From loading up a Ford E350 van with a Soundcraft Series 1S mixing console, JBL horn-loaded speaker system and Crown DC-300 and DC-150 amplifiers in the mid 1970s, Soundworks of Virginia has become a full-service live production company with more than US$1m of equipment that’s used for events including multi-day festivals that attract more than 200,000 spectators. Most recently, the Richmond-based production company invested in two.Soundcraft Vi5000 consoles to replace its Vi4 consoles.

While much has changed since Soundworks was founded, its loyalty to Soundcraft has endured: ‘We appreciate the sound quality of the Soundcraft Vi systems,’ says company President, Steve Payne. ‘It’s especially pleasing when a guest engineer turns around with a big grin and says, this thing sounds great…’

Prior to purchasing the Vi5000 consoles, Soundworks had much success using the Vi4 consoles at hundreds of events pver the last four years. One such event was a large outdoor show in 2015 with the Richmond Symphony, where the symphony’s mix engineer was so impressed with the Vi4 console that Soundworks was subsequently hired to provide audio support for all of the Symphony’s 2016 outdoor concerts.

‘Almost without exception, guest engineers who are new to the Vi series are thrilled with the console,’ reports Soundworks VP and Senior Engineer, Grant Howard. ‘They’re extremely pleased with its easy interface and exceptional sound quality. We continue to appreciate the ease of setup on gigs that have short changeover times. There is no burrowing down into menus with the Vi operating system. Every feature is readily accessible and very quick to access.’

According to Payne, when the Vi5000 consoles were introduced, he and his team knew it was a must-have upgrade. They particularly appreciate the Vi5000’s startup time of less than 30 seconds, enhanced Vistonics screen graphics, 128 inputs/32 stereo outputs and more powerful user-definable keys. Payne was especially happy to see the digital implementation of the classic BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ adding to the channel processing.

‘I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see the 901 multiband compressor included in the latest software for the Vi,’ Payne says. ‘For the longest time, I have been half-jokingly saying to Soundcraft, “Come on guys, you own BSS. It would be a no-brainer to put a 901 into the Vi”. Well, they actually did it, and it rocks. What a great audio tool to have at your fingertips.

‘The Vi Series consoles are one of the few digital desks that stand alone as a total mixing package. The Vi’s have powerful, no-compromise audio tools built in. It’s all there,’ he adds. ‘When Soundcraft added plug-in tools, they did something exceptional. The UAD plug-ins running on the Realtime Rack hits it out of the park. The UAD plug-ins are the pinnacle of classic analogue signal processing emulation. The Realtime Rack integrates seamlessly with the Vi surface and operating system.’

More: www.soundcraft.com