Hosting a series of jazz concerts that is popular throughout Southwest Germany, Bürgerhaus Backnang is a 1,100-capacity multi-purpose venue in the town of Backnang, 30km northeast of Stuttgart. Building on its ability to host larger visiting productions, the hall has recently completed the installation of a new Yamaha mixing system.

The Bürgerhaus is a regional focal point for both culture and business in the in the 40,000 Backnang community, featuring performance spaces, conference rooms and restaurant. At its heart is the 700m² Walter-Baumgaertner-Saal ballroom, which includes a 150m² stage, hydraulic orchestra pit and seating for up to 740 people. The ballroom hosts concerts, musicals, theatre, dance, corporate events, exhibitions and trade fairs. This year, its ageing analogue mixing system was replaced with a Yamaha QL5 and Dante-equipped Tio1608-D I/O unit, with the recent addition of a Rio3224-D I/O unit completing the upgrade.

‘We needed a high-quality, flexible digital system that would be suitable for all of the diverse events that we stage,’ says Bürgerhaus Backnang sound engineer, David Morcher. ‘Most of the technical riders for jazz performers request a Yamaha mixing console and, when we looked into it, we found a QL system would give us everything we needed.’

The QL5 and Tio1608-D were supplied and installed by local Yamaha dealer, PA-Shop Donald Auchter. Used to mix both front of house and monitors, the addition of the Rio3224-D has expanded the system’s capabilities to handle all the inputs and outputs needed for full jazz and other orchestras.

‘The Rio3224-D can be moved anywhere on the stage, meaning we have complete flexibility for larger shows,’ Morcher says. ‘Another advantage of the system is that the StageMix iPad app allows us to operate the console from anywhere in the auditorium and on stage. The system is easy to use, very stable and means we can deliver consistently high quality, professional productions for all performers and audiences.’

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