks of all sizes. Because some of that equipment is extremely large, it would not fit into a conventional building.

Therefore the auction company has designed a specialized structure that is, essentially, a three-sided auditorium with a large opening on the fourth wall overlooking an out-side viewing ramp. The auditorium contains 850 stadium style seats facing the viewing ramp. The opening is approximately 120 feet wide by 25 feet high. Auctions are held throughout the year, in good weather and bad, so the auditorium is heated with overhead, radiant gas heaters and an under-floor recirculating hot water system. When the auditorium is not in use a fabric curtain is lowered over the viewing opening to protect the seating area from the elements.

A catwalk, slightly below runway level, runs across the front of the seating area where five "bid catchers" are located to en-courage and watch for bids. The auctioneer is located on an 8-foot by 0-foot raised auctioneer's booth which gives him a clear field of vision of both the audience and the bid catchers' catwalk.

Sound designer Russel L. O'Toole of Audio Electronics, LLC., of Romeoville, IL, faced several major challenges.

"The sound had to have exceptional clarity - after all, hundreds of thousands of dollars ride on some of the bids going back and fourth," O'Toole said. "And the sound equipment had to be resistant to all kinds of Midwest weather, from extremes of 100-degree heat in the summer to 20-below in the winter."

The main speaker arrays, above and at the front of the seating area, consist of 12 custom-built BAG END TA1200 weather-resistant loudspeaker systems. The weather-resistant cabinets are covered both inside and out with a special weather-resistant coating and special weather resistant grill coverings are used. In addition, the cabinets are loaded with specially coated cones and stainless steel hardware. Six TA1200s cover the front of the seating area and two arrays of three TA1200s each fill the remainder of the seating area.

"The company's design, based on some of its other facilities, called for the last row of three main speakers to be located at the back of the seating area," O'Toole said. "But we argued that the audience's attention would be more focused on the items for sale if the sound orientation was from the front of the audience, where the merchandise was located."

He was successful in persuading the company to make that change - which also provided coverage to a gallery area at the rear of the seating area - solving two problems for the client.

Because the bid catchers' catwalk is behind the main array, they are covered by four dual, sectoral horns for increased speech intelligibility. Each bid catcher is equipped with a push-to-talk Shure 515BSM announce microphone. The bid catchers' overhead speakers are muted by controlling the input channels on the Becon 65150 mixer/amp that drives the bid catchers' monitors.

In addition to main seating area, there is a merchandise display area for smaller items; that room is covered by four BAG END TA1200 loudspeaker systems flown from the corners of the room so those inspecting that equipment can stay abreast with the auction under way in the main area.

The auctioneer's booth is equipped with a Galaxy Model PA5X140 amplified Hot Spot speaker with volume control. The auctioneer uses hand-held EV N/D257 microphones.

One very important item: all auction proceedings are recorded in their entirety on a pair of Marantz tape recorders - just in case of a disagreement between the auctioneer and the buyer on the final sale price.

Bag End Loudspeakers, USA 847 382 4550     www.bagend.com