Broadcasting on two frequencies and two languages in the cantons of Berne and Solothurn, Swiss radio station Canal 3 has installed a Lawo ruby on-air console and Power Core DSP mixing engine in a recently-completed on-air studio.
Designed for dual duty as both a pre-production studio and a substitute on-air space, this is Canal 3’s third studio to be equipped with Lawo radio products. The new ruby console features a workflow-optimised split-frame set-up, with a 12-fader main mixing surface for DJs, and an additional 4-fader module for in-studio newscasters. This unique configuration allows radio presenters to work independently, using physically separate portions of the same mixing surface, which are flush-mounted to enhance studio ergonomics.
Canal 3 serves the area from the Bernese Jura to Lyss, and from Erlach to Solothurn, originating programmes in both Swiss German and French. In 2007, the station received the Radio Of The Year Award for its French-language programming due to its significant listenership; since then the station has continued its success, increasing its audience by 50 per cent in the last four years alone.
Consulting, construction, installation, and commissioning of both the broadcast technology and studio furnishings were provided by Zurich-based system integrator SLG Broadcast.
‘The two existing production studios for German and French-language programs were first equipped with Lawo zirkon mixing consoles in 2010 and 2011,’ explains SLG Broadcast Sales & Operations Manager, Benedikt Hurni, ‘and at the end of 2016, these studios were upgraded to sapphire consoles.’ Additionally, a mobile studio setup consisting of three flightcases was commissioned by SLG in 2018, sing a 12-fader ruby console with Power Core.
With these installations performing well, Canal 3 wished to equip the new studio with the latest in Lawo technology – specifically ruby and Power Core. Madi is used to connect the new studio with its two pre-existing counterparts. ‘This new order for a third studio, which has just been completed, shows that Canal 3 is quite satisfied with Lawo technology, as well as with SLG’s services as a system house,’ notes Hurni.
‘Our old pre-production studio had rather low-budget equipment. Thanks to financial support from our government for technical advancement projects, it was finally possible to build a proper third studio – and using radio technology with which we have had good experience for years, in terms of both quality and reliability, agrees station Program Director, Kevin Gander.
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