 Finnish national broadcaster YLE took delivery of its new OB van in readiness for the Lahti Games, where the country’s ski-jumping legend Janne Ahonen made his last-ever appearance. Sony Broadcast had the van ready just in time for the ‘must see’ event, which was broadcast internationally with YLE acting as host broadcaster. Assigned to the Ski Jump arena in Salpausselkä, the U10 is equipped with a Lawo mc²66 console – and the first Lawo sapphire desk to be used in a mobile application. The Manna Methodist Church has followed the Jiguchon Church in bringing DiGiCo mixing consoles into the South Korea worship market.
With a seating capacity of 4,000 and around 10,000 worshippers attending each week, Manna services feature a live band, choir, organ and orchestra, requiring a high input channel count, as well as facilities to mix live audio for broadcast for the church’s own Internet channel. The church called on Soundus Corporation –DiGiCo’s South Korean distributor – to supply and install an SD7 console at FOH, with four SD-Racks and an SD8-24 to take care of the live broadcast mix. In addition, Soundus supplied an SD9 for a mobile audio system and an SD11 for the church video editing suite, linking the audio with Using an Optocore fibre-optic network. ‘The decision to use DiGiCo consoles was based on the SD7’s ability to handle more than 200 input channels, the dual engine offering stability, reliable redundancy and excellent sound quality,’ says Soundus Sales Manager, Byung Chul Park. ‘The church also needed additional mixing consoles and it was an obvious decision to stay with the same manufacturer. ‘The system is very versatile and is easily expandable for any future requirements,’ he adds. ‘The church is very happy with it.’ See also:
More: www.optocore.com  National public service broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk has taken two Soundcraft Vi1 digital consoles for live broadcasting, FOH mixing and recording in the Innsbruck/Tirol region. One of the compact Vi1 desks will be for portable use while the other will be permanently installed in the Innsbruck broadcasting hall for FOH and recording using RME Madi cards and M-16 DA extension. ‘We considered price, size, quality and ease of use,’ says ORF tonmeister Jürgen Brunner, who admits that the broadcaster’s old set-up was desperately in need of upgrading. Moving up from club circuit duties with London trio Stooshe, sound engineer John Delf has traded his Soundcraft Vi1 for a Vi6 and an FOH spot with Plan B on the arena circuit..
Supported by six projectors and three screens plus IMAG at London’s O2, where a DVD was also being recorded, Delf and system tech Dave ‘Boxx’ Cann were joined by BCS Audio’s Dave Shepherd for production management. In addition to the mix, FOH provided time code to sync to the screens, click tracks and recording to multitrack from the Vi6’s optical Madi onto hard disc recorder. ‘I have liked the Vi6 since the first time I used it,’ Delf says. ‘I know it’s a popular thing to say, but I am very impressed with the preamps. The Vi6 just gives a bit more crunch and edge, which suits this kind of gig more, particularly with the hip hop section. It has a real clarity to it. A creative sound engineer realises that not all desks sound the same – it’s like a guitarist choosing a Fender Strat for one type of sound and a Les Paul for another.’ In addition, Delf can get a complete visual reference of the 42 inputs used for the show across the top page of the console – particularly useful for the ten-piece ensemble, which includes percussion, acoustic guitars, drums, bass, keyboards, BVs and two rappers. ‘You can spend your whole time mixing with a mouse but, because of the Vi6’s 32 faders, your whole show is in front of you. I only turn to the second page once in a while.’ Most of the system dynamics are also internal to the console: ‘I use a subtle amount of reverb and a lot of EQ and some compression on the mix,’ Delf says. The Vi6’s FaderGlow also proves useful: ‘With everything in front of you, it is possible to see what has EQ on it and what has compression, you can see if the inserts are on,’ he adds. ‘When you hit the graphic all the faders become EQ and change to red, so you know you are in graphic mode.’ Delf began his career in recording, and still runs Edge Recording Studios in Cheshire. His first tour of duty was with Mark Burgess and the Chameleons – and he’s not looked back since, working with many big names along the way, including Lily Allen and The Script. He landed the gig with Plan B after working with Eliza Doolittle supporting him at the O2. She was also asked to support American dates and Delf was asked to double on Plan B for a seven-day stint. ‘…but it turned into six weeks,’ he recalls. ‘The first gig was at Coachella [Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival] and I was thrown in at the deep end. Plan B (Ben Drew) is a perfectionist and wants everything to be right. He’s quite a dynamic singer but I was told to make sure his vocal was audible, with no feedback, because his in-ears are turned up really loud. It was a challenge.’ Delf does not use snapshot or scene recalls, but prefers to mix live over his show file. Via the multitrack hard disc, the sound engineer is able to use the console’s virtual soundcheck facility, but overall he says: ‘It’s the workflow and sound quality that make the Vi6 special; it’s as near to an analogue desk in layout as anything I have used.’ More: www.soundcraft.com The third Italian-language radio station operated by Radiotelevisione svizzera di lingua italiana (RSI), RSI Rete Tre provides younger listeners with a mix of popular and alternative music.
