Following the recent appointment of Litewaves as Avid live sound and pro audio partnerfor Lebanon, the company reports uptake of the Venue S6L from live sound companies for a wide range of live sound productions.

With more than 25 years of experience as a sales and rental house in the live sound sector, the Beirut-based company has added Avid’s live sound solutions to its portfolio, including the Venue S6L, Avid Venue S3L and SC-48 consoles. ‘We’ve worked with Avid Venue live sound systems for many years based on their reputation among our customers for excellent sound quality, flexibility, convenience and reliability,’ says Litewaves Managing Partner, Fadi Haddad. ‘Exceptional demand for Venue S6L among leading live sound engineers makes it a very attractive investment for live sound companies.’

One of the first to invest in Avid Venue S6L is Blue Sound Company, a leading rental company that provides sound engineering services for live events, festivals, music concerts and broadcast TV. ‘We chose Venue S6L based on its sound quality, flexibility and the ability to install any plugins directly in the console,’ says Shady Saad, partner and General Manager. ‘It’s also a very familiar system for live and studio sound engineers, enabling them to jump right onto the system.’

Blue Sound Company has already put Avid Venue S6L to use on a number of high-profile projects, including a concert at the presidential palace in Baabda, near Beirut.

‘The groundbreaking Venue S6L system continues to attract significant demand from our preeminent community of live sound customers all over the world,’ says Avid Senior VP of Global Sales, Tom Cordiner. ‘Venue S6L is setting a new benchmark for live sound in Lebanon, delivering cutting-edge workflows and unparalleled processing power to meet the challenges of the most demanding productions.’

Since opening its doors in 1980, Orange County’s Coach House has established itself as a landmark on the Southern California music scene. ‘There weren’t a lot of places for live music, and we were filling a need,’ says founder Gary Folgner observes. ‘We booked anyone and everyone that was popular back then. It was a really eclectic mix; Robin Trower, Poco, Ray Charles, War, Dick Dale...’

While The Coach House itself is a legendary venue, it also gained a reputation for legendarily bad sound: ‘The Coach House is a very challenging room,’ offers Operations Manager, Blake Folgner. ‘It’s square and boxy and oddly shaped, and the ceiling is too low for a traditional line array. With our previous sound system, coverage had always been a problem – we had entire corners of the venue that were just dead zones.’

Seeking a solution, The Coach House contacted Brian English, President of ESP Management, who designed a system based around Iconyx IC2 digitally steered arrays from Renkus-Heinz. ‘The IC2 enabled us to create multiple beams of sound, and aim those beams precisely where the sound needed to go,’ he explains.

More than just making the audience happy, Iconyx beam steering addressed another long-standing and critical issue for the club: ‘One of the biggest challenges at The Coach House is that the mix position is located upstairs, and coverage up there was almost non-existent,’ he says.

The same problems held true for the multiple VIP rooms occupying the rest of the wrap-around second level. ‘We have a number of private VIP rooms people like to book for special occasions, and the sound up there was just awful,’ Blake Folgner admits. ‘Now, with the IC2 system, the sound up there is absolutely stellar.’

According to English, some of the most vocal enthusiasm for the new system has come from touring sound engineers: ‘I’ve talked to engineers who have mixed here before the IC2 and they’ve all said, the difference is like night and day,’ he reports.

More: www.renkus-heinz.com

Completing a 14-date tour of the UK, vocalist and performer Leona Lewis has been using a Solid State Logic L500 mixing console and K-array Slim Array technology chosen by celebrated FOH engineer Dave Wooster.

The I Am show provides Wooster with around 65 inputs from the stage: ‘It’s a full-on set-up,’ he says. ‘The drummer has two mics on the bass drum, three snares – each with at least two mics on, four toms, all the cymbals, electronic kick and snare – so he was up to about 20-odd channels on his own.’

According to Wooster, the show’s sound directly benefitted from the L500’s 96kHz signal path: ‘What really separates the L500 from the competition is the sound,’ he says. ‘The effect on Leona’s vocal was very noticeable in the system. I think the 96kHz operation makes a difference, but the preamps make a huge difference as well, and whatever it is SSL has done on the EQ is stunning. You really hear the HF.

‘With Leona, I have to deal with a massive dynamic range within every song,’ he continues. ‘The mix has to be able to go down to almost nothing and then build to everything. The way the SSL input section handles that is fantastic.

‘Of course, it’s natural that when she whispers I get a load of low end from the microphone that I don’t need, and when she’s screaming down it there’s too much high end and not enough lows. I use a dynamic EQ from the internal FX rack to sort that out. The standard EQ helps calm down some resonances, though there were only two cuts with low and high-pass filters that I needed to make with that.

‘The channel compressor is the first layer of dynamics control, just to help take out any real big peaks; then across her stem- which includes her reverb and delay returns, as well the main vocal path – I put an SSL Bus Compressor; it’s very good.’

Wooster’s approach to the console surface configuration takes full advantage of the L500’s Layer & Bank approach to layout, as well as the expedient Super-Query (Q) function – a forward and reverse interrogation feature with fast-assignment feature.

‘I have all my input channels as a sub-layer,’he says. ‘That’s where all the programming is. Then I use Stems on the top layer. I completely isolate them from any recall and end up with kick, snare, hat, toms, overheads, a bass channel, guitar channel, keyboard channel, lead vocal and backing vocal stem faders that are always beneath my fingers. That’s my mix.

‘All the automation and scene recalls are still going on underneath, so if I then hit the Q button on any Stem all of the underlying contributions pop up from below. I can make a quick adjustment in that scene, save it, then go straight back to the Stem layer and carry on mixing.’

