With three UK Top 20 singles announcing her arrival in 2009, singer Paloma Faith followed with two platinum-selling albums and BRIT Award nominations. Right now, she is on an extensive UK tour with FOH engineer Huw Richards on a DiGiCo SD10 with SD Rack…

‘I’m running 54 channels here, and what’s really handy is having 12 faders in each fader bank rather than eight – particularly when working with drums,’ Richards says, during soundcheck at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. ‘On this show I have several additional snares and kicks, so there are a lot of channels, yet I can still pack the whole kit into one bank. I then have another bank for all of the percussion and effects. It works nicely, because everything is there in front of you.’

Very much a ‘hands-on’ engineer, Richards insists that the SD10 allows him to work ‘pretty much as I would with an analogue desk’.

‘When I mix, it’s like I’m playing an instrument,– I like to be able to move around the console,’ he says. ‘The SD10 allows me to do that. I only end up using snapshots and the mutes. The inbuilt effects are good, too; I am using a couple of reverbs on this gig on the drum kit, then some delays on the vocals as well as various other bits and pieces, as there’s a lot happening on stage.’

Richards is also a Waves used, and for this tour, has a PuigChild and Maxx BCL units from SSE Audio: ‘The PuigChild is superb for Paloma’s vocals, as she has quite a peaky mid range,’ he says. ‘t really fattens the vocal; and I use the Maxx BCL across the PA.’

The mixed audio is sent via AES from the SD10 into two Lake processors at FOH and then via fibre to stage left.

‘From there, it breaks down to Cat5 to the stage Lakes, then it goes AES to the amplifiers, so when the microphone hits the DiGiCo SD rack on stage, it doesn’t go back to analogue until the speaker cables,’ explains SSE Audio’s Perttu Korteniemi. ‘This method keeps it all simple: there’s no setting up of gains and no hiss, it’s all nice and clean, so when I open up the PA, there is no interference whatsoever.

‘I liked DiGiCo the minute I used one of their consoles,’ Richards summarises. ‘Whatever the model, you’re getting real value – everything you’re working with is always the same quality as the flagship SD7.’

From the Apollo, Faith went on to perform at the BAFTAs in Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. Her tour runs until the beginning of July, where she will perform at T in the Park festival in Scotland.

More: www.sseaudiogroup.com
More: www.digico.org

Indonesian distributor Sindo Exports has supplied Allen & Heath GLD-80 digital console and KV2 Audio speaker system to Singapore’s Wala Wala live music club and Cleopatra karaoke nightclub, and Cleopatra nightclub.

Founded 20 years ago, it wasn’t until ten years later that Wala Wala first started hosting live music acts. The move followed the refurbishment of its first floor storage area, creating a relatively small live room. Using its original PA system, the venue struggled to produce a good live sound, however, prompting the club’s management to recruit a house audio technician to mix the 11 weekly acts.

‘Having decided to recruit an engineer in Mark Jason, we realised that the club needed a sound system,’ says Operations Manager, Maniam Krishnan. ‘Bands previously mixed themselves, which was a little inconsistent as some would be too loud and others were inexperienced.’

‘Wala Wala previously had a small analogue console, but switching to digital made a lot of sense owing to the many, varied performers playing here,’ Jason says.

Cleopatra is a karaoke themed nightclub, featuring a nightly light show and live singers. Refurbished by Sindo Exports, its FOH system comprises a QSC Audio loudspeaker system and A&H GLD-80 digital console – which has been extended by adding an AR84 Expander I/O Rack with eight XLR inputs and four XLR outputs, connected via the dSnake Cat5 protocol to the AR2412 I/O Rack on stage.

‘I hadn’t used a GLD console before but I am very impressed,’ says technical engineering manager, Sulaiman Satriadi Simatupang. ‘The GLD-80 has an analogue-style channel processing section complemented by an 8-inch touchscreen. Anyone who hasn’t operated digital before can easily convert, and there’s even a user guide on screen.

