High Pass Productions

07/29/2025

Just got off the phone with the Fredericton Police Department. They arrested the guy who broke into my workshop.

And they found my gear.

Or, at least, they found some of my gear. I sent over an itemized list and they'll be getting back to me later this week.

Once I get a full accounting of what's been recovered vs what's still outstanding, I'll post an update with details.

WE ARE SO BACK

07/27/2025

Thanks to Celtic Flavour for the excellent performance last night!

07/27/2025

Mixing for the incredible duo Daniel Robb and Martin Boucher this evening!

07/21/2025

A few days after my stuff was stolen, I had a chat with my family about what to do next.

We decided that letting the police do their job and try to track down the thief was the first step. Spending money replacing the stolen gear seemed like a waste of we could recover what was lost.

Unfortunately, it has been nearly two months with no progress. The police have identified the thief, but they tell me he is almost certainly homeless and a "person of substance", so to speak. They haven't even arrested him yet.

In short: I'm not getting my stuff back.

Some friends and family put together a Go Fund Me about a month ago, but I requested it be kept private until we heard back from the police about the state of the investigation.

I was planning on leaving it at that, but over the weekend I had the privilege of volunteering my time and equipment to help bring a small festival to life. The festival was a fundraising event to help a local musician who had been badly injured.

The experience made me realise that needing help isn't such a bad thing. So, at this point, with the recovery of my equipment having been essentially ruled out, I'm swallowing my pride and opening up the tip jar.

As always, I am immensely grateful to the music community here in New Brunswick for the support I've received over the past two months. I am asking once more for your support in sharing this campaign so that it reaches as many people as possible.

Thank you all so much. Don't forget that High Pass Productions is still open for business, so feel free to reach out if there's anything I can do to help your band, event, or venue succeed.

On the morning of June 1st, 2025, Ben's workshop — the storage spac… Jean Cook needs your support for Lost Gear, Not hope: Support a Local Production Business

07/19/2025

Come on down to Speedway 660 to support Steve Waylon's recovery!

06/23/2025

After a quick trip to Tony's Music Box Ltd., I'm delighted to show off the first addition to my new microphone collection.

With these three v7s comfortably on the shelf, High Pass Productions is open once more.

Thank you all so much for your support over the past month.

06/18/2025

I am very happy to announce that the closure of High Pass Productions will be TEMPORARY!

This will be a long post, so strap in.

Ever since I shared the news of the break-in and theft of my equipment, I have received a staggering amount of support from friends, family, and the community. I had no idea how many people were rooting for me and my business, and I appreciate all of you.

I have had so many people reach out with words of encouragement and offers of support. For example, I've had:

- Offers to distribute the list of stolen goods to pawn shops across the province.
- Offers to lend me equipment if something I need for a gig had been stolen.
- Offers to arrange fundraising events for me.

The fine individuals at Long & McQuade were kind enough to go through my order history and get me a list of serial numbers for some of the gear that was stolen. Additionally, I had an order for about $3,000 in speakers from them that they were willing to cancel due to me no longer being able to use them.

One individual even offered to have some friends pay the thief a visit in case we found out who he was. Pretty sure that's illegal but I love the spirit! I've interacted with the police enough over the past couple of weeks -- please don't do anything that will cause them to come see me again!

Jokes aside, I could never fully express how privileged I am to be surrounded by such generous and caring people.

Finally, there have been offers of money. Each time, I have declined. My reasoning is simple: I don't want other people to pay for what is, essentially, a hobby.

The $15,000 or so I've spent over the years was an investment I could afford to make once. Throwing another $5,000 or so to cover the loss I've sustained would certainly not be a financially sound decision. I don't want the burden of that decision to sit on anyone but me.

The truth is that High Pass Productions has never been profitable. I have invested a substantial amount of money (and time) into this business because it's what I love to do. I love music, I love playing with expensive toys, and I love the stress of engineering solutions to problems and getting to watch those solutions in action. While I get paid for my services, I have always tried to charge what I feel is reasonable for the client, instead of what would be profitable for me -- and I'm okay with that! The goal was never to make money.

It seems my protests were ignored, as I received a call last week informing me that $500 had been placed into an account for me at Tony's Music Box Ltd. by a member of the local music community. This act of generosity came with three conditions:

First: the donor remain anonymous. Fair enough.
Second: I use the money to purchase whatever was immediately necessary to accept a job if someone calls.
Third: High Pass Productions must remain open.

I am pleased to report that a collection of microphones are on the way. These microphones, together with what equipment I have left over (and a few rentals from Long & McQuade) will allow me to run small shows while I slowly replace the rest of my lost equipment.

To the anonymous donor, who I know will read this post: Thank you. Your generosity has encouraged me to continue doing what I love. I'd be happy to mix a show for you any day.

Thank you all so much for your continued support. I will post updates as things develop.

06/02/2025

Early in the morning on June 1st 2025, my workshop was broken into.

Most of my microphones were taken, as well as a number of DI boxes, wireless systems, and other accessories. The thief broke in, filled my transport bags with equipment from the shelves, and left -- making multiple trips, no less.

The police have been given security footage which clearly shows the individuals face as well as a number of identifying marks. However, it is not likely that the stolen equipment will ever be returned, even if the thief is caught.

In total, $5,500 in equipment was stolen.

Unfortunately this is not a recoverable loss. High Pass Productions is closed indefinitely as of today.

I will be posting more details including photographs of the suspect and the police file number when they are made available to me, in case anyone has information that might lead to the arrest of the thief.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this business during my brief time working in Fredericton.

03/11/2025

The other half of our wired IEM system is the "extender".

When you need in-ear monitoring but don't have outputs from your mixer nearby, the extender unit allows you to run a stereo monitor mix over a single balanced cable.

The base unit is connected to the mixer or stage box with two cables, each carrying a balanced signal (left and right). A five-pin XLR cable can then be run from the base unit to the extender, carriying those two signals on a single cable. With five conductors, the signals remain balanced, which means even long cable runs have excellent noise rejection.

The extender takes these two balanced signals and unbalances them, just like the base unit, ans sends this unbalanced stereo signal over a simple microphone cable to the performer's beltpack.

Half the number of cables, but all the benefits of balanced signals and a tiny footprint on stage.

03/10/2025

Made in Canada? Yes please!

We recently acquired a pair of Yorkville PS10P speakers. Light, loud, built like tanks, and 100% made in Canada by the Yorkville team in Toronto.

Elbows up!

02/26/2025

Recording a few fiddle tunes with Celtic Flavour this morning, featuring Martin's new guitar. Exciting stuff happening!

02/22/2025

Come see Celtic Flavour tonight at 9pm at the Capital Winter Club !