As well as the console, the tour rig included the innovative K-array Firenze Slim-Array PA system with acoustic steering. Wooster is convinced that the combination of the two was unbeatable: ‘In the 33 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve never mixed on a system this good,’ he says.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com

Technical Theatre students at the Guildford School of Acting’s recently enjoyed hands-on experience of creating dynamic soundscapes and source-oriented vocal localisation for their musical production of 9 to 5.

Cambridge-based immersive audio pioneers, Out Board, provided the School with a TiMax spatial delay-matrix, complete with TiMax Tracker, for students to experience the creation of a sound design pushed beyond the usual boundaries of intelligibility, balance and audience immersion. After the student production, course tutor Sam Digny and guest mentor sound designer Justin Teasdale held a seminar insight day showcasing their experience and success with the advanced immersive TiMax technology. A wider audience of invited industry professionals comprised local hire companies, production managers, sound engineers and students old and new.

Out Board’s Robin Whittaker hosted a morning session presenting TiMax alongside a discussion of the wider principles of sound: ‘Where do you go beyond the fidelity readily achieved by modern loudspeaker systems?’ he asked. ‘Beyond fidelity, localisation is the obvious thing and a major part of this whole current immersion discussion, in a stage environment like this, is multiple localisations made effective for an entire audience.’

In the afternoon Teasdale presented the dynamism of the 9 to 5 soundscape, which included vocal localisation of the main cast and panoramic spatialisation of the band, who were positioned off-stage. The classic LCR Optima 5 line array system in the GSA’s Bellaris theatre was augmented with a centre left and a centre right hang for 9 to 5. Loaned from Inspired Audio, these helped add extra resolution in the TiMax object-based spatial image definition rendering. The GSA’s existing front fill and surrounds were supported with two extra Inspired Audio MQ12 full range enclosures to boost front fill.

‘Sound is very difficult to explain, it’s not tangible,’ Teasdale argues. ‘But that moment – flipping to the TiMax soundscape – was so powerful. The [audience in the seminar] room could hear the sound really open up, making it feel more real, like the musicians were in the space – and for voices the action was so much easier to follow.

‘For today’s theatre-going audience, widely exposed to TV, cinema and personal mobile audio experiences, appreciation of stage action needs to be audibly exciting as well as visual’, he continues, ‘TiMax creates a listener’s experience that is individual and very personal through good coverage, localisation and image reinforcement. It’s a tool that will ultimately convert to bums on seats.’

Regarding the quick and simple TiMax StageSpace auto-calc workflow which was used to tailor the object-based spatialisation to the Bellaris stage and auditorium, Teasdale reports a minimum of manual intervention: ‘Band spatial imaging worked fine from the first auto-calc result, with no tweaking required. Vocal imaging set-up took only one extra re-calc to change cross-stage level-shading – by simply changing one adaptive parameter and hitting Calculate.’

This echoed the experience of leading TiMax sound designers’ appreciation of the StageSpace intelligent adaptive rendering, who also value the system’s flexibility to also subjectively apply manual precision tweaks to its results.

The audience reacted very positively to the production, and a guest production manager observe that, ‘The sound it puts onto a band in this venue is stunning so hats off to TiMax, it just adds such definition and space.’

Another revealing commented: ‘You can hear the difference and the layers in it, and what sounds to me like attention to the details. It feels so integral to what you are watching that it helps you immerse’.

‘The difference shown between TiMax spatialisation and just stereo was night and day, and that has made today very special,’ Inspired Audio’s, Chris Scott concludes.

More: www.outboard.co.uk

Developed by Linea Research for its own products in live sound reinforcement, System Engineer is also a true system controller, able to connect to any Obcom-compliant device of any type or from any manufacturer.

‘We have worked hard to make System Engineer as simple and intuitive as possible,’ the company says. ‘This apparent simplicity belies a sophisticated, comprehensive workhorse built on a solid core technology designed by Linea Research. System Engineer will allow you to connect a number of devices and use it to set up, control and monitor them. System Engineer may be used for programming factory settings or configuring installations as well as live control and monitoring of devices during a performance. System Engineer can control and monitor several networks of many devices simultaneously via Ethernet (BvNET or USB for some product types).’

System Engineer is a unified control and monitoring PC application for a multitude of professional audio device types, which supports dozens of manufacturers’ products. A single click takes it online to a network of devices, while a double-click enables control any device. Continuous Discovery ensures that devices added to the system are automatically discovered andadded to System Engineer.

System Engineer frees engineers from the constraint of the one-panel-for-one-device model, allowing a system to be viewed as a logical collection of ‘modules’ that relate to speakers rather than rack boxes. Module Presets pertain to these modules and may (for example) be used to select a loudspeaker system from a library, or to apply one of a number of venue tunings specialised for different types of event.

‘Since we recognise that you may not want to connect the drivers of an enclosure to consecutive outputs on a device, the concept of Components allows you to select the settings for one Driver component from a preset and apply these settings to any one output you wish,’ Linea Research explains. ‘Snapshots take this concept one stage further by allowing you to recall a set of Presets to the Modules in the device.

‘Our approach to grouping is very intuitive and fast to set up – just drag the modules you wish to control to a Group, and adjust them all from a common panel. In addition to the normal parameters used to set up and control a device, Module Groups allow you access to an additional twelve sets of parameters that overlay the standard ones. Each of these overlays remains separate without interacting with one another, but the result is a combination of all of these layers. Even EQ can be overlaid, allowing you 13 patterns to contribute to the overall EQ for a given channel.’

