‘We do many events, from full opera productions to dance shows, talks, parties and so on in our main house at the London Coliseum, and also in other locations,’ says English National Opera Head of Sound, Jacey Linton. ‘We have bigger mixing consoles in the main house – like Yamaha CLs – but I needed a compact, portable desk that could deliver high-quality mixes for these other events.’

To meet this need, the ENO turned again to Yamaha – this time for a TF1.

Together with ENO audio supplier LMC Audio Systems, Jacey investigated at a number of options. But when he became aware of the recently launched TF series, his mind was made up: ‘Once I heard Yamaha were bringing out a compact digital desk with 16 outputs priced at below £2,000, it was a no brainer,’ he says.

‘Yamaha is a manufacturer I know, trust and the TF1 is a solution that I knew could be used in many situations, thanks to its size and onboard processing. But, once I got further into the specifications, I realised that it would be a good small desk to use on rehearsals outside of the main building. Having the 16 outputs to feed a small PA and quick access to all the tools on the inputs, as well as knowing that being by Yamaha it would sound good and be reliable, made the choice very easy.’

Supplied by LMC, the TF1 quickly proved its user friendliness: ‘Straight out of the box it was really easy to use,’ says Jacey. ‘It feels like Yamaha has designed the TF series to be easy for a new age of user – those coming from the world of virtual mixing, iPads and so on. I think it’s a really good thing, as it has meant I can leave up and coming techs with the desk and know they will just get on with it.’

The console has already been in use on a number of events, both in the Coliseum and at other venues. One major production was the Ardani 25 Dance Gala, which saw the TF1 used in the main house to mix the music – live and playback – for an all-star line-up of contemporary dancers, including Natalia Osipova, Edward Watson, Ivan Vasiliev and Marcelo Gomes.

It was also used for a showcase by the D&B Academy of Performing Arts at the Shaw Theatre in St Pancras. Featuring 20 young performers sharing ten wireless microphone packs, plus playback, Jacey was impressed at the TF1’s ability to give a small show a thoroughly professional air: ‘I found the touchscreen functions really useful for changing the audio processing on the fly between singers as they swapped radio packs,’ he says. ‘The sound quality was impressive, overall for such a compact and cost-effective product it was fantastic to work with.’