Before adding the Starlight Classics show to a CV that already includes SA Idols, the South African Music Awards and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South African FOH engineer Marius Marais expanded his inventory of equipment, adding a Studer Vista 5 SR, a Soundcraft Vi1 and an Si Compact (with optical card).

‘When the Vista 5 SR first arrived in South Africa Wild & Marr (the Harman Professional South African distributor) contacted me, knowing that the console would fit right in with the jobs I needed to do,’ Marais says. ‘It was a no-brainer. After that I added the Vi1 and Si Compact 32 to my inventory.’

The new Soundcraft and Studer consoles are a good fit with Marais’ production work and audio philosopy: ‘An orchestra plays as one unit, so if you have a good microphone, preamp and PA system, you should not have to change the sound with lots of EQ,’ he says. ‘That’s what the Soundcraft and Studer consoles give me – warm uncoloured sound. The Vistonics on the Vista and the preamps are, in my opinion, what makes the console unique.’

Marais began his relationship with Soundcraft at the launch of the Spirit Live 4, when the Freestate Performing Arts Council bought one to use on a township outreach arts programme. When he joined audio rental company Sound Stylists in 1997, he worked on a Soundcraft SM12 (‘still one of my favourite analogue consoles’) and later a Soundcraft Series 5 and Series 5M. ‘They were groundbreaking consoles, especially the 5M,’ he says. ‘The one thing that has always stood out about the Soundcraft products for me was how easy they are to operate. They are quick, functional and very well laid out.’

Marais joined Matrix Sound – the first South African company to invest in a Soundcraft Vi6 – in 2004: ‘I fell in love with the Vi6 on the first gig,’ he recalls. ‘The preamps were what first drew my attention – the features are unparalleled. From there it was my desk of choice for all the shows that required a large-format console.’

By 2009, Marais had formed his own company, Audio Logic, with Wild & Marr providing an Si3 which he used as a sidecar alongside the Vi6 for big orchestra shows. The Afrikaans music production, Skouspel (Spectacular) included a 64-piece orchestra, a six-piece rhythm section, a guest band of various sizes and huge numbers of vocalists.

‘That was the main reason for acquiring the Vista 5 SR,’ Marais says. ‘With a correctly set-up PA, the desks sound just amazing. With a Vi6 as a submix for the orchestra, I used a total of 184 channels on the Studer. With the snapshot and cue function, even a large-scale production like this was not as difficult as it used to be. The open platform provides the perfect environment to design and execute any size of production.

‘With the brilliant service I receive from Wild & Marr, I can only see a growing relationship,’ he addds. ‘As far as my clients are concerned, they just want good audio, and with the right tools, half the job is done.’

More: www.audiologic.co.za
More: www.wildandmarr.co.za
More: www.soundcraft.com
More: www.studer.ch