The collaboration between Linea Research and AFMG has given seamless integration of System Engineer with SysTune measurement software. By using System Engineer as a plug-in to SysTune, EQ of any device can be controlled from within the SysTune application. Some devices allow certain critical parameters to be logged against time so that issues can later be diagnosed. This data is shown on the PodWare panel graphically, and it may be exported to a spreadsheet for further analysis, or can be saved in a diagnostics file.

More: http://linea-research.co.uk

Counting Coldplay, The Foo Fighters, Ray Lamontagne and Sheryl Crow among its many shows, London’s Scala is a mecca for the capital’s clubbing community, regularly opening its doors for drum ’n’ bass, reggae, rock and garage nights. As part of a recent significant upgrade to the former Kings Cross cinema’s in-house audio system, the venue has invested in an Allen & Heath dLive S Class digital mixing system at FOH.

Featuring a dLive S5000 surface partnered with a DM48 MixRack, the set-up also incorporates a Waves V3 audio networking card to allow laptop-based multitrack recording (up to 128 tracks) of live events via a single Cat cable. The inclusion of an iP8 remote controller also increases flexibility with its ability to control the dLive MixRack in conjunction with Allen & Heath’s Director software for an ultra-compact set-up.

Scala is also now home to a GLD-80 digital mixer for monitors – chosen in part to its compact footprint, ease-of-use and flexible functionality – and a Xone:PX5 DJ mixer for both visiting and in-house DJs.

‘Although it’s a really powerful set-up, dLive is a very easy system to use – which is important at a venue like Scala where we have a lot of visiting engineers,’ says Scala FOH engineer David Preston. ‘I have a show file that I use as a basic template to get them started and they’re generally up and running in ten minutes. I can go and patch in the stage, come back and they’ll have 95 per cent of the desk figured out on their own. It’s highly customisable, sounds great and the system has worked incredibly well for every gig, club night and style of music we’ve thrown at it.’

More: www.allen-heath.com

Extending their appeal from their native Denmark, four-piece pop-soul band Lukas Graham have seen their single ‘7 Years’ ranked as one of 2016’s biggest global hits by Billboard magazine. A current world tour is proving equally successful, as is the compact DiGiCo S21 mixing console and Wisycom mic systems travelling with them.

The two S21s, one of which is owned by the band, the other by monitor engineer Rasmus Hansen, are being used at both FOH and monitors on all dates – for the arena section of the tour, where they don’t need to pack a console into a suitcase-sized flightcase, they are using an SD8-24 at FOH and an SD10 at monitors, provided by Victory Tour Productions.

‘The band really likes the sound to be consistent and – because all DiGiCo consoles, from the top of the range to the bottom, have the same sound quality – Rasmus got the idea to go with a set-up using the S21 when we are flying from one gig to another,’ says FOH engineer and production manager, Frank Grønbæk. ‘Both Rasmus and I have been working on DiGiCo consoles since the SD8 came onto the market in 2008 and given the specs for this tour – audio, technical and dimensions – we found that the S21 was the console that best met our needs: a minimum of 40 channels, 16 stereo buses, eight Matrix inputs and outputs, eight Groups, Dynamic EQ, maximum weight, including the flightcase, of 32kg and a maximum size that could meet the standards of a large suitcase.’

The console set-up is tailored for the four-piece band plus a three-piece horn section and Grønbæk and Hansen have made it possible to have what is a rather complicated communication set-up running between the musicians, monitors, FOH sound and FOH lighting. ‘We even have time code from our backing track running to the lighting desk at FOH,’ Grønbæk says. ‘We also have the ability to provide a recording truck with an analogue split or a Madi feed from our system.’

At FOH, size matters: ‘The smaller the better,’ Grønbæk says, ‘But not without the super nice features these consoles have. Ideally I would have liked to have the SD10-24 at FOH, but only because the rental consoles are usually a bit newer and it has the LCD for assignable buttons, which is so nice.

‘The interface on the DiGiCo SD7/8/10 are my preference. It’s so intuitive – and easy to work with – and these days workflow is what matters to me. Nearly all of the top end console brands have very good sounding consoles, so workflow becomes the parameter that makes the difference to me. Everything is possible on DiGiCo consoles – you can customise them precisely for the artist and show.

‘The SD10 was chosen for the monitor position for more or less the same reasons, the SD8 being too small to accommodate the inputs and output Hansen needed for the arena shows we did this summer with the equipment from Victory.’

The S21 flying set-up runs at 48kHz and has 32 inputs from stage, plus a lot of communication and ambient/audience mics. At monitors, there are eight digital stereo outputs for IEMs and an analogue out for a Buttkicker for the drummer.

The D2-Rack on stage is connected to the monitor console via Madi. The second Madi card in the monitor console is used to take inputs from a digital Madi router for a digital backtrack computer feed, communication from FOH, and for the analogue split from an Andiamo AD/DA converter.

‘At FOH there are also two Madi cards,’ Grønbæk says. ‘One is used to connect to the Madi router that takes the input from stage; the other is for a standalone Madi/DiGiGrid system for Waves plug-ins and for recording.

‘The arena set-up has around 40 inputs and a way more complex structure. This is all set up with Optocore and is running at 96kHz. Both ends have onboard Waves systems with servers and monitors and has a UAD set-up as well, and FOH has all kinds of outboard things going on: reverb, delays, channel strips, dynamics and so on.’

As well as the functionality and sound quality of the console, Grønbæk and the team are pleased with the support they receive: ‘The backup from Kim [Johansen at Soundware, DiGiCo’s Danish distributor] is always very good. Kim is contactable by phone and he’s very knowledgeable about the consoles, which is really good. It’s clear to me that he uses the consoles, too, and is not just a sales person. DiGiCo has been very helpful as well. All in all, we have been taken good care of.’

