Outline Newton processors played a central role in Marco Mengoni’s recent Live in Europe tour, supporting high-level live production across venues with widely differing acoustic characteristics.
Marco Mengoni is among the best-established Italian artists on the European live scene, recognised for his vocal style and a repertoire that blends pop, soul and electronic influences. At this level of touring, accuracy and continuity in signal processing are decisive in shaping the final listening experience. Preserving clarity, headroom and musical integrity throughout the entire audio chain is essential – particularly in a show where intimate vocal passages alternate with rhythmically dense and highly dynamic arrangements.
Audio responsibilities for the tour – including FOH mixing and the d&b audiotechnik sound reinforcement system – were entrusted to Alberto ‘Mente’ Butturini at FOH and Domenico ‘Mimmo’ Lettini as PA engineer.
The FPGA-based Newton units were supplied by Agorà Rental Firm, one of Europe’s largest audio rental companies, extensively involved in large-scale touring and high-profile live productions. ‘With Newton, I always feel that I have full control of the system, even in the most complex situations,’ Lettini explains. ‘Every area of the venue responds exactly as expected. This allows me to work with a very high level of precision, adapting the system to the music and to Marco’s voice without ever altering its musical character.’
Alongside the Butturini’s FOH mix, Lettini devoted particular attention to system tuning and loudspeaker management. Working with FOH and production, his objective was to achieve uniform coverage across all venues, including acoustically challenging rooms. Two Newton units formed the core of the system. Their routing, conversion and processing capabilities enabled consistent management of coverage throughout the seating.
‘The real advantage is being able to make very precise adjustments without compromising the musical integrity of the system,’ he says. ‘What leaves Mente’s console reaches the audience exactly as it is intended. I take signals from Butturini’s console in both analogue and AES/EBU formats, adding a spare LR feed from the stage console. All signals are sent to two Outline Newton units: one dedicated to AES/EBU and the other configured as an analogue backup. The primary Newton outputs Dante directly to d&b audiotechnik D80 amplifiers, with full analogue fallback from the second unit.’
Lettini’s also comments on the reliability of Newton processors, now increasingly specified on high-profile tours and festivals: ‘The first time I used Newton was at the Red Valley Festival in 2023, a typical festival environment where these units really show their strengths in terms of ease of use, flexibility and reliability. Since then, I haven’t experienced a single crash or malfunction.’
More: www.agoraproduction.it