After all options were considered, the OnAir 3000 was supplied by Studer’s Swiss distributor (Dr WA Guenther), and is configured with 18 faders, multiple CAB system support, DJ and editorial monitoring, along with two master bus, recording bus, four aux bus and 16 N1 (mix-minus) bus. The station’s principal criteria were ease of use, since DJs need to manage multiple tasks when on air (such as computers and phone calls), and integration with the existing Studer DigiMedia playout system: ‘We already have several mixers from Studer, including OnAir 5000, OnAir 1000, OnAir 1500, OnAir 2500, Vista 7 and Vista 8, and past experience has shown us that they are very reliable – particularly the OnAir 3000,’ says Marco Strigl, Rete Tre’s Technical Support I/O on the desk includes eight mic/line inputs; eight line inputs; 24 AES/EBU inputs; 64 Madi optical inputs; 16 Adat optical inputs (for monitoring), eight line outputs; 24 AES/EBU Outputs; 64 Madi optical outputs; and 16 Adat optical outputs (for monitoring). ‘The Studer platform offers a very easy-to-understand user Interface, and for me the whole Configuration Tool is very flexible and powerful,’ Strigl adds. ‘The fact that our DJs and technicians already know the philosophy behind these mixers makes it very easy to specify Studer products.’ More: www.studer.ch Rather reminiscent of a large bunker, the new national theatre of Saint-Nazaire is one of 70 national theatres that make up part of the network of the French Ministry of Culture. In fact, ‘Le Theatre’ occupies what used to be the of Saint-Nazaire. Railway station.
A number factors that worked in the Eclipse’s favour, not least the fact that its is essentially a French console.: ‘A certain amount of national pride influenced the choice,’ admits facility General Manager, Louis Perennou. ‘We felt that it was important to use French equipment where possible for one of the premier national stages of France. Although Innovason is now owned by a German company, Eclipse is still a French-designed console and, importantly, the technical support is French.’ Supplied by TechnoSolutions of St Nazaire, the Eclipse stood its ground from when tested against competing consoles. ‘We were particularly struck by the sound quality,’ Perennou says. ‘In an era of all-singing, all-dancing digital boards that deliver so much more functionality and ease of use than old analogue desks, the issue of sound quality is often overlooked – or at least plays second fiddle to other considerations. However, when we first heard the Eclipse GT at work, the exceptional sound quality instantly made the difference for us.’ The other feature that scored points for Le Theatre was the flexibility of the console. ‘The fact that you can configure it in any way you want is really quite extraordinary,’ Perennou explains. ‘I’ll admit that it takes a bit of getting used to at first, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it means that you can tailor the console to a particular show, or even to a particular engineer if he is used to working in a certain way. It’s a different methodology than that offered by most digital consoles, but once you’ve got used to it, you don’t want to go back.’ More: www.technosystems.us 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).
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 While controversial comedian Frankie Boyle keeps his audince laughing, his FOH sound is no joking matter to engineer Steve Pattison. ‘Comedy shows are all about intelligibility – the joke’s not funny if you can’t follow what’s being said,’ he explains. ’Comedians tend to have erratic mic technique, moving the mic around a lot, often holding it down away from their mouth and suddenly shouting with the mic up close.’