Miking the show

Wisycom radio mic systems were chosen for Graham’s vocals, as well as the bass and horn sections. ‘I have been a fan of Wisycom’s devices for a long time and the company’s wideband RF technology makes it very easy to travel all over the world,’ Hansen admits.

On every tour to date, Hansen and Grønbæk have Wisycom’s MRK960 Modular Wireless Microphone Receiver System, MTH400 Wireless Handheld Microphone, MTP40S Wideband Bodypack Transmitters and MPR50-IEM Wideband IEM Receivers. All the Wisycom products are connected digitally via AES input.

‘Wisycom provides better sound quality and better RF transmission than any other device I have used,’ Hansen continues. ‘Everything we bring is hooked up to the Wisycom editor software, which makes frequency coordination a breeze.’

Grønbæk agrees: ‘We wanted to have the best sounding equipment for IEM and for vocals,’ he says. ‘The new MPR50-IEM sounds amazing. We have also been using Wisycom’s MTH400 since it is able to be connected to DPA’s d:facto™ capsule, which is our go-to microphone head. Wisycom’s modular system is an investment in our future work, one we are happy to have made.’

In the US, Hansen and Grønbæk were locked into a certain radio frequency block: ‘Surprisingly, it was the exact block that we needed when we arrived in the UK,’ says Grønbæk. ‘The engineers at Wisycom were quick to help us unlock the area on the first day of the tour in England. Our interactions with all the Wisycom staff have been fantastic since the beginning of our relationship.’

Hansen is equally as happy with the service he has received from Wisycom, especially from Torben Aalykke, MD at Nordic Pro Audio ApS and Wisycom Nordic. ‘Torben has delivered the best service imaginable. He is always available to help us solve any problems that we have. Both myself and Frank look forward to using Wisycom for the rest of Lukas Graham’s tour.’

Led by frontman Lukas Forchammer, Danish band Lukas Graham continues to build on the appeal of their 7 Years album around the various venues of Europe. At FOH, Frank Grønbæk (the band’s engineer since late in 2012) runs the show from behind a DiGiCo S21 mixing console.

‘One of the things I like about mixing this band is that there are relatively few source signals, so you can build space around the sounds rather than cramping things down because you need to hear a lot of things all at once,’ he says. ‘There’s room in there so you can actually have every instrument fill up space, and that’s really nice.’

Key to delivering the mix to audiences of all sizes is a Meyer Sound reinforcement system, supplied by Victory Tour Production of Denmark.

‘When I first heard the band on a Meyer Leo Family system about three years ago, I realised there is a difference between what you can hear on that system and all others available on the Danish market,’ Grønbæk says. ‘Every detail, in every frequency band, was precise and defined. When you added something like 250Hz on EQ, it actually came right out in the mix, instead of being like a smudge.’

To accommodate venues of varying shapes and sizes, the tour is carrying an inventory based around 20 Lyon-M main line array loudspeakers with four Lyon-W wide coverage line array loudspeakers for close field coverage. Bass reinforcement is supplied by 12 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements. Sixteen Leopard compact line array loudspeakers are available for placement, according to venue requirements, as front fill and out fill, with more help as needed from a pair of UPQ-1P loudspeakers. Everything is tied together and optimised by a Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with three Galileo Callisto 616 array processors (including an AES version at FOH) and one Galileo 408 processor.

‘What I enjoy about mixing on the Leo Family systems is that what I put into the system is exactly what I get back out,’ Grønbæk says. ‘Everything is clear, across the full frequency spectrum, and I appreciate that in acts like Lukas Graham where the vocal is extremely important. That’s why whenever we play venues that don’t have house systems, I try to get Meyer Sound. It makes a huge difference for me.’

The latest tour leg began in Dublin and will close in April, in Lisbon, having taken in 25 cities in 13 countries.

Victory Tour Production is a full-service provider of event production technologies, including sound reinforcement, video, lighting and staging. In addition to supporting international concert tours, Victory provides services for remote television broadcasts, corporate events and major festivals.

More: www.meyersound.com

Currently touring the world in support of their recent Cleopatra album release, American folk rockers the Lumineers are playing the largest venues of their career – relying on acoustic instruments and singer Wesley Schultz’s voice for their success. Helping deliver their message, a Meyer Sound Leo Family system from Sound Image, offering a smooth transition from a smaller Leo Family rig used on earlier tour legs.

‘Moving up to arenas and scaling the size of the system to match has been seamless,’ says FOH engineer and system designer, Josh Osmond. ‘Although we tripled the box count, the response has remained as consistent as it was on a smaller scale and in outdoor venues. In arenas, I mix nearly 130ft from the stage, yet still get the same clarity and presence as if I were 90ft away.’

Osmond appreciates the system’s ability to serve cello, piano and other strings and percussive instruments when driven at rock levels. ‘Although this band has a folk/Americana image, the live show still needs to have a large sound while maintaining sonic clarity,’ he says. ‘With the Leo Family I get the power and impact of the show I am looking for while maintaining the natural sound of the sources coming from the stage.’

‘Meyer has done an excellent job creating linear phase responses throughout the Leo Family via delay integration, so voicing between Leo and Lyon has been relatively consistent from day to day,’ says system engineer Dave Shatto. ‘The additional SPL provided by the Leo allows us to throw to the 200-300 level while maintaining the spectral response of Lyon as heard at mix position.’

Leo’s long throw is also appreciated by Production Manager, Sara Full: ‘Leo has helped eliminate the need for delays in most scenarios, including in some very large venues,’ she says. ‘That not only helps provide a more consistent audience experience, but also improves sight lines, allows us to get more fans in the venue, and reduces logistical hassles and expenses.’

