Solid State Logic has implemented further support of immersive audio for ATSC 3.0, Dolby Atmos and MPEG-H in updates for the System T software architecture.

With the emergence of 3D immersive audio in broadcast as well as in film, SSL’s new three-axis co-ordinate panning for System T incorporates two- or four-channel overhead speakers into the available channel and bus formats. As well as positioning mono and stereo sources in a 3D sound field, System T can accept multichannel 3D sources and fine-tune spatial components as they are added to the final production mix. This is essential in multilingual sports productions where effects and ambience multichannel 3D ‘beds’ will be used extensively as the basis of the individual programme mixes.

Supported formats include 5.1.2 and 5.1.4, 7.1.2 and 7.1.4 (with side channels as well as rear channels). A 4.0.4 format designed primarily for beds and stems ensures that the centre channel remains exclusively available for dialogue and commentary. The 4.0.4 format is also ideal for the output of the new generation of VR mics that capture a four-channel ambisonics scene representation. This can then be rendered in a multichannel format for incorporation into an ‘object/bed’ based immersive mix.

Intelligent downmixing means that conventional 5.1, stereo, and mono mixes can be created simply by routing a 3D channel or stem to a suitably formatted master bus. Downmix coefficient control of the overhead (top) to floor (bottom) mix and the side channels to front and rear, permits user adjustment of the system derived defaults. An elegant unified approach to divergence processing eliminates the complexity often found in the panning solutions offered on workstations and other digital consoles, which require multiple parameters to determine the balance between the discrete and phantom components of the centre and side channel signals.

Partnering the new 3D channel and bus formats is a 12-channel monitoring section. This includes 49 12-channel monitor inputs, configured as a primary monitor input and two 24-channel preselectors, together with a 12-channel AFL monitor bus, and a pair of 12-channel insert points for external processing and rendering engine returns, offering all the monitoring tools required in a 3D production environment. An additional secondary main monitor output allows use of both conventional monitor speakers as well as a secondary sound bar or other domestic style monitor setup for real-world quality checking. A further two stereo Alt outputs can be used for nearfield monitors or for simultaneous secondary program monitoring in multi-language productions. Independent channel level and delay adjustment is available for both main monitor outputs.

Completing the Immersive feature set in System T is an extensive collection of processing tools. In addition to all the standard path processing (EQ, Filters, Dynamics 1, Dynamics 2, Delay) including up to 7.1.4 capability, the System T FX rack includes immersive format versions of the Bus Compressor, Multiband Compressor, Enhancer, Dynamic EQ, G flex EQ, All Pass Filter, De-Noiser and Summing Module.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com

Canada’s most prestigious music awards event, the Juno Awards recently aired live on CTV from Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome, with performances by Alessia Cara, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dean Brody, Jann Arden, Shawn Mendes, The Tenors and The Weeknd. Solotech’s live sound reinforcement system kept the music clear throughout.

Solotech’s L-Acoustics system proved to be a particularly ideal solution for the venue, a beautiful sounding hall with a hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped roof (the world’s longest) offering fantastic interior sightlines but presenting a number of challenges in terms of weight limitations.

‘The K2 provides lots of power for its weight, so it was the perfect choice for this show, and perhaps the only real choice,’ says Solotech Project Manager Patrice Lavoie. ‘Because of its light weight we were able to design a system optimised for the venue and show’s particular setup without having to focus on structural limitations.’

The system more than sufficiently accommodated the show’s wide range of musical performances – from rock, pop and electronic to country, folk and classical. The main PA consisted of four K1 enclosures over 14 K2 per side, with low frequencies extended by eight K1-SB subs flown to the outside of each K1/K2 hang plus six total SB28 ground-stacked below. Out-fills were comprised of 16 K2 per side, while two more arrays of six K2 were flown out in the house for delay.

To cover the challenging V-shaped audience space in front of the stage, four ARCS Focus enclosures made up a centre cluster – two firing downward toward the base of the V with a single cabinet addressing each side section. On stage, monitor duties were fulfilled by ten 12XT coaxial speakers powered by three LA4X amplified controllers. Aside from the stage wedges, the entire system was powered using 56 LA8 amplified controllers.

Considering the range of music genres represented at the show, Lavoie says that many system designers would raise an eyebrow at the fact that only six floor-stacked SB28 subs were deployed. That, he notes, is testament to both the SB28’s power and K2’s full-range speaker design.

‘The amount of sound and low-frequency response that we achieved using only six subs on the floor was amazing,’ he says. ‘And K2, of course, gave us excellent coverage, with a tight pattern that was able to deliver sound exactly where it was needed, in a venue with considerable weight-loading restrictions. The show had a lot of great sound from a system smaller and lighter than you would have expected. It wouldn’t have been the same without K2.’

Sommer Cable has introduced the SC-Elephant Robust SPM 440 DMX combination loudspeaker and DMX cable for simultaneous connection of subwoofers with integrated sensors at live events and rental companies.

While conventional subwoofer designs have been in use for many years and proven to be reliable, Sensor Control Subwoofer Technology has now prompted a decisive step towards a complete and coherent loudspeaker set-up. This offers an extended low-frequency range with a flat frequency and phase response with greater precision and definition.

Sommer Cable has developed the SC-Elephant Robust DMX custom combo cable with a compact diameter of 19.5mm (0.77-inch), Enclosed within the stranding of the four 4mm (AWG11) loudspeaker cable element are two DMX cables, insulated and shielded, with a wire cross-section of 0.22mm (AWG24). This integrated 110Ω control lines allows for sensor-control subwoofer systems without the need for laying extra cables. As an added convenience, the control line may also be used as an ordinary microphone cable or for tie lines.