‘The USB ports allow direct playback of music files and can also take live stereo recordings of some assigned or all of the channels of the console. In addition, the 20 fader strips are well lit and clear to navigate. In fact, the GLD-80 comes with everything – there’s no need to start ordering extra hardware or software as everything you need is there.’

More: www.allen-heath.com

Premier Bangkok recording facility Iconic Clubbing Studio has installed an API 1608 analogue mixing console – demonstration of ‘API’s ever-increasing presence and popularity in Asia’, according to the desk’s manufacturer.

‘API remains committed to supporting artists, studios, engineers and producers in Thailand, as well as those in India, Taiwan and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region,’ says Dan Zimbelman, Director of Sales at API. ‘With the 1608’s placment in Iconic Clubbing Studio, more engineers and musicians will experience the analogue warmth of API’s discrete audio signal path first-hand.’

Studio home of the The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands, Rowlands Audio Research has installed a Solid State Logic Duality mixing console. The 48-channel desk provides routing, channel count and DAW integration for writing, production and mixing Chemical Brothers projects.

‘As we got into ever larger creative sessions, it became clear that we needed the 48-channel Duality over our original AWS 900,’ says Rowlands. ‘As we capture to Logic, Duality has the same on-board DAW control features as the AWS, so we did not need to learn an entirely different system. Essentially, Duality gives us what we had with the AWS, while delivering the added channel count we needed to move forward.’

Having purchased one of the first Midas VeniceF ‘digilogue’ desks for his own use, FOH engineer John Delf has claimed its first use on tour.

Recently completed, the UK touring production of Eliza Doolittle gave hime the opportunity to properly evaluate the desk’s functionality and sound quality.‘I’ve had the option of using house digital desks, but because the Venice is so small I can take it in set it up anywhere,’ Delf says. ‘As well as being easy to use, it sounds so warm. There are no latency issues and the A-D and D-A converters are great, I don’t notice any deterioration in the quality of the sound even when I’m using plug-ins on every channel.’

Home to Asia’s largest ski resort and centred on a performing arts theatre, the Changbai Mountain International Tourism Resort has completed the first phase of its development. The RMB20bn (US$3.16bn) project is located on the border between China and North Korea, with the Chinese side a 494,000-acre nature reserve that is already a popular international tourist destination. The addition of 26 miles of ski runs and the Changbaishan Grand Theatre are expected to draw many more visitors

Built by the Beijing Aotewei Development Company, the theatre features a sophisticated audio systen, supplied and installed by Rightway Audio Consultants. Central to its operation are DiGiCo SD8 and SD10 mixing consoles, and five Apex Intelli-X² 48 system processors.

DiGiCo’s SD8 and SD10 cover all aspects FOH and monitoring for a wide variety of live event types. The 4-input/8-output Intelli-X² 48, meanwhile, provides full system management for comprehensive system alignment and EQ, including IIR and FIR-based crossovers.

‘Audiences will be visiting the theatre from across the world, so it is very important that everything is of the highest quality, to ensure that they want to visit again,’ says Rightway Business Development CoordinatoApril Fung. ‘We specified Apex and DiGiCo equipment because it delivers optimum audio quality and ensures the system can be used for any kind of production.

‘It is very important for the theatre to attract high-calibre performers. DiGiCo mixers are well-known and used on the highest profile shows, so they were an obvious choice,’ she adds. ‘The system is working perfectly and the theatre is very happy with the results.’

Recognised around the world as the home of UK Premiership football club Chelsea FC, Stamford Bridge stadium is also the setting for a new London live music venue. Named Under The Bridge, the 600-capacity venue is set to host a wide range of music, including artist showcases, record launches and festivals.

Inside, 66 QSC PowerLight 3 class-D amplifiers (largest single installation of PL3 amplifiers to date ) drive an EAW loudspeaker system, with Yamaha PM5D mixing desks stationed at both FOH and monitor city, and a BSS London Blu digital routing system in control.

A recent charity concert commemorating the 80^th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall with broadcast feeds provided for a Russian TV recording.