The Lumineers’ live show remains rooted in small houses on their native Denver music scene: ‘When they came to the bigger stuff they still wanted that [smaller] feel,’ says tour monitor engineer, Brad Galvin. ‘As a solution, they devised a B Stage located in the middle of the audience at each large venue, where they get up close and personal for a few songs mid-show.

‘Having a system with as smooth a response as this Leo Family system helps in having that translate accurately to the audience,’ he adds. ‘We’re able to keep it at the same volume, and the same system shaping and EQ from the main to B Stage, and it translates smoothly from one to the other.’

The smallest member of the Leo Family, Leopard has demonstrated its versatility on the tour, according to Sound Image Audio Crew Chief Cameron Whaley: ‘Leopard has been very helpful as the tour scaled to differently size venues. It’s powerful enough to use as a main system when we’ve had extreme weight restrictions while still maintaining the sonic quality and impact of our show. As a side or rear hang complement to Lyon, Leopard has no problem keeping up and makes our tuning easy with its very similar sonic characteristics.’

The complete system includes ten Leo boxes over eight Lyon per side for main hangs, 14 Lyon per side for down stage side hangs, 14 Leopard per side for upstage side hangs, 32 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements (16 flown, 12 ground-stacked LR plus four centre), six Leopard for front fill and Galileo loudspeaker management.

More: www.meyersound.com

After nearly two years on a world tour, Grammy Award winners Maroon 5 are still fine-tuning the configuration of the L-Acoustics line array system that serves FOH. FOH engineer Jim Ebdon typically begins comments with, ‘Well, at the moment…’

During that time – on what’s been billed as the Maroon V Tour or the M5OnTheRoad, and has so far passed through North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America – Ebdon has been tweaking the arrangement of the K1/K2 system’s components, finding tricks to make the system perform ever better.

The tour began in February 2015. Ebdon, who has also mixed front-of-house sound for Aerosmith, Annie Lennox and Matchbox Twenty, discovered that the L-Acoustics V-Dosc system that he had come to count on wasn’t available. ‘The V-Dosc was simply still so popular that one wasn’t always available – bands and production managers loved it,’ he recalls. ‘That first six months on the road [without L-Acoustics] was an interesting experiment…’

That summer, however, a K1/K2 system did become available, through Sound Image, the tour’s main SR vendor throughout. It began a Lego-like puzzle, with Ebdon and a series of system technicians trying out various configurations that changed over time. The system originally used two hangs of ten K1 per side with four to six K2 boxes slung underneath, depending on the size of the venue. More recently, the main arrays use 14 K1s per side with two K2s underneath, always powered and processed with LA8-equipped LA-Raks. In addition, there are 12 K2s per side for side fill, ten Kara boxes flown as rear fill for arenas and stadia, and six Kiva per side for front fill.

The low end is usually handled by ten groundstacked SB28 subs. However, Ebdon has recently taken to hanging additional K1-SB subs alongside the K1 hangs. ‘I used to think that would create too much bass in the roof when we put them on the top of the arrays,’ he explains. ‘But, on the sides, they really seemed to add a dimension. We started trying that on the South America leg of the tour. After we’d done a few shows like that, we left them off for a show and that’s when we realised that we really missed them. So now they’re part of the design.’

The K2s in particular have impressed their users on the tour. Lead vocalist (and The Voice star) Adam Levine spends much of the show traversing a 130ft-long stage thrust into the audience. Ebdon says the K2s are what he’s listening to from an FOH position that’s just 95 feet from the stage. ‘There’s been no feedback at all,’ he marvels, ‘even though we have so much audience cheering and singing along getting into his microphone.’

Ebdon acknowledges that it can be a challenging location but the alternative could put him virtually in a venue exit ramp: ‘I have to be careful,’ he jokes. ‘If I stand up, they might sell my seat.’

And the system’s Array Morphing tools, part of the LA-Network Manager EQ section, lets Ebdon adjust the sound for different array geometries and conditions of use to fit every venue with confidence. ‘I love the FIR filers and the array morphing tools,’ he says. ‘The system doesn’t need a lot of EQ to start with – it’s a very flat-sounding system, so what we put in is what we get out. But if I have to adjust the HF at all, I know that the rest of the system will stay in balance and in phase. It’s so easy to work with.’

That the sound system for such an immense and important world tour could withstand constant tinkering and keep on delivering world-class sound night after night is a testament to the K1 and K2 designs, says Ebdon. ‘It’s a great-sounding system and one that’s consistent and so easy to get around,’ he says. And with the tour planned to continue, running from early October through March 2017, there will be plenty of opportunities to see what else it can do.

Mackie’s modular Axis digital mixing combines the company’s 32-channel DL32R digital mixer and DC16 control surface with full Dante integration in a new a live sound solution.

The combination of the DL32R digital mixer and DC16 control surface delivers wireless mixing – integrated from the ground up – with 32 remote-controllable Onyx+ mic preamps and 16 outputs paired with built-in DSP. The system is suited to medium and large channel count live sound production and system integration applications. The system relies on Dante for communication between the DL32R mixer and DC16 control surface, enabling additional networking capability for professional applications.

Visual feedback is provided by large, full-colour channel displays. Each screen delivers critical channel information with clear functional colour differentiation, crisp icons and ultra large, highly-legible fonts. This is in addition to the high-resolution screens of the host iPad, which is at the heart of the Axis system.

The Axis design provides a unique surface-to-wireless workflow, allowing users to switch between DC16’s hardware controls and wireless mixing. This is possible via the integrated SmartBridge, which can house up to three iPad devices, delivering simultaneous control over multiple channels and innovative smart sensing that knows when an iPad is in place. SmartBridge provides customisation over each iPad view with both a fixed and history mode that creates workflow flexibility.