SC-Elephant Robust DMX will be available in Q1 2022.

More: http://sommercable.com/en

Sommer Cable has introduced the SC-Silver Stage microphone cable, using copper with silver alloy wire for high conductivity and consistent performance specs over long periods of time.

Unlike copper oxide, silver oxide is conductive but its electrical and mechanical properties can vary slightly over time, causing sonic tone colour to change. Some musicians and hi-fi aficionados find the sound of silver cable to be somewhat neutral, cool, or overly bright. SC-Silver Stage cable uses only tightly and concentrically stranded class 6N copper wire, which is then refined and smoothed with high-quality silver alloy. The result is a cable with long-lasting performance stability and one that can be assembled easily with silver solder and without electrical losses.

SC-Silver Stage has a flexible, but robust outer jacket composed of temperature-resistant PVC that is fortified with advanced gas-foamed, smoothed wire insulation. This new cable has ‘an extremely clear, clean sound’ and suits use as high-class balanced connection cable for microphones, mixing consoles and patchbays, both in the studio and on stage. With 120Ω wave impedance, the cable easily performs within AES/EBU tolerances.

Sommer’s SC-Silver Stage cable is available both as bulkware or as ready-made lengths with XLR connection for immediate use.

More: http://sommercable.com

Attracting major artists and their fans, the South by Southwest festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas features a wide variety of music along with film, interactive media and conferences. This year’s event saw Allen & Heath and dB Technologies among the companies providing sound reinforcement for the various stages.

Mixers from across A&H’s dLive, GLD and Qu ranges were employed in many participating venues across the city during the six-day event, most notably for the renowned British Music Embassy showcase, which hosted artists including Slaves, Kate Nash and Rag ’n’ Bone Man. At the Latitude 30 club, British production company CATO Music installed three dLive systems to manage FOH, monitors and broadcast duties for up to 12 bands a day.

With a new band appearing approximately every 40 minutes, a quick set-up and easy navigation for each visiting band engineer were the key system requirements. In addition, the system needed to provide a multitrack recording feed for the BBC, which broadcasted much of the British Music Embassy programming.

A dLive S5000 Surface with DM32 MixRack was installed for FOH, digitally split via GigaAce to a DM64 with S3000 for monitors. Also, a new C Class system, comprising the C1500 rackmount Surface and CDM32 MixRack, was employed for system control, continuity, VT, DJ, announcements and the recording and broadcast feed for the BBC via Dante.

‘The set-up we provided meant it only took a few minutes for an engineer to get comfortable with dLive,’ says Cato Music’s Simon Buckley. ‘Everyone was very happy with the intuitive workflow, and exceptional FX and processing options. Combined with the rich audio quality, we ensured a smooth run.’

dB Technologies DVA Series T8 line arrays, DVA S1518 subs and DVX DM12 TH monitors provided sound reinforcement at the Brush Square East Tent, meanwhile, for week-long events including the Fresh Cuts/SXSW Party, sponsored by the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. ‘The dB Technologies monitors sound very clear,’ says Andrew Lloyd, FOH Engineer. ‘And the DVA house system has a controlled low end and excellent stereo imaging. I also like the dB system’s networking capabilities and its solid rigging set-up.’

At Austin’s famous Threadgill’s World Headquarters, further DVA Series K5 line arrays, supported by KS10 subs and DVX DM12 TH monitors provided FOH sound for multiple artists at events like the 360 Showcase and A Night with Jimmie Dale Gilmore. ‘Every artist has complemented us for the on-stage sound [monitors] and, yesterday, at least ten people in the audience told me that it sounds great,’ says FOH Engineer, Andrew Twenter.

‘Our DVA line array systems are great choices for outdoor events like the ones at Brush Square and Threadgills,’ adds dB Technologies National Sales Manager, Colin Studybaker. ‘Both the DVA K5 and T8 systems sound great with minimal set-up required and both systems are suitable for all kinds of weather. And we’re grateful to Music Labs and Threadgills for their help in setting up and operating the systems.’

Sound.com has expanded its inventory of digital mixing consoles with the purchase of a DiGiCo SD5 from New Delhi-based Hi-Tech Audio Systems.

Committed to delivering ‘great sound’, Sound.com has evolved from small sound rental company to take a place among India’s foremost. ‘It is the most rider acceptable console globally,’ says Sound.com MD Warren D’souza. For me, the choice was simple, and there wasn’t any other console on my purchase radar. We were essentially investing in a SD7, but without the dual engine and an incredible worksurface, and Stealth Core2’s processing power increases the channel count to 243 inputs, 124 aux/sub groups and 24X24 matrix. And that’s just the beginning…

‘The ability to have Waves plug-ins is also a big advantage – the commitment from both DiGiCo and Waves to developing better products, plus the addition of DiGiGrid interfaces made it an obvious, future-proof choice. It’s not a secret that DiGiCo is the number one choice for all top touring engineers, globally.

‘The SD5 is not genre-specific,’ he adds. ‘It can be used for anything from concerts, televised events, sporting to global spectaculars. In my opinion, this is the only desk that can we wired to any end of an optical cable, whether it’s for FOH, monitors or broadcast.

‘We also have a tried and tested SD10 that we recently upgraded to Steath Core 2 and optics. In the past, we have had many productions that need two DiGiCo consoles and there is also a demand for higher buss counts and inputs channels, particularly on our top tier productions. This cemented our reasons for working with DiGiCo and investing in the company’s products.

