Thank you all for your contributions here:
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...s-veteran.html
Thanks to you, we're able to make this happen for a great guy. Now that the donations have come in, this thread will be used as the announcement and to follow the progress along the way. For anyone still interested in donating funds toward the installation expenses, we welcome your support. You can find the paypal address in the link above.
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Well, it is finally that time! The connections have been made, the donations have been coming in and the planning is about to begin. Without further ado, it’s time to introduce the recipient of this collective effort…
I want to tell you just a little about a new friend of mine who I was fortunate enough to meet at the North Carolina audio meet hosted by Jay and Mike. I met Dustin early on in the day and got a chance to give him a quick demo in the Mazda before it ran into issues. I would say he was one of the “lucky few” who got to hear it, but I honestly drove it down to NC without any gain structure setting and no tune and didn’t have much time to properly set it up. So perhaps I should say he was one of the “unlucky few,” haha ! After we listened for a while we headed over to Dustin’s Explorer so I could see the progress he was making on his build. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one experiencing ‘technical difficulties’ that day as he was having some issues with his system as well.
Regardless, we hooked back up around lunch time and got to talk for a while and get to know each other a bit. I found that Dustin was super passionate about the hobby and was excited to do more work in search of the great sound we’re all trying to achieve. Secondary to that however was his humble nature. Dustin has served active duty in our military forces and deals with some health issues on a daily basis as a result, but you would never know it-he doesn’t complain one bit. On the contrary, when I remarked about my desk job being insignificant in comparison to what he’s done, he deflected saying “sitting behind a desk all day is hard work. I respect what you do.”
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I respect the sacrifices he has made on our behalf, and the type of character he exhibits. To that end, I started a motion along with our own Jay Bertholomey (another military veteran btw!) to do something special for Dustin. We know he has a passion for car audio and we decided to reach out to our friends here on the forums as well as to some fantastic industry people to try to put together a great system in his vehicle- and we were NOT disappointed. The response was fantastic! It’s my pleasure to announce that several industry titans have also been touched by this effort and wanted to be a part of it.
There will be more specific details to follow, but I wanted to take a moment to offer my sincere gratitude to these individuals for their generosity. Without you, this would not have been possible.
Scott Buwalda of Hybrid Audio Technology- Thank you so much for stepping up and offering your support for this project. Scott knew that Dustin was already part of the Hybrid Audio family as he currently owns some HAT speakers. Scott is a stand-up guy who has always taken the time to assist me personally with questions. In fact, I remember back when I was first looking into purchasing some Hybrid Audio gear. It was a Christmas weekend and I sent him an email with a plethora of questions about the product and ordering expecting to hear back after the new year. Scott not only got back to me the same day within an hour, but also provided his phone number for me so we could chat. That’s just not typical service in any industry. When I asked Scott about whether he would like to be a part of this his response was “Of course, I am in!” I’m happy to say that Scott is providing some Hybrid product to make this a truly exceptional sounding vehicle. You rock Scott!
You can learn more about Hybrid Audio’s products here: Home - The Home of the World's Finest Loudspeakers, and World Championship Car Audio speaker Systems.
Jacob Fuller of Sundown Audio- Jacob responded immediately and was happy to be a part of this project. This wouldn’t be the first time I have heard of Jacob’s generosity. He is an asset to our community and his company continues to build upon its success from humble beginnings. It’s always rewarding to see truly good people succeeding at what they love to do. When I spoke with Dustin initially, I believe he made mention of getting a great deal from Jacob on the Sundown amplifiers that he already has. He remarked that he was very grateful for that gesture. Knowing this, I felt it was important to keep Dustin in the Sundown family as well with this build project. I’m very happy to report that Jacob and Sundown Audio have been kind enough to provide the additional amplification needed.
You can learn more about Sundown Audio and their products here: Welcome to Sundown
Don Sambrook of Sound Deadener Showdown- Don has been a pioneer in research and information in the design and application of vehicle acoustic treatments for quite some time. Don has always been the type of guy to take the extra time with you to help you to not only help you plan out your vehicle’s sound deadening treatment, but to also help you to learn the science behind it so that you know ‘why’. What other company can you recall that recommended LESS of their product to reach your goal? I’ve always appreciated his honest approach to business and his generosity as well. Don is well known to add ‘extras’ in your order, especially if you come out to pick things up. In addition, he’s always taken care of active duty military with discounts as well. Just a truly stand-up guy who embodies the DIY spirit and totally fits for this kind of endeavor. Don is stepping up and providing some acoustic treatment materials for Dustin’s install and we couldn’t be happier that he’s aboard. Thanks Don !
You can learn more about SDS here: Welcome to Sound Deadener Showdown | Sound Deadener Showdown
Installation guru Mark Worrell- I got the opportunity to finally meet Mark this summer and see his work close up. Not only is Mark very skilled in his craft, but he also is just a great guy. During our North Carolina meet, I was having some issues with my system and Mark took about 2 hours of time out from the fun of the day to pull out his tools and help me to trouble-shoot the problem and to teach me a little about gain structure and setup. Mark consistently puts out quality work and I’m excited to have him involved with this project. On the flip side, he was excited as well to offer his services to help take all of these great donations and put his magic touch on it to make a beautiful end result. Thank you Mark, you’re the man!!
If you’re in the North Carolina area and looking for a quality, skilled installer- look no further. Mark Worrell is your man. For those who haven’t seen his work, here is a very small sampling from some of our own members:
Jay’s BRZ: 2013 Subaru BRZ Build Log
Deadpool’s BRZ: Deadpool's 2013 Subaru BRZ - Simple SQ
In addition to these folks, I want to extend a personal thank you to the following fine gentlemen who have donated in the form of paypal contributions and/or parts & supplies toward the installation. Thank you all for your generosity and for helping to make this thing happen. You guys are awesome!
Al (BigAl)
Matt (El Chupo)
Dennis (OSN)
Erin (Bikinpunk)
(ca90ss)
Mike C (69Voltage)
Jason H (ImJustJason)
Ben R (Benny)
Tim B
Kevin (Hic)
Jason (Bertholomey)
In addition, a very special thank you to my cohort for this project, Jay Bertholomey. Jay embodies everything good about this hobby. He is one of the most kind and generous people I have met and his passion for the hobby is constantly leading him toward that extra “n-th” of performance from his system. Jay does all of the little things behind the scenes that rarely get mention, without asking for anything in return. Whether that’s lending drivers out, making demo discs up for meets or simply the surprise package in the mail with some goodies he wanted to share. He’s just a hell of a guy and I’m proud to call him a friend.
We are going to work on hammering out the logistics and time schedule for this soon. When we do the build, we plan to take plenty of great pictures to share with you guys. We hope you’ll continue to follow along!
-Steve