The Mackie Axis system includes the DL32R Rackmount Digital Mixer, the DL Dante Expansion Card and the DC16 Digital Control Surface. Touring and install packages are available, including accessories like an 80m Cat5e reel, DC16 road case and more, depending on the package.

‘Axis is an incredibly forward-thinking, professional digital mixing solution,’ says Mackie Senior Product Manager, Ben Olswang. ‘The workflow is amazingly fast, with tremendous visual feedback and customisation. With a completely modular design, flexible multitrack recording and a focus on smart workflow, this system is clearly ahead of the curve. Better workflow through innovation. This is the goal of Axis.’

More: www.mackie.com/axys

Mackie has released the Master Fader 4.5 control app for the DL32R, DL1608 and DL806 digital mixers.

Now supporting the new Mackie AXIS Digital Mixing System, Master Fader v4.5 features all-new reverbs, including a new advanced control section.

Adding another tool for live sound mixing, a Spectrograph is now available alongside the RTA. In addition, the upgraded RTA/Spectrograph tool is now also visible on every input channel for added accuracy when dialing in a channel EQ.

Other feature additions include new factory presets for all EQ, dynamics and FX. New metering ballistics choices are also available, including the ability to choose how long the meter holds an RTA peak level. Rounding out the upgrades is the inclusion of the FX return EQ when saving an FX preset.

‘We’ve spent serious time and development on a completely new set of reverb algorithms that are a true sonic step up for any Master Fader user,’ says Mackie Senior Product Manager, Ben Olswang. ‘They’re more realistic in every way and offer a whole range of new setting options. Your next mix will benefit from the richness and depth of the all-new reverbs.’

More: www.mackie.com

Mackie has appointed Empire Pro as an official distributor for the US.

One of the America’s largest distributors of professional audio, video and lighting equipment, Empire Pro is a leading provider of full system solutions usin leading audio, video and lighting brands. Located in the heart of Los Angeles, Empire Pro offers reliable sales and support, as well as prompt delivery of gear worldwide.

‘Mackie has a proven performance history and a dedication to understanding the real-world needs of the user that will ensure success,’ says Edmond Khanian, VP of Empire Pro. ‘The built-like-a-tank gear offers true and lasting value whether you are a musician or running a venue.’

Empire Pro offers comprehensive technical and sales support, and is dedicated to working closely with vendors, marketing and media partners. Dealer education is also key to the company’s philosophy with a focus on providing live training events, webinars, videos and white papers.

‘Empire Pro’s professionalism and love of technology is a big part of what makes the company a success, and its solid expertise in all things pro audio makes it an invaluable partner for us, as well as for our dealers,’ says Mackie Director of Channel Marketing, Matt Redmon.

Will Madera, front-of-house engineer for Pitbull and Gabriel Gill front-of-house engineer for Farruko, are the latest engineers to adopt Waves eMotion LV1 mix on their joint tour.

‘The state of music is constantly evolving, and when the Waves eMotion LV1 mixing console burst onto the scene, there was no question in my mind that it would change the future of live sound,’ says Madera. ‘Its innovative touchscreen console surface and superior sound quality with incredible headroom have made it my clear choice. It’s also perfect for a true lover of plug-ins: the ability to use eight plug-ins on a channel strip is phenomenal, and it makes the LV1 a true game-changer. It was the number-one choice for our US tour.

‘As a producer/engineer for Pitbull, it is extremely beneficial because I can now use all my Waves studio plug-in chains with the LV1, sonically making my live shows sound like the records. Along with Asst. Engineer Jesus Canton, my right-hand man in the studio and for live sound, we constantly mix records and use all sorts of Waves plug-ins to shape our sound. It allows me to bring the warmth and musical experience that the audience expects to hear.

‘The Waves SSL E-Channel is my go-to plug-in from the studio to live; on my LV1, I use it on almost every channel – it’s my bread and butter,’ he adds. ‘It translates exactly how I want to EQ my instruments and brings that classic SSL sound. Since the first time I listened to the Waves H-Reverb Hybrid Reverb, it has been my favourite reverb plug-in. I use it on snare, percussion and vocals. It is absolutely phenomenal. Another favourite is the Waves Vitamin Sonic Enhancer, and the name says it all. It provides La Vitamina to my left and right. As a multi-band harmonic enhancer, it is the key to keeping my mix warm, smooth and very powerful.’

‘I had been looking at the eMotion LV1 mixing console in January 2016,’ Gill offers. ‘After a day spent in New York at a Waves Seminar, I knew that would be the next board on my rider. The portability, ease of use and integrity with my Waves plug-ins are very important things for me. But above all, the sound quality of the board was the determining factor.

‘Being able to integrate my Waves servers, computers with Waves TracksLive together with the DiGiGrid IOX, in such an easy way, makes my setup time a lot quicker. With shows every day, spending less time in setup allows me to spend more time for sound check, or Virtual Sound Check and recording the show using TracksLive. Also, having used Waves products in the studio for more than 11 years, bringing them over to the LV1 is very beneficial. Knowing what the producers use in the studio lets me get my artist’s vocals to what the audience is used to hearing on the recording. It also lets me experiment with new sounds in the studio, before I try them in a live situation.’

‘Using the Waves L3-LL Multimaximizer on my LR channel lets me bring up my entire mix while keeping it nice and clear. It gives me the control I need in order to be able to compress a specific band, but not compromise my dynamic range. Ever since using the Waves H-Delay Hybrid Delay for the first time, it has become my main delay on all my vocals and snares. I love being able to use it for effects or simply to hear a short vocal delay. I started experimenting with using Waves Renaissance Bass and Waves LoAir and have never looked back. I use the Renaissance Bass to get the ‘smack’ of the kick and bass, while using the Lo Air to get the rumble in the subs.’