‘We have been associated with Warren for a long time and have seen him investing only in the best,’ says Hi-Tech Audio Systems MD, Rajan Gupta. ‘He was very clear on his requirements and what the SD5 could deliver for him. We congratulate Warren on his purchase.’

Providing solutions for events ranging from a speech to 20 people to the largest music festivals and firework extravaganzas, Northamptonshire-based PA rental company Sound4Hire has added Linea Research 44M20 networked DSP amplifiers to hire stock.

‘Following several months of research into advancing the sound quality and phase correction of our loudspeaker systems, as well as the ability to explore Beam Steering, we set our criteria and started to see what was available to us – with no limits,’ says Sound4Hire’s Brett Masters. ‘During extensive listening tests of both separate DSP and DSP controlled amplifiers from the industry’s best manufacturers we found the Linea Research 44M20 to be sonically better than everything that made the short list. Interestingly, they equalled or outperformed even our reference class-A/B amplifiers.’

‘This really was the perfect amp for their application,’ offers Linea Research Director, Davey Smalley. ‘With four channels at 5kW coupled with our advanced 96kHz DSP Brett was able to fully realise his goals and maximise how their system performs.’

Further to their extensive evaluations Sound4Hire have taken delivery of 16 Linea Research 44M20 amplifiers to be integrated into their modular networked infrastructure. This initial purchase will be used to drive their Martin Audio Longbow, LC and WS218X systems as well as other loudspeakers in their inventory.

The 44M20 is the flagship of Linea Research’s M Series of touring amplifiers, the complete range comprises both four and eight channel DSP amplifiers, three in each category. The 20kW 44M20 delivers 4x5kW, the 44M10 offers 4x2.5kW, and the 44M06 4x1.5kW. In eight-channel variants there are the 48M10 8x1.25kW, 48M06 8x750W and 48M03 8x400W, each capable of delivering their full rated power into 2Ω, 4Ω or 8Ω loads.

Formed in 1995, Sound4Hire has become one of the UK’s most trusted professional audio suppliers. ‘With Sound4Hire’s attention to detail and passion for quality, we’re thrilled to add them to our rapidly growing family of rental users throughout the UK and worldwide,’ Smalley concludes.

Soundcraft has announced the Mini Stagebox 32i and Mini Stagebox 16i, offering multiple channels of remote controlled I/O for Si series products, including the Si Impact mixing console. Additionally, there is a free firmware update for Si Impact consoles that enables up to 80 mix tracks when used with stageboxes.

The firmware allows Si Impact owners to add a stagebox for additional inputs, while simultaneously using the existing console inputs. By adding a second Madi option card to the console, users can add a second stagebox and select which inputs to assign to the 80 mixing channels. With up to 80 total mix tracks, more complex mixing scenarios can be accommodates, such as using a Dante card to access a house router, or outputting to either the back of their console or the stagebox – and recording up to 32 tracks over USB to a digital audio workstation.

The Mini Stagebox 32i and Mini Stagebox16i  are equipped with Studer-designed preamps, and provide multiple channels of Madi I/O via standard Cat5 cabling. A streamlined design provides connections and features, including a Madi over RJ45 connector built right onto the chassis. No local hardware configuration or option cards are needed or required. Dedicated XLR mic preamp inputs allow 32 or 16 simultaneous channels of external analogue input. Mini Stagebox 32i offers 12 analogue outputs, while Mini Stagebox 16i offers eight analogue outputs for connection to house and stage monitors and broadcast or streaming feeds.

‘The Mini Stagebox 32i and Mini Stagebox 16i are perfect for live sound engineers, houses of worship, bands, club owners and corporate customers that want affordable remote-controlled I/O for their Soundcraft Si series console,’ says Harman Professional Solutions Solutions Manager for Mixing, Scott Wood. ‘They deliver the input power, versatility and sound quality of large-scale traditional mixing solutions at an incredible value. Combined with the Si Impact firmware update, the new stageboxes make the Si line more compelling and flexible than ever.’

The Soundcraft Mini Stagebox 32i and Mini Stagebox 16i are expected to be available in May 2017.

Soundcraft has released Si Impact v2.0 firmware, a free update that expands the capabilities of the Soundcraft Si Impact digital mixing console by enabling 80 total channels to mix.

The v2.0 update, along with new Mini Stagebox 32i and 16i, and free updates to ViSi Remote and ViSi Listen tablet control apps, expand the options for Si Impact, allowing users to combine the 40 mix inputs on the back of the console, plus all 32 USB inputs for 72 total channels to mix. Adding a Mini Stagebox 32i or 16i as additional input sources givesup to 64 mic channels to mix. Users can also add a second Madi option card and two Mini Stagebox units to provide up to 96 microphone preamps, 136 total inputs and 80 channels to mix. Adding a Dante card provides 64 Dante channels to mix.

In addition, new versions of the ViSi tablet applications are now available to support the expanded Si Impact channel count. ViSi Remote 3.4.3 and ViSi Listen 1.1.1 are now available at the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. Si Impact v2.0 firmware is now available as a free download.

More: www.soundcraft.com

Soundcraft has released an a free firmware update for its Ui Series digital consoles, adding features and extending browser and device compatibility.

Soundcraft engineers considered feedback from the user community and have included many of the most requested features within this firmware update. Most notably, the software now supports Microsoft's latest Edge browser. In addition, the Ui12 now includes stereo recording features, previously found only on the Ui16.

The introduction of a more secure password-protected Access Limitation System now gives mix engineers the comfort of assigning secure access privileges to other users. A wide range of limitations are possible, giving complete flexibility on what areas of the mixer are opened up to individual user control.

