German space rock band HASA (Heiner’s All Star Attraktion) recently added an Allen & Heath SQ-6 digital mixer, two AB168 AudioRacks and five ME-1 personal mixers to their live sound inventory.
Assisting with the incorporation of the ME-1 system into the band’s set-up was engineer Klaus Bröckel, whose CV includes Miles Davis, Till Brönner, Klaus Doldinger and the JazzOpen Stuttgart, Jazzfest Rottweil and Bayern 3 Dorffest Open Air festivals. As a long-term ME-1 user, Bröckel has introduced it to many artists and ensured the band enjoyed a smooth transition to the new system.
While the five members of HASA had previously used IEM systems, the move to the ME-1 units brought a new level of individual control. ‘At the first rehearsal with the ME-1s, once the input levels were set on the SQ-6 everyone got into dialling in their mixes and within just a few songs everyone had a perfect in-ear mix,’ Bröckel says.
The ME-1 is a 40-channel personal mixer that enables performers to take control of their monitor mix with level and pan controls, master three-band EQ and