More: www.waves.com

Iron Maiden’s Book of Souls World Tour is delivering the the band’s established metal cocktail with a Meyer Sound loudspeaker system on a six-month, 35-country tour that began in February. As on previous outings, the Book of Souls World Tour travels on Ed Force One, a custom-painted Boeing 747 flown by frontman and commercial airline pilot, Bruce Dickinson.

FOH engineer Martin Walker chose Meyer Sound’s Leo family of loudspeaker systems after using one on Judas Priest’s 2014-2015 world tour: ‘Leo’s clarity and headroom help out a great deal when it comes to balancing the mix,’ he says. ‘Iron Maiden has three guitars, vocals, and occasional keyboards all vying for the same frequency bands in the mix. With Leo, the clarity cuts right through. That also allows me to mix louder than before.’

Walker notes that the band has been pleased with audience reactions to the sound, and appreciates the directed sound of the 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements: ‘The band doesn’t like to be soaked by sub-bass bleed back on the stage, and the low-end control I get from the 1100s takes care of that neatly,’ he says. ‘Out front, management has also noticed a difference this time out. They recently remarked to me, ‘I don’t know what this new rig is, but I love it.’

For North American shows in arenas of 15,000–20,000, a typical system configuration comprises dual hangs of 14 Leo-M over four Lyon linear line array loudspeakers, 18 1100-LFC elements in a cardioid configuration, and a centre stack of four 700-HP subwoofers. Out fill hangs are 15 Lyon loudspeakers each, and twin arrays of six-each Leopard line array loudspeakers cover the rear stage. Various fills of UPA-1P, MSL-4, and JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers are often included to suit the venue. A Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with one Galileo Callisto 616 AES and six Galileo Callisto 616 array processors supplies drive and optimisation.

This marks the first time Iron Maiden has toured with a Leo Family system. Daily set-up is supervised by systems tech Richard Trow, with the system supplied by Major Tom Ltd and additional equipment support from Rainbow Production Services.

Walker adds that Iron Maiden’s rider specifies a Leo Family system as top preference worldwide, but on other legs of the tour the actual system used may be determined by availability, promoter preference, or a festival system already in place.

One of the most venerated concert halls in America since it opened its doors in 1921, the Town Hall in midtown Manhattan called on Audio Incorporated to specify a new sound system –which turned out to be a Renkus-Heinz VL3 active line array.

‘Renkus-Heinz VL3 self-powered line arrays deliver a clear, transparent sound,’ says Audio Incorporated President, Stephen Tolve. ‘Whether the show is classical or jazz, rock artists like David Crosby and Jackson Browne, or A Prairie Home Companion, you want it to sound as if you were listening to the performance without needing a sound system-especially in a venue that’s famed for its acoustics.’

The 1,500-seat Town Hall is a very wide room, with a short downstairs area, so there aren’t many rows in the audience down on the floor. ‘But the balcony is quite deep so coverage was an issue in the past,’ Tolve observes. ‘Not with the Renkus-Heinz system, though.’

Tolve’s team chose three VL3 self-powered line arrays and one Renkus-Heinz DR18-2R dual 18-inch subwoofer per side for the main system. The system sits on carts that can be rolled out on either side of the stage. There is minimal under-balcony seating at Town Hall, which makes coverage a bit easier. Still, covering every seat in the deep balcony could have posed a difficult challenge. Tolve solved that with two Renkus-Heinz CF101LA modular point source arrays per side, which handle the balcony.

Renkus-Heinz’ VerSys VL3 is an active three-way line array, equipped with dual 1kW, 12-inch neodymium woofers. The system works with Renkus-Heinz’ Rhaon system-manager software. The CF218-S subwoofers and VL3 arrays together form a system capable of handling anything from classical and jazz to rock. ‘Before we installed the Renkus-Heinz system, most artists brought in their own sound systems,’ Tolve recalls. ‘Now, most artists and engineers prefer the Renkus-Heinz house system; they love the sound.’

Although Town Hall’s mantra ‘not a bad seat in the house’ originally referred to its unobstructed sightlines, the new audio system and room acoustic readily extend it to the sound as well.

More: www.renkus-heinz.com

With a break in Maroon 5’s M5OnTheRoad trip around the US and Europe, tour FOH engineer Jim Ebdon can reflect on his choice of SSL’s L500 Plus mixing desk – a result of hearing a comparison between it and other consoles at a music festival…

‘I’m not choosing a console because it looks pretty or because there is a ton of stuff on it that I’m probably never going to use,’ he says. ‘I’m choosing a console because of how it sounds, which is the most important thing.’

Having been with the band since the early days of their success, Ebdon knows the band well: ‘They are the most consistent band I have ever worked with,’ he says. ‘Especially the drummer; he never misses a beat.’

Because of this, he doesn’t need them for soundchecks. He uses a recording of the previous night’s show and switches the console into rehearsal mode so the inputs are taken from the multitrack rather than the stage. Ebdon has also found himself particularly impressed by the desk’s onboard processing – although for lead singer Adam Levine’s vocal, he uses a tried and trusted external preamp, though once into the console he uses the internal EQ and a multiband compressor from the L500 FX Rack.

‘The console compressors sound great, the gates work really well and the delay is amazing,’ he says. ‘The end result just seems bigger, fatter and more open. I do have one outboard reverb, which is something I’m just used to and something I take with me, but I could easily do a show with the onboard reverbs.

On the current show, has been using the redundant fibre-based SSL Blacklight II connection from stage for the 56 band inputs – a high-bandwidth multiplexed Madi format capable of carrying up to 256 96kHz signals. 