A new Sync ID feature has also been added, allowing users to maintain channel Sync across multiple browser windows, on different displays or even devices. On large screens or multiple screens, users can open multiple GUI Edit windows (EQ, dynamics, and FX) and have them maintain channel sync. Users can select a channel on any of these pages and instantly view and control all EQ, dynamics and FX values across devices and displays.

Further enhancements include MoreMe Portrait On/Off mode, Enable/Disable SSID broadcast, Channel Mute now mutes auxes in PFL mode, and new global pre-fade Aux Send Point Selection and AFS2 preset manager. Mac Address visibility in Network Settings, a local user settings Preset Manager, Reset Local User Settings as a default feature and host of other optimisations and issue updates are also included in the firmware update.

The Soundcraft Ui Series mixers feature cross-platform compatibility with iOS, Android, Windows, Mac OS and Linux devices, and can use up to ten control devices simultaneously. In addition, the Ui12 and Ui16 each feature built-in signal processing from dbx, DigiTech and Lexicon, including dbx AFS2 and DigiTech Amp Modeling. Both models feature fully recallable and remote-controlled mic gain and phantom power, along with fiur-band parametric EQ, high-pass filter, compressor, de-esser and noise gate on input channels.

‘The HTML5 control GUI, coupled with stunning onboard DSP from dbx, Digitech and Lexicon has made the Ui12 and Ui16 the mixers of choice for many customers,’ says Harman Professional Solutions Product Manager, Danny Olesh. ‘The latest firmware extends the Ui12 and Ui16 mixers’ features and compatibility even further.’

The free software update for Ui Series digital mixers is available immediately. New and existing Ui Series mixer customers can download the upgrade from the Soundcraft website.

More: www.soundcraft.com

Soundcraft has introduced the Vi1000 Digital Mixing Console, offering features from the Vi Series in the most compact form factor to date.

Vi-000 retains all the mixing and processing power of the larger Vi2000 and 3000 for live touring, music venue and corporate A/V, with applications where a compact and cost-effective, but powerful console is required.

Employing Soundcraft’s Vistonics II channel strip user interface, together with FaderGlow, the console combines the operating principles and workflows from the Vi3000, 5000 and 7000 consoles with Soundcraft SpiderCore – a built-in DSP and I/O engine based on Studer technology, providing 40-bit floating point processing. The Vi1000 also comes into its own as an additional remote-control surface for any of the larger consoles in the range, using their Mirroring feature.

In addition to gating and compression on all 96 channel paths, audio processing functionality includes BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ and Lexicon multi-effects via an insertable processing pool – plus the ability to insert up to 64 external devices. Studer vMix automatic voice mixing is built-in and BSS 966 graphic EQs are available on all output buses.

The Vi1000’s rear panel local I/O features 16 HQ mic/line inputs, 16 line outputs, and two 64 channel expansion slots that allow up to two Madi-based Stageboxes to be connected. Alternatively, the slots provide access to a range of D21m I/O option cards, that address all industry standard audio formats. Four channels of AES/EBU I/O plus USB and Midi connections complete the back panel. The total I/O count of the console is 212 inputs and 212 outputs.

As is standard with all Vi000-series consoles, a built-in 64x64ch Dante/Madi interface provides direct recording/playback connection via Ethernet to any Windows or Mac-based recording software, or allows the Vi1000 to integrate into an existing Dante network. The associated optical Madi interface allows an alternate record feed to Madi-equipped storage devices or connection of the Soundcraft Realtime Rack Plug-in engine, adding Universal Audio UADT-powered plug-ins to the console’s sonic palette.

The Vi1000’s built-in monitoring support for AKG, Shure and Sennheiser wireless microphone systems provides checking of battery power, RF levels and frequencies, plus audio level and clipping status of the attached wireless microphones – on the channel strip that controls each mic.

‘The Vi1000 represents all that we’ve learned over the years with our Vi line and channels that knowledge and experience into a new desk that delivers superior audio performance and a world-class feature set – now delivered in the most compact form factor we’ve achieved so far,’ says Soundcraft Product Manager, Andy Brown.

More: www.soundcraft.com

From loading up a Ford E350 van with a Soundcraft Series 1S mixing console, JBL horn-loaded speaker system and Crown DC-300 and DC-150 amplifiers in the mid 1970s, Soundworks of Virginia has become a full-service live production company with more than US$1m of equipment that’s used for events including multi-day festivals that attract more than 200,000 spectators. Most recently, the Richmond-based production company invested in two.Soundcraft Vi5000 consoles to replace its Vi4 consoles.

While much has changed since Soundworks was founded, its loyalty to Soundcraft has endured: ‘We appreciate the sound quality of the Soundcraft Vi systems,’ says company President, Steve Payne. ‘It’s especially pleasing when a guest engineer turns around with a big grin and says, this thing sounds great…’

Prior to purchasing the Vi5000 consoles, Soundworks had much success using the Vi4 consoles at hundreds of events pver the last four years. One such event was a large outdoor show in 2015 with the Richmond Symphony, where the symphony’s mix engineer was so impressed with the Vi4 console that Soundworks was subsequently hired to provide audio support for all of the Symphony’s 2016 outdoor concerts.

‘Almost without exception, guest engineers who are new to the Vi series are thrilled with the console,’ reports Soundworks VP and Senior Engineer, Grant Howard. ‘They’re extremely pleased with its easy interface and exceptional sound quality. We continue to appreciate the ease of setup on gigs that have short changeover times. There is no burrowing down into menus with the Vi operating system. Every feature is readily accessible and very quick to access.’

