TALKING TRASH

I would like to clarify my comment “garbage in, garbage out” regarding the Hollywood Bowl sound system (“The Secret Is in the Shrubbery,” by Mark Swed, Aug. 10).

The term is audio slang for “what goes in, comes out.” Any audio system’s output is only as good as the input source. This applies to your home stereo, the local movie theater or a large venue like the Bowl. Examples range from the extreme--for instance, a damaged microphone cable emitting an intermittent loud crackle--to the subtle, such as a too-bright timbre when a microphone is incompatible with a particular musician’s instrument.

Thus my comment was simply shorthand for these types of problems and not a judgment on any musician’s performance. I feel fortunate to work with the members of the L.A. Philharmonic and all the other fine musicians who grace the stage of the Bowl.

JOSEPH MAGEE

Magee Audio Engineering

Westlake Village