Wide News
From recording, broadcast, postproduction and A/V
Dreamcoats and Raincoats
Running concurrently in the UK, Singin’ in the Rain and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat contrast in musical genre and storylines but share ‘virtually identical sound design’. Each uses LR proscenium hangs of d&b Y-Series line arrays with point source centre clusters, E6 delays and front fill, and V-Subs.
‘The Y-Series has all the hallmarks of a great d&b product,’ Owen says. ‘It’s a powerful system delivering great audio quality in a compact box. It’s the power-to-size ratio that makes this such a versatile product. We proved this when, for Back to the Future [currently running at the Adelphi Theatre in London] we incorporated a couple of Y point sources into the iconic DeLorean. I didn’t think they’d deliver the necessary output for the sound effects, but they did. It’s incredible.’
Nashville gets new Dolby Atmos mix room
Famed for its unique recording areas – The Gallery and The Pond – and the long list of international artists who have worked here over the past 25 years, Starstruck Studios opened in the mid-1990s on Nashville’s Music Row. Having launched with two recording studios designed by Neil Grant, the facility recently opened a new Dolby Atmos for Music mix room by Michael Cronin Acoustic Construction featuring an SSL System T S500-32 console.
An all-SSL facility, the The Gallery and The Pond feature identical control rooms, each with a 72-input SL9000J analogue console with Total Recall and Ultimation – alongside Starstruck Entertainment’s management offices.
Capital raises the bar at BST
With headline artists including the Rolling Stones, Elton John and the Eagles on the bill at the 2022’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park, the sound needed to up its game in line with the ‘supercharged’ stage and backdrop at the AEG Live’s flagship event. Having been exclusive supplier of Martin Audio’s MLA since the event’s inception in 2013, Capital Sound responded with enhanced site coverage.
Taking note of the additional 5m height gain of Star Group’s new Titan stage, Capital extended the two main PA and side fill hangs and streamlined the 11 delay towers, introducing its recently acquired WPL scalable line array – the largest in the Wavefront Precision family. This resulted in 182 Martin Audio line array elements deployed at the event, as well as 44 subwoofers.
La Casamurada upgrades monitoring with The Ones
Spain’s La Casamurada residential studio has expanded its monitoring capabilities with a pair of Genelec’s The Ones 8361 three-way coaxial monitor loudspeakers.
Located in Penedès, Spain, the facility promises ‘a unique experience’ for artists, exploiting the acoustic of its historic location in a former wine cellar at the base of a defensive tower in a 12th century fortified farmhouse, paired with a thoroughly modern technical environment.
Wembley Stadium upgrades sound systems with d&b
After two years of sports and music events lost to the coronavirus pandemic, London’s 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium is preparing for its longest concert season yet. Driven by the need to remain world-class, the stadium is continuously being updated – including its audio systems.
‘One area that we knew would add value to our guests and clients was upgrading the bowl audio,’ says Stadium Director, Liam Boylan. ‘The previous system was not specifically designed to be used for the delivery of music and that was becoming increasingly apparent; we wanted to offer our clients a system that they would never consider not using.