According to Payne, when the Vi5000 consoles were introduced, he and his team knew it was a must-have upgrade. They particularly appreciate the Vi5000’s startup time of less than 30 seconds, enhanced Vistonics screen graphics, 128 inputs/32 stereo outputs and more powerful user-definable keys. Payne was especially happy to see the digital implementation of the classic BSS DPR901ii Dynamic EQ adding to the channel processing.

‘I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to see the 901 multiband compressor included in the latest software for the Vi,’ Payne says. ‘For the longest time, I have been half-jokingly saying to Soundcraft, “Come on guys, you own BSS. It would be a no-brainer to put a 901 into the Vi”. Well, they actually did it, and it rocks. What a great audio tool to have at your fingertips.

‘The Vi Series consoles are one of the few digital desks that stand alone as a total mixing package. The Vi’s have powerful, no-compromise audio tools built in. It’s all there,’ he adds. ‘When Soundcraft added plug-in tools, they did something exceptional. The UAD plug-ins running on the Realtime Rack hits it out of the park. The UAD plug-ins are the pinnacle of classic analogue signal processing emulation. The Realtime Rack integrates seamlessly with the Vi surface and operating system.’

More: www.soundcraft.com

From beginnings in retail and installation services 20 years ago, US company SPL Systems moved its focus exclusively to live sound. Today, owner Bill Forbes and his team spend a lot of time transporting gear to jobs that range from state fairs to corporate events. Looking to upgrade the audio performance, DSP and networking of the company’s amplifier rig, SPL Systems turned to Powersoft and the X and K Series amplifiers.

Forbes’ decision to overhaul the SPL Systems amplifier inventory was not made lightly: ‘I’m a very cautious buyer and it took a lot for me to pull the trigger and make the switch,’ he says. ‘I wanted more power with less weight, and I also wanted get into the 21^st century as far as DSP and networking technology. Everyone in the industry I talked to said Powersoft was the best choice to address those needs.’

As a result Forbes purchased a package of two K20 amplifiers, five X4 amplifiers, and two X8 amplifiers to drive his EAW speaker system. Fitting all of the amps into only two racks, he had slimmed down his rig while powering up his output. Since the changeover, Forbes has been using Powersoft’s Armonía software to get the most out of his new amplifiers.

‘What’s great about Armonía is that I can change any amp to any role on the fly, so my racks aren’t limited to just one use,’ he says. ‘I used to have a specific rack for monitors, one for my KF 730 speakers, one for my KF 740 speakers, and so on. Now I’ve just got my two racks and I can designate any amp for any task on the fly through the DSP platform.’

Forbes uses Armonía’s presets to provide optimal settings for his EAW speakers, as well as other manufacturers. ‘Powersoft always has the most up-to-date presets from EAW, so I simply load them onto my amplifiers and I’m good to go,’ he says. ‘They also have great libraries for other manufacturers, which is good to know because if I ever rent out my amp racks I know the user will find whatever presets they need.

‘The power density I can achieve with Powersoft’s single and dual-rack space amps is amazing,’ he continues. ‘I don’t have to worry about getting pulled over at weigh stations on the way to one of the fairs we work and having the trucks be over weight. And I can handle a lot of these events with just one of the Powersoft racks, saving around 600lbs of amplifier weight compared to the old system.’

Reliability is also a valuable quality of the new amps: ‘I’ve been putting these amps through their paces this summer as far as heat and general environmental nastiness and they don’t let up,’ Forbes says. ‘With all the outdoor fairs we’re in the dirt, the dust, the rain, and the humidity, pretty torturous conditions for an amplifier, and these things are just loving it.’ Forbes has also tested their capacity for handling low-resistive loads. ‘I’ve purposely loaded them down to 2Ω to see how they’d handle it and they make it look easy. I didn’t have a single issue with the amps all summer; it was a real breath of fresh air.’


While it wasn’t an easy decision for Forbes to overhaul his amplifier stock, he knows he made the right choice with Powersoft, and Powersoft’s excellent support has made the transition as easy and seamless as possible. ‘The support has been great,’ he says. ‘Any question I’ve had has been answered promptly and thoroughly, but to be honest the product has been really easy to navigate on my own. The interfaces all make sense, which is important for somebody like me who doesn’t like to read manuals!’ While winter is a slower season for SPL Systems as outdoor events wind down in the Northeast, Forbes is already looking forward to hitting the ground running in the spring with his new rig. ‘I can’t wait to get the Powersoft rig out again and take it through its paces.’

More: www.powersoft-audio.com

A selection of instructional, educational and entertaining videos from pro audio and A/V
 

UK audio hire company SSE Hire has upgraded its entire hire stock of Midas mixing systems to the Pro X with Neutron System Engine.

Three Pro9 consoles and a Pro6 have been fitted with the Midas Pro X upgrade package, which allows users to upgrade existing Pro3/6/9 consoles to the  Pro X specification. The upgrade kit comprises the Neutron System Engine with four of Midas’ latest DSPs, while the console surface receives new fascia panels, internal cabling, clips, and the illuminated Pro X logo.

‘Our Midas consoles are extremely popular – they’re rarely in the warehouse,’ says Operations Manager, Stefan Phillips. ‘For us, this was an easy decision. We’ve basically got four brand new desks with the latest technology and software at a fraction of the cost of a complete new system. This also enables us to support any Pro X consoles we sell, making us a great outlet for Midas purchases.