Central to the audio management were Midas XL8, Pro6 and Heritage 3000 desks handling FOH from three adjacent boxes overlooking the event, with a second XL8 for onstage monitors.

Ukraine system integrator Engineer Service has taken a Calrec Artemis Light console for in its OB operations. Its second Calrec desk, the console will be installed on a new 40-foot mobile OB truck to mix live audio in stereo and Dolby E 5.1 broadcast formats, and for multichannel recording in live production.

‘With the Calrec Artemis Light, we can do things we couldn’t do before, such as provide more than two channels of 5.1 audio broadcast soundtracks,’ says General Director, Dmitriy Prikordonny. ‘That capability is very important, particularly for live sports productions. By using extra boxes on the field or stage, we can send and receive many more sound channels. We can serve the entire shooting area, whether that area includes a concert hall, a stage, a field, a broadcast van, or other links. The Artemis Light has improved our workflow while better satisfying our clients’ needs.’

Looking for a compact system with full redundancy, extensive I/O and processing, Engineering Service found its solution in the Artemis Light with Bluefin2 signal processing. The company purchased the Artemis Light console with 40 multilayer faders, five Hydra2 I/O boxes, 32 digital AES inputs and 32 digital AES outputs, 72 analogue inputs and 24 analogue outputs, and two Madi interfaces.

The console will serve the new OB truck, which will handle up to 16 cameras for HD video processing. The new truck will hit the road in mid-summer to cover mostly live programming such as sports, concerts, and other outside productions. The Artemis Light joins a Calrec Zeta console in the Engineer Service fleet.

‘By upgrading from our older Zeta technology to the Artemis Light, Engineer Service has not only shown its continuing support for Calrec, but also a commitment to move forward on the latest Calrec technology platform,’ says Calrec Europe Sales Manager, Michael Reddick. ‘These are the types of long-term partnerships we strive for.’

More: www.calrec.com

Moving to new purpose-built premises, gave Adelaide-based broadcaster Three D Radio an unmissable opportunity to upgrade its on-air equipment. Chaired by independent technologist Glen Donhardt, the station’s technical committee assessed the technologies supported in Australia, and chose Lawo’s crystal mixing consoles.

Professional Audio Technology (PAT) delivered, configured and commissioned base configurations for two crystal consoles and a simple configuration for an MCR frame. Operated by volunteers, Three D Radio wanted to configure the system itself and preferred to have in-depth training, rather than having the system completely configured to their specifications. As a result, three technically savvy Three D volunteers attended a three-day training course at PAT’s premises in Sydney before the consoles were shipped to Adelaide. ‘The Lawo technology has taken our community radio station to the next level, says Three D Radio Board Chairman, James Murphy. ‘As a community station, we rely upon the hard work of our volunteers and the generosity and faith of corporate entities like Lawo. The training provided to David Corkhill, Ian Moore and ‘Charley’ Mark Farley by Lawo was outstanding, and will continue to serve us well into the future.’

The decision to go with Lawo’s crystal technology was based on functionality, support and budget: ‘We have used our move as an opportunity to future proof, as far as practically possible, our station,’ says Three D Radio’s Robert Ayliffe. ‘The Lawo equipment was chosen after a lot of research as being the most suited to meet our needs now and into the future.’

‘The station sounds fantastic, an un-expected immediate improvement in sound quality, being an added bonus,’ says Donhardt. ‘Phase one of the refresh being a like for like functional replacement of aging analogue broadcast desks, with a second phase that will allow the station to further expand it’s capability as a community broadcaster. Our selection process identified Lawo as the correct choice for Three D Radio, our smooth transition to going live in February, validates the decision to go with Lawo. PAT’s after sales services and support was outstanding, a true partnership rather than just a supplier…’

‘This is a great story to tell,’ says Professional Audio Technology’s Patrick Salloch. ‘A community broadcaster building a cutting-edge Lawo facility with very little outside assistance. It is testament to the capabilities of the technical volunteers at Three D Radio and the ease of use of Lawo’s technology. I am looking forward to seeing the new facility and of course hearing it.’