Another feature of the L500 that particularly stands out for Ebdon is the All Pass Filter – an adjustable and gradual phase shift around a centre frequency, without gain change at any frequency. Fine tuning the relationship between channels with the All Pass Filter can have a profound effect on the sound: ‘Just getting two guitar channels beautifully lined up – the presence is incredible,’ he says. ‘I’m really impressed with that.’

He also uses it with his three kick drum channels – two mics and a sample: ‘As a standard feature on this console it’s amazing, he says.’

Ebdon uses traditional Aux path types for FX and so on, but does use the Stem path type for things like parallel compression and record splits for broadcast trucks: ‘I can send all my vocals to one pair of stems,’ he explains. ‘Then all the guitars to another pair, and so on. In the record truck they just to put all the faders at zero, and there is my mix.’

A stem is a versatile, fully processed audio group with extensive input and output routing possibilities – including other Stems. Any stem can be derived from any one of six points along another processed path, and of course any processed path can be re-arranged simply by dragging and dropping processing blocks using the multi-touch screen.

Overall, the analogue sound of the L500 paired with its digital advantages are a winning combination for Ebdon: ‘For me, the SSL is an analogue console with a save button. I’d tell anyone to go out and try it. Why wouldn’t you?’

More: www.solidstatelogic.com

The main stage at Kosmonaut Festival in Saxony recently gave Complete Audio to field its Martin Audio MLA system – demonstrating the event’s dramatic growth sine being set up in 2014 by the band Kraftklub.

Staged in Chemnitz as a mini-festival – on a flatbed truck, with speakers on sticks – Complete Audio has been servicing the event from the outset. ‘Since all the major acts were bands that we take care of on the road, MLA was the obvious system,’ Complete Audio MD, André Rauhut, explains.

He adds that each year a secret major act takes over the headline slot – for 2016 it was German hip-hop act, Die Fantastischen Vier, while Casper appeared as a special guest for his only live performance of the year.

The sound system was designed by Benny Franke, comprising two main hangs of 11 MLA boxes and two MLD Downfill per side, with front fills handled by Martin Audio W8LMD line array tops. The subs consisted of a broadside array of 20 MLX boxes along the front apron – a challenging deployment for Complete Audio, since the stage is built on a slope at the Rabenstein Reservoir site.

Complete Audio technicians optimised the sound so that all sound levels were comfortably achieved: ‘We used Martin Audio’s latest Beta version of Display, so we could recalculate the measurements using the newest options and algorithms,’ says Rauhut, who also confirmed that this met the approval of the promoters, who were said to be extremely happy with the sound quality.

More: www.martin-audio.com

Complementing Martin Audio’s high-performance XE Series monitors, the LE Series claims to bring ‘performance and controlled coverage at a price point not previously possible for a truly professional monitor’.

Both the LE100 (1 x 12-inch LF) and the LE200 (1 x 15-inch LF) are designed for a wide range of users and applications – from up-and-coming bands and regional rental houses, to corporate A/V events, HOW and fixed installations.

With extremely compact enclosures and the same Coaxial Differential Dispersion drivers as the CDD-Live range, the LE Series monitors deliver cut-through sound with a coverage pattern that allows performers greater freedom of movement compared to conventional monitors. Instead of the typical ‘hot-spot’, they produce a near-rectangular coverage pattern over a listening plane at head height – with a wide horizontal coverage close to the monitor that reduces gradually as distance increases to maintain consistent SPL and tonal balance.

‘Professional and affordable, the latest LE Series puts great sound, optimised coverage and the very latest in innovative monitor technology literally at your feet, says Marketing Director, James King.

More: www.martin-audio.com

Ending a long search for a suitable mid-sized loudspeaker array, UK-based Limelight Presentation Systems has invested in a Martin Audio’s MLA Compact system.

Having been a Martin Audio house for ten years, Limelight Head of Audio, Dave Plant had reviewed all the premier brands before deciding that the time was right to invest in MLA Compact: ‘We service an eclectic mix of events and we’ve been looking at MLA Compact ever since it came out with a view to replacing our [Martin Audio] LCs,’ he explains. ‘But because of the varied nature of our work – providing coverage for 10,000 people at a festival one moment and then doing a corporate show for 500 the next – we thought long and hard.

‘Setting up AB testing was difficult, but we knew the sound of MLA and the stats were impressive. Also, the original Wembley Arena presentation of the large system had answered all the questions about line array deployment, and the shortfalls – which made it very exciting. Finally, we knew that MLA was voiced similarly to the LC and we would be able to run it alongside, for out fill or near-field duties.’

The delivery comprises 24 MLA Compact elements and 13 MLX subwoofers. Plant said the only criteria was that the new system would achieve a 75m-80m throw, ‘and we immediately achieved that,’

The system saw first use on a three-day event at the 7,500 capacity Don Valley Bowl in Sheffield, promoted by evergreen local venue The Leadmill, with Hacienda Classical, George Ezra and Ocean Colour Scene headlining the respective nights. Limelight rigged the entire complement, with 12 MLA Compact flown each side and four stacks of three MLX along the front in broadside cardioid pattern, with a W8LC mounted on top of each stack for front fill.

With bands like The Coral and The Bluetones also on the bill the event was an unqualified success. Plant, who was also production manager, and system tech Will Dickinson had little difficulty in optimising the sound using Martin Audio’s Display software. ‘We used the Hard Avoid setting and comfortably met Sheffield Council’s offsite sound limits, while maintaining around 100dB(A) in the Bowl at the mix position,’ Plant confirms. ‘Reports were that the system sounded stunning, and everyone was very happy.’

More: https://martin-audio.com