‘We like to supply engineers with the very latest spec in terms of console technology,’ he adds. ‘The Pro X has double the input channel count of the old Pro 9 and with the new Neutron Engine, the desk is a very capable tool for all eventualities. Having four of these consoles means that as a group we can supply from our own stock without the need to sub hire.’

Supplied by SSE Audio, two DiGiCo SD9 mixing desks have spent five weeks touring around Europe with British folk rockers Bear’s Den. Setting out in Scandinavia and taking in Germany, France, the UK, The Netherlands and Belgium, the choice of consoles was down to FOH engineer and Production Manager Scott Humphries, and monitor engineer Rory Mulligan.

‘Scott suggested a complete DiGiCo system from the outset, and I was all for that,’ Mulligan says. ‘I hadn’t worked with DiGiCo consoles for any meaningful length of time before, so I saw it as a good opportunity to learn. I knew they sounded great – a big plus for our IEMs – and I love a good tactile surface having started my career on analogue consoles.’

‘I wanted to put together a package that was small and trailer worthy, but could also manage a large amount of I/O as the channel list grew which, with Bear’s Den, is more often than not,’ Humphries offers. ‘Having SD9s with Stealth Core 2 was a perfect choice for this and the amount of I/O you can now get into the SD consoles is incredible. Being able to scale down to the SD11 has been especially useful for me, as we’re currently out in the States where I’m running monitors from FOH and have a 50 input show all on an SD11i. I was able to covert my SD9 FOH file to the SD11 and then build the monitor mixes around this.’

The channel count at around 52 inputs, including comms and ambient mics. Mulligan had eight stereo IEM mixes – six for the band, plus the backline mix and his cue pack – while Humphries also split a few guitar channels to cater for different styles of playing, using 70 channels on the SD9 with FX returns, with six groups and enough auxes to use eight FX and five matrices for his system outputs.

‘Some guest horn players were added to a few shows on the last run and we gave them a mono mix each,’ Mulligan says. ‘I’ll always set up three extra mono mixes on the board, if possible, in case any of the frontline singers ever needs to go to a wedge. Thankfully I’ve haven’t had to use them. The Stealth Core 2 update offers so much processing. I plan my set up before I start building my file, so that I know everything is properly organised. For me, this is a good way of working; it encourages me to plan strategically, and anticipate any additions I might want to add further down the line.

‘There are so many functions I find incredibly useful. On the input channels, having the ability to quickly switch between a primary and alternative input source in two touches of the screen is great. I use it for my spare main vocal, in case the first goes down. I’m sure there’s a macro I can set up for this, but I haven’t got there yet. The dynamic EQ is a great tool; the design and parameters give such flexibility and it’s fantastic to be able to designate each band as dynamic or static. It allows me to control vocals in a way that means I don’t have to use a compressor so heavily. This goes a long way for me as a monitor engineer when it comes to processing a vocal. It’s just enough to give a singer confidence in their performance, while keeping a natural feel to what they’re hearing. I often use it to minimise the proximity effect of a microphone, or adjust it to each singer’s voice. We’ve also been using the Snapshot system, which lets me do things like automate mutes, fader movements and so on, allowing me more time to mix the show.’

The functions Humphries relies on heavily are the Waves integration and Snapshot system: ‘The instrumentation in a Bear’s Den show is vast,’ he says. ‘We’ll go from a delicate acoustic number into a song with synths, three guitars, horns and drums. Having the scenes to help facilitate that is a massive help. Using the scenes on a DiGiCo console is extremely intuitive and very easy to get your head wrapped around.

‘Switching to DiGiCo has been a night and day mixing experience for me. The Snapshot control and waves integration has been a massive asset that, in turn, has made for a much better sounding show. The band and I often listen back to the shows and work on the mixes together, which is something they now find invaluable and has given them a perspective on what the show actually sounds like. For them, having these tools makes the experience of live shows so much more enjoyable and that’s down to DiGiCo.’

‘DiGiCo have been incredibly supportive throughout,’ Mulligan says. ‘Scott and I spent a day at DiGiCo building our original files. DiGiCo’s James Bradley was on hand all day if we needed anything. We made a few calls to tech support during production rehearsals and we called several times during the tour for little bits of advice and tips. We never had an issue getting through and every person we spoke to was patient and professional. They couldn’t have been better. SSE has also done a great job with Bear’s Den. The gear is prepped beautifully, labelled clearly, and all of it in good nick. They provide a great service on the road too; Dan Bennett dropped extra mics and a shout box to us in Birmingham when we needed them and they provided the PA at the Brixton Academy show too, which ran really nicely.’

‘Dan Bennett and the rest of the team are great and so accommodating,’ Humphries agrees. ‘Both the gear and their support is outstanding.’

‘From an engineer’s perspective, I’m happier than I’ve ever been with a touring console,’ Mulligan concludes. ‘The system goes together quickly and easily, so our daily schedule runs according to plan. The band are getting what they need from the system and that comes down to high quality audio and consistency.’

The fifth annual Palais en Jazz event was held recently at Compiègne’ Imperial Palace, bringing two days of jazz to a royal residence built for Louis XV and restored by Napoleon. Joining the musicians were an the Solid State Logic L500 Plus mixing console and Amadeus PA, featuring PMX monitors, Diva line array, and Maestro subwoofers.

Among the headliners were Damien Schmitt, Erik Truffaz and five-time Grammy Award-winner, composer, author, producer and bass virtuoso Victor Wooten. Jack Trifiro, Tour Manager and FOH Engineer for Victor Wooten was impressed with the technical preparation that Palais en Jazz Technical Director Yohan Progler, and the system tuning provided by Amadeus Director of R&D, Michel Deluc.

