It is feasible that the city of Las Vegas has more Shure product per square foot than any other city in the world. How did this happen? It was not by happenstance. Shure products were first used in Las Vegas over 70 years ago…
The long-awaited premiere and tests-in-action of the Shure Brothers Incorporated Vagabond 88 wireless microphone took place recently at the Flamingo Hotel. The system responded and performed excellently during all phases of a typical nightclub production. Utilized for vocal solos within dance routines, where mic cables often foul up the action, the handheld mic is a choreographer’s dream. When used for mobile song projection, as in the case of the kinetic Smith Sisters, or for the full cast in comedy sketches by Ben Blue & Company, the Vagabond proved its value.
The mic gave crisp sharpness to all music and dialogue. Sounds go through a handheld transmitter unit into a receiver on the bandstand and thence into Macintosh amplifiers and two Altec 820 loudspeakers. Tests were conducted by Fred Jones and Jim Harford. They have installed most of the present sound systems along the Strip and predict that all seven of the plush resort hotels will be using Vagabonds before the year is out, augmenting standard mic equipment.
The Vagabond is a short range induction system with three major components – the handheld mic transmitter, the receiver located near the transmitting unit, and a receiving antenna which is usually a wire loop surrounding the area to be used. The audio signal, picked up by the receiver and fed into the sound system, is amplified further for optimum room level during shows.
The handheld unit contains one 30-volt B battery and one 1.3-volt mercury cell. It is suggested that the batteries be replaced after thirty operating hours. Signal strength of this non-licensed transmitter is limited by law. Thus, a useful operating area has been set at upwards of 5,000 square feet.
The carrier frequency is approximately 2.1 megacycles, frequency modulated, with a peak deviation of 25 kilocycles. The frequency response of the Vagabond is stated by Shure Brothers to be from 70 to 10,000 cycles per second. Professional price is $700.00, plus installation. – Down Beat magazine, May 1954
Bob Carr, Shure’s product manager for pro microphones, first made trips to Las Vegas in the 1950s, promoting the Vagabond 88 and the Unidyne II Model 55S for showroom sound systems. In the 1960s, national sales manager Roger Ponto joined Bob Carr for regular Vegas visits. They would meet with the sound engineers at each hotel, demonstrate new products, and hear about audio challenges in the Vegas main theaters, clubs, casinos, and convention spaces.
Bob and Roger laid the foundations for our success in Vegas. Two of their programs were exceptionally well-received. The first was the microphone repair clinic. Shure would rent a hotel suite for three to four days. Vegas sound engineers were invited to bring their wired Shure mics for examination, repair, or replacement. While Shure personnel triaged the mics, the engineers enjoyed food, beverage, industry gossip, and swag. Units beyond immediate repair were shipped back to the Service Department in Illinois, repaired or replaced, then returned to the Vegas engineers. The mic repair/replacement service was free of charge. In a typical four day event, 500 to 1,000 mics would be processed. This high-level of personal service made Shure quite popular in Las Vegas and kept competition at bay. If every Shure mic was in working order, there was no incentive to look at other brands.
The second program involved logo belt buckles. Hotel sound engineers who were exceptionally loyal to Shure, through purchasing, specifying, and using our products, received a die-cast belt buckle from Roger Ponto. A list was kept of those who were presented the belt buckles, while the buckle inventory was kept under lock and key at our Evanston headquarters. These buckles fast became status symbols within the Vegas sound engineering community. More than one hotel switched to Shure in order to garner a belt buckle.
In the 1970s, our Los Angeles based sales rep, Dan Levine, began visiting Vegas every four to six weeks, reinforcing the groundwork laid by Carr and Ponto. Because of Dan’s persistence and persuasion, Vegas became solidly Shure. Competitive mics were rarely seen at any hotel. During this era, we expanded the hotel sound engineer program to Reno and Lake Tahoe. Soon it seemed like the entire state of Nevada had become a subsidiary of Shure Brothers Incorporated.
When Alan Geer was named our sales rep for southern California and southern Nevada, he knew filling the shoes of the retired Dan Levine would be difficult. Alan took on the task with gusto. As Las Vegas rapidly grew, he hired Mike Cromer to focus on the hotel and casino market.
Mike provided his memories: “I started with Audio Geer as the Shure rep for Las Vegas in September 2001. Alan Geer had been handling Las Vegas and realized he would need to free up some of his time in order to run the business. I was in the right place at the right time and was fortunate to land the position. Once I had been introduced to the Vegas engineers, it was clear that Shure had a very strong presence in the convention space but had some new challenges to capture more of the live show business.
“Cirque du Soleil had become a strong force in entertainment at the larger casino properties and their shows were being opened at a rapid pace. Even properties without a Cirque show were introducing Cirque-like entertainment.
“Many Cirque shows required a lot of wireless and they took the approach of Broadway theater regarding how wireless was deployed. At the time, Sennheiser dominated the Broadway market and had a similar hold in these new Vegas shows. Fortunately, there were plenty of Shure friends that Dan Levine and Alan Geer had cultivated over the years. This left the door open for discussions about needs and workflow. A smaller wireless bodypack was one of the most obvious needs. I learned quickly that if there was an apparent need in the market, then there was a solid chance that Shure was already working on it…and of course they were.
“Shure dealers and production houses have changed quite a bit over the years. Solotech entered the U.S. market and based their business in Las Vegas. Other firms like 3g and PRG focused on touring and embraced the Shure UHF-R. As these companies grew so did their Shure requirements, and we were able to displace numerous competitive products.
“There was always a push to educate users on Wireless Workbench, a great tool. Even if a show wasn’t using all Shure wireless, they might have a handful of UHF-R and likely using Workbench. With the introduction of the Axient analog wireless and its spectrum manager we offered an option for mission critical performances. Rental houses were buying our products because artists requested Shure.
“Wireless in Las Vegas survived the reallocation of the 600 MHz/700 MHz spectrum during my tenure as a representative. Thanks to the support of Vegas wireless users and property owners we got through it. In fact, some Shure supporters from Vegas went to Washington DC to lobby for the use of the spectrum for wireless mics.
“With the assistance of factory personnel and innovative products like Axient Digital and PSM 1000, Las Vegas and its pro audio community will undoubtedly remain loyal to Shure now and in the future.”
Related information: Vagabond 88 User Guide and Installation Manual
Arcana – mysterious or specialized knowledge
In 1966, an issue of Shure SoundScope newsletter highlighted four Vegas sound engineers and the unique architectural echo/reverberation chambers located underneath some of the showrooms. Personal note: Randall (Randy) Wood of the Desert Inn, pictured below, was a true gentleman – generous, kind, intelligent, and friendly. I always enjoyed a visit with Randy.
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The Vagabond 88 wireless mic system sold for $700 in 1954. This equals $8,400 in 2025.
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Retired Shure associate Tim Vear and your author organized several of the Vegas/Reno/Lake Tahoe mic repair clinics in the 1980s/90s. Though exhausting to execute well, these clinics created an inordinate amount of goodwill with the hotel sound engineers and their employers.
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Tech Tip #588 will remind some readers of the Unisphere B Model 588 moving coil vocal mic. The first Unisphere B model, the 588SA, appeared in 1969 with a list price of $60. The last model, the 588SDX, was discontinued in 2019 with a user net price of $74. Unisphere B microphones offered excellent performance at a reasonable price.
