The revolutionary Sound Lab gallery appeals to all levels of musicianship and to a variety of learning styles. There are unique interactive activities that range from learning how to play simple songs on the guitar to singing in front of thousands of screaming fans in a virtual stage performance. Sound Lab immerses visitors in an interactive environment that encourages them to become critical listeners and collaborators.

Allan Loucks, part of core team that innovated the original Sound-Lab:

• Designed and developed the intelligent real-time robotics, synchronization, audio-playback-engine, audio signal-processing, MIDI networking and processing & control, RS232 & RS485 serial communication and control, adaptive control, lighting control, networking, A/V control and monitoring, automated CD recording, DSP, and display functions.
• Created the intelligent software and hardware connections to the user-interfaces.
• Reverse-engineered many proprietary serial and timecode communication protocols for control, monitoring, and synchronization of specialized audio equipment that was used throughout SoundLab.

On Stage is a real time live concert experience comprised of several interactive musical instruments, lighting effects, and multiple channels of audio and video within a theatrical design. The visitors can form bands, and are transported to the center stage of a large arena, complete with hot lights, smoke, and screaming fans. Visitors can sing and play drums, guitars and keyboards in front of a virtual audience, even if they have never played an instrument before. They also find out what’s involved in getting ready for a big arena show - from the equipment load-in to the moment the music starts. The instruments have been programmed so that even the novice player can play, though the assistance is optional so that experts can show off their chops as well. Visitors can take away rock posters and/or videos of their performance, complete with their band names and performance dates. Visitors outside can watch these performances live over closed-circuit TV.

Allan Loucks, part of core team that innovated the original On-Stage:

• Created and designed the intelligent real-time Audio/Video capture and signal processing, synchronization, audio-playback-engine, DSP, robotics, MIDI networking and control & processing, lighting, RS232 & RS485 serial communication and control, networking, adaptive control, and A/V control and monitoring and display functions.
• Developed the intelligent software and hardware connections to the user-interfaces.
• Created a custom CAD-style software environment for designing the automated light show offline and loading the data to the system.
• Invented, created, and programmed the entire guitar/keyboard pitch-correction system.