Remote production company American Mobile has expanded its use of Focusrite’s RedNet audio converters and interfaces with Dante as the signal-transport backbone of its portable systems.
The company invested in its first RedNet hardware in 2017, in order to eliminate long analogue cable runs from stage. This lightened the travel load while improving quality with Focusrite mic preamps onstage digitally interfaced with American Mobile’s digital consoles and DAWs.
The three systems configured have seen use at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Coachella, Stagecoach and Bonnaroo, with the option of combining racks for shows with larger numbers of inputs. American Mobile Chief Engineer and owner Chris Shepard said the systems ‘allow us a lot of channel count, quick connectivity, and also a really low noise floor,’
In addition to or in combination with the stage racks, American Mobile deploys small racks equipped with the Focusrite Red 8Pre 64-Input/64-Output Thunderbolt 2 and Pro Tools HD compatible audio interface, featuring eight Red Evolution mic preamps and 32x32 Dante audio-over-IP connectivity. ‘The [Red] 8Pre connects to everything – it can be a very small, compact engine, and allow us to expand,’ Shepard says.
The set-ups include Pro Tools on a laptop, the Red 8Pre, additional preamps as needed, and the Focusrite RedNet AM2 two-channel headphone/line out interface.
‘While the computers and a lot of the things that these units connect to with Dante are always changing, the Focusrite hardware and the Dante protocol are fantastic,’ Shepard says. ‘It really opens your eyes to a lot of different connectivity, and so I think we’re still tip of the iceberg on what Dante can do. American Mobile has made a good long-term investment.’
American Mobile has now configured three identical systems for remote use. The first of these comprises three identical stage racks using Focusrite RedNet interfaces. Each of the stage racks houses eight RedNet MP8R eight-channel mic preamp and A/D converters, yielding 64 channels of analogue to Dante interface. The racks also have a RedNet D64R 64-channel Madi bridge for integration with live consoles on stage, HD32R Pro Tools HD bridges, and A8Rs on the network at the mixing end.
There are also smaller racks equipped with Focusrite Red 8Pre 64-Inout/64-Output Thunderbolt 2 and Pro Tools HD compatible audio interface, as well as a Focusrite RedNet AM2 two-channel headphone/line out interface to provide no-fuss feeds to other parties at live events.
More: www.focusrite.com