’The tour gave me a great opportunity to use iLive’s new dynamic EQ and multi-band compression,’ he says. ‘iLive’s dynamic EQ is a wonderful tool for shaping a vocal and compensating for the varying dynamics and tonal differences that a comedian will throw at you – a Glaswegian impersonating a German shouting into a mic isn’t always the easiest thing to understand. ’The multi-band compression also came into play as PA systems often emphasise certain tonalities as levels change getting harsher or muddier depending on the dynamics of the performer. Taming this meant the top balcony laughed just as much as I did. ‘For me, the iLive-R72 is essential for theatres shows where FOH space is at a premium, as it is so compact but offers all the functionality and quality of much larger desks,’ he adds. Most of the tour venues were large theatres featuring multi-tiered balconies where there are many facets to the PA system, such as main hangs, monitors, delays, out fill, in fill, under hangs and front fill: ‘In multi-level venues it can be a real pain (not just for your legs) when you need to check on all areas and make changes to EQ, levels and delays,’ Pattison says. ’iLive’s MixPad app earns its keep here, allowing myself or an assistant to adjust settings in real time without having to return to FOH. It’s really handy during the show where an assistant can check on balconies or fills and tweak them while I still have control at FOH. ‘Thanks to Steve’s feedback from the Frankie Boyle tour, Allen & Heath’s R&D department is now working on some de-F’ing algorithms,’ an A&H spokesperson comments. More: www.allen-heath.com Calrec has secured its first Turkish sale, with the placement of an Omega digital broadcast console with HD Protek.
‘When we decided to build a third OB unit, we designed one that was better suited than our other two trucks to accommodate customers that don't require a complex production set-up,’ says HD Protek General Manager, Yucel Ozacar. ‘The Omega provides exactly the right combination of I/O density and functionality for our customers, and no one could beat the price for the configuration we needed. Another deciding factor for us was Calrec's stellar reputation in the industry. Installed in its new HDP03 truck, HD Protek has a 32-fader Omega console in a 40-fader chassis, to allow for future expansion. The vehicle became operational at the beginning of 2013 and mainly covers sports. Since that time, it has covered a number of live soccer games including some Turkish Cup matches. Turkish systems integrator Teratek handled the sale along with installation and support: ‘The Turkish market is a good expansion for Calrec, particularly since we're working with such a high-profile client as HD Protek,’ says Calrec Middle East & Africa Sales Manager’ Anthony Harrison. ‘The service that Teratek provided in helping with the installation and integration will ensure that this first for Calrec will be a great success.’ More: www.teratek.com.tr  Moving its soundsystems from analogue to digital operation, the iconic Shenzhen Grand Theatre has completed a major A/V refurbishment and upgrade. Opened in 1984, the modern multi-purpose theatre is famous throughout China as one of the country’s top cultural venues, hosting a demanding schedule of prestigious performances visited by state dignitaries and more than 2m foreign visitors. Key to its technical refurb is the installation of an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system at FOH. |
A DiGiCo SD7 was the first DiGiCo desk to be installed in 2012, and now four further desks have been installed in the Manna Methodist Church – both churches being in Bundang New City.
Part of a PA package provided by BCS Audio, the UK arena shows have been split into two sections, featuring Plan B’s 2010 album, The Defamation of Strickland Banks followed by the soundtrack to his hardcore London gangland movie Ill Manors – complete with harrowing visuals.
With its 25th anniversary approaching, the Lungano-based facility felt that it was time to overhaul and upgrade its main studio with the installation of a Studer OnAir 3000 digital broadcast console.
As a national theatre, the venue has to conform to exacting technical standards, making it an extremely highly specified venue at every level, including its audio facilities. For FOH mixing duties in the main 826-seat theatre, Technical Director Patrick Balaud was quick to spec an Innovason Eclipse GT digital console.
‘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.’
His choice of mixing desk is an iDR-48 MixRack with rackmount iLive-R72 Control Surface, chosen for its very small footprint. Recent gigs have also provided him with the ooportunity to road test the new dynamic EQ and multi-band compressor features from iLive’s recent v1.9 firmware update.
Turkey's largest independent OB company, Istanbul-based HD Protek has installed the Omega in a new OB truck, where it serves as both the audio mixing console and audio router for live sports event coverage.