‘The Amadeus Diva arrays performed admirably, with impeccable and consistent sound quality throughout the venue,’ he says. ‘The band was very happy with the Amadeus PMX 15 for stage monitoring and the choice of Amadeus made for a very enjoyable show for audience and Band alike.’

The event marked Trifiro’s first use of the SSL console: ‘Most surprising was the wonderful choice of L500 at FOH,’ he reports. ‘I found the ease of navigation, intuitive layout and quality and clarity of my mix an extreme pleasure. With the superb quality of SSL Live and Amadeus loudspeakers a perfect match for Wooten’s impeccable music, the Palais en Jazz engineers could not have been happier with the sound they achieved.’

‘The SSL Live console is designed to help highly skilled operators deliver outstanding performances in the most demanding applications, and this festival is definitely an example of this,’ says SSL Director of International Sales, Philippe Guerinet. ‘The high calibre of the technical set-up and excellent on-site team made it possible for us to reproduce these great performances with immaculate natural detail. I feel everyone, from the musicians and engineers to the audience and hosts, really appreciated the quality of the whole event.’

Initiated in 2012 by Emmanuel Starcky, Director of the National Museums and the estates of the Compiègne and Blérancourt castles, along with and producers Hugo Brugière and Gaetan Byk, Palais en Jazz aims to blend different time periods and cultures in an effort to create one synonymous jazz sound. ‘I found the evening mesmerising,’ comments Starcky. ‘It was intoxicating… all the emotions and vibrations of the music created a moment that was simply magical.’

All performances were supported by Amadeus as a co-sponsor of the event.

Chance The Rapper is a Chicago-born hip-hop artist with more than a little Gospel influence. Sometimes rapper, sometimes soulful singer, and most things in between, his most recent outing, the Magnificent Coloring World Tour, has brought that gospel influence to the fore with a puppet choir to accompany him and The Social Experiment backing band.

SSL L300 live consoles, supplied by VER Tour Sound, were used by both Kyle Bulmann (FOH) and Robert Ziemba (monitors) for the tour, selected after the pair had gone on the hunt for something that would be strong from every angle.

Bulmann cites the combination of sound quality and workflow as being better than any other current platform. He needed something that could deliver the complex aesthetic of an artist that dabbles in many genres without being forced into one sonic signature. ‘I wanted to be able to dial in more colour – more character,’ he says. ‘Even in my initial tests with a few tracks I was able to tell right away that the sound was top notch, especially the sound of the pre-amps and the effects – the on-board saturation and dynamics were fantastic.

‘And after poking around for a bit, it was obvious that the workflow was fantastic as well. It’s very user-definable. You’re not stuck operating the console in only one or two ways. I felt immediately at home with the SSL.’

In monitor world, Ziemba had a busy tour and needed something that could cope with a complex show. ‘With mixes for the puppeteers, the techs, the band, and our video guy to deal with, I had a lot going on. Even with that much, it didn’t get cluttered or confusing. There was never a problem with anything, and it sounds great.’

For Ziemba, the console also shone in rehearsals – having begun rehearsals a couple of days late due to another commitment, but had managed to spend time at the SSL LA office building a show file and was amply prepared. ‘Rehearsals are often the busiest days for a monitor engineer,’ he says. ‘As soon as the band takes a break the Musical Director might start running tracks and he still needs his ears. In a way I never get to leave the desk.

‘With other consoles, when you really want to start moving layouts around and reorganising your workflow, or building a reverb plug-in and so on, you have to think twice – they often kill the audio and a band could lose confidence. The L300 doesn’t do that.’

During the tour Ziemba was often asked about the console by the house engineers: ‘I always said that I can’t think of anything to complain about,’ he says. ‘Usually every desk has one or two things that you wish it could do, or wish it didn’t do, but I feel like everything was thought out on the desk. ‘

The show inputs are 16 channels from the drum kit, dry and FX lines from the trumpet player, four keyboards, six channels of tracks, click, and seven RF mic channels. ‘With all the talkback and utility inputs, the show ended up being about 60 channels,’ explains Bulmann.

He notes that one of his biggest challenges of the tour came from Chance’s dynamic vocal range. ‘It’s around 40dB. The real intimate, raspy, soulful singing that he does has a wildly different tone than the powerful hip-hop passages. When he’s rapping there’s a lot of mid-range in his voice that isn’t there for the more intimate vocals. Being able to feed different processing chains separately via Stems was really helpful.’

‘The Stem architecture on the L300 played a big part in allowing my workflow to reflect what the show needed. On some other consoles, to feed a bus into another bus you’d need actual patch cables. With the SSL Stem channel-type you can do it all internally, and choose the ideal pick-off point. That’sfantastic.’

Both Bulmann and Ziemba aim to continue using SSL Live consoles in the future, especially when it comes to the sound: ‘Part of it is the dynamic range inside the console,’ Bulmann offers. ‘The front end is so clean and there’s so much headroom internally that the band can be as free-spirited – as dynamic – as they want and the console never sounds like it’s being stressed. You can hit a Stem pretty hard, then go into another Stem, then a Master, then a Matrix, and make adjustments at any point without ever running out of headroom. You’re able to do things differently. You can move a bus compressor post-fader or pre-fader with the quick drag of a finger and dial in a wet/dry balance just as fast. That changes how you use them – how you build your show. You can choose let the show breathe a little bit more just like that.’

Renowned Amsterdam music venue Paradiso has installed SSL Live consoles for both its FOH and monitor positions, with an L500 for front-of-house and an L300 for monitoring.

Paradiso opened in 1968 as the Cosmic Relaxation Center Paradiso, after an abandoned church was occupied by hippies who aimed to turn it into a music venue. Since then it has hosted some of the biggest bands and artists in the world, including Prince, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers and U2 – who see the Paradiso as an essential and stop on tours that normally fill venues many times its size. It’s also one of the busiest venues there is, with an extraordinary throughput of acts, both new and established, from all genres.

Having invested in a new Adamson PA system, the Paradiso team turned their attention to audio consoles with a short list of candidates and three days of testing. The criteria were simple – reliability and flexibility, allowing visiting engineers to work without a long learning curve. Above all, the consoles had to sound fantastic.

‘Because of the names we have coming here, we have to be at the top of our game,’ says Paradiso Head of Sound and Production, Marian Emmen. ‘System failure is not an option.

‘Around 20-30 per cent of acts bring their own FOH desk, monitor desk or both. The rest will be using the SSLs, and might only have ten minutes to learn to use them. Sometimes we do mini festivals where we have five bands on in a night. We have one sound check, and the rest has to be done on-the-fly.

The desks were supplied by Dutch pro audio specialist and SSL partner, Audio Electronics Mattijsen. ‘In Amsterdam there is great support from AEM – a solid company that has its own service department, which makes our system engineer very comfortable when it comes to maintenance and support, Emmen  says. ‘Also, SSL is a well-known company with a great reputation for support and that played a role in our decision to buy the consoles.’

It was during the test sessions that Paradiso’s Principal Sound Engineer Dick Versteegh was convinced: ‘It got into me – it had the wow factor,’ he recalls. ‘Other consoles have a lot of toys, but with the SSL I thought, ‘this is a sound desk... Everything has its place. It sounds musical. Everything has space without being separate...’

‘I also like the crazy amount of routing you can do. Some like it easy and simple, I sometimes like it a bit complicated. With this you can do either. With the Stem busses, being able to route to an output or another buss, I find myself dreaming about how I might layer a drum kit.’

For visiting engineers who have not experienced SSL Live before, the set-up can be easily simplified to familiar input channels, traditional buss types, and straightforward fader layouts. ‘If you set it up properly,’ continues Versteegh, ‘An engineer can ‘get it’ within five minutes and start mixing straight away. And of course it really helps that you can change things without disturbing the sound. That’s a big improvement on what we can do now.’

‘The Amsterdam Paradiso is a legendary venue that has hosted an unbelievable string of the world’s very best artists in the centre of Amsterdam,’ says Audio Electronics Mattijsen, Product Specialist, Rafael Nagelkerke. ‘It’s a four-decade long Who’s Who of music.

‘In practice, Paradiso is a highly sophisticated and efficiently run operation with dozens of engineers doing over a thousand shows per year. We are extremely proud the Paradiso team decided SSL Live consoles were the one and only solution of choice after careful evaluation and demos.

‘Like SSL recording consoles were part of laying down many of the most legendary albums, we’re proud SSL Live consoles will be part of many memorable performances to come.’

Recently on the road mixing FOH for Brazilian super-group Tribalistas, Dan Carvalho specified SSL’s L500 Plus mixing console for both FOH and monitors.

Carvalho’s relationship with Tribalistas goes back 15 years to their first album recording and the early days of his career. Called back to record and co-produce album number two recently, he is now accompanying the band in touring their debut album for the first time ever.

‘Because I’m a studio and a live guy, the L500 is the perfect fit for me and these Tribalistas shows, all of which we are recording,’ he explains. ‘The first time I saw what SSL was doing on the live side was at Lollapalooza, where I was doing sound for a smaller band, and the headliner was using an L500. At the time, I didn’t know they even had a live console, but I stayed all day looking and listening to it, and it instantly became a dream of mine to work with one.’

The Tribalistas tour has seen the band fill 45,000-capacity venues in Sao Paolo and large arena runs in Rio, as well as completing a European leg before hitting US venues in February. According to Carvalho, having the L500 in tow throughout has literally been like taking a studio out on the road. ‘I’ve worked with SSL 9000s and 5000s in top studios in Rio, and you really do feel the same quality of sound coming from the L500 as those classic consoles, which I have found utterly amazing,’ he enthuses.

‘I have recorded all the shows, and because we are playing to clicks and time code, everything is pretty much in sync from show to show, which has allowed me to pick out the ambience of all the shows, and sum it together. That has been incredible, and the sound we have achieved by doing that is simply huge; this was all possible because of the SSL – it’s made my life so much easier out front, and has taken the sonics to a whole other place; and having another on monitors has entirely changed the stage sound for the band – they picked up on it right away.

‘Being my first tour with the SSL, I was learning how to use all the features of the console as I went, and at first, I didn’t use much of the delay or phase functionality, but by the last show, I was using it all,’ he continues. ‘I used the All-Pass filter a lot – it’s great to compensate for overheads when you’re close miking a tom, when you use it to adjust the phase it is simply incredible; you can apply way more low-end, as the overheads are not taking out the low of the close mics. The EQ on the desk, as you might expect, is exceptional also.’

The five-time Grammy-winner also points out that here is no problem with noise when it comes to recording: ‘Normally when you split signals, you lose a little bit of sound, so you push the gain, and it can get a little noisy; but the way we did gain sharing on the SSL made it very easy to use: all fibre, and no analogue multicores or splitter. It’s so much better to make a digital chain all the way to the amplifier, and it makes a phenomenal difference.’

Next year, Carvalho plans on taking the L500 Plus out on another huge tour, which he says will be ‘way more rock and roll’.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com