A soundboard is the heart of a radio station’s system. Sure, it may be the personality, confidence and passion of the disc jockey that captures the listener’s attention, but even the best hosts don’t get far when no one can hear them.

It was senior communication major Matthew Zimmer’s second day as WSU student radio station KUGR general manager when one of the station DJs came to him last April and said the soundboard was acting up.

“The lights and inputs were dancing all over the place while we were on-air,” Zimmer said. “It was like a nightmare. We even took a video of it; it was like the soundboard was possessed.”

Zimmer said it was like the perfect storm, and the board had completely died.

“I think at that point all it was doing was sending out static,” said Neil Roberts, KUGR fundraising director. “We were forced to cancel all shows for the remainder of the semester, which really sucked.”

Other than recorded podcasts, there was essentially no way for the station to broadcast its shows, Zimmer said. The soundboard KUGR had been using was a hand-me-down and lasted about seven years. The board had been buggy for the last year and they knew it was going to be tough to keep the station going if they didn’t have the money to replace it, he said.

After fundraising in an attempt to replace the board on their own, the station received the funding it needed through Students & Activities fees to replace it. In the big picture, the station was given the ability to continue to exist.

The new board was built over the summer in Murrow Studio B and, before the beginning of the school year, Zimmer and some of his staff got the chance to come in and test it, he said.

“The quality of our new soundboard is so, so much nicer,” Roberts said, “and it’s much better for the DJs who want to use recordings of their shows for a future job. The old board was really affecting their ability to do that.”

Zimmer said the sound was so pure that when someone tore a piece of paper into the mic in the studio, hearing it through the speaker sounded like it was in the same room.

“The beauty of it is that everything we need to run the station works,” Zimmer said. “Every challenge that we’ve encountered since, I just think, ‘at least the board works!’”

KUGR is looking to stretch its new wings and wants to encourage students of all kinds to get the chance to experience student radio, Zimmer said. Some DJ time slots are still available for those interested in having their own show.

“If you fit into an open slot, go for it. We want people to be involved,” Zimmer said. “Even if you’re not (a communication major), come join us.”

Both Zimmer and Roberts said they are firm believers of the positive impact that student radio has on WSU students and the Pullman community.

“Student radio is a lot of fun,” Roberts said. “It’s the best opportunity to get live, on-air experience.”

As a senior, Zimmer said he hopes to come back and see KUGR radio thriving. He said he hopes the investments he and the rest of the student staff have put in to make the station succeed will help get it off the ground and running.

“We have what it takes, and we know what we want to do,” Zimmer said. “We want to get back to the community, get back on the airwaves and get people listening.”

Although KUGR doesn’t have an FM broadcast yet, listeners can tune in to the radio stream from KUGR.org.

For more information on the station, contact Zimmer at [email protected].

Reporting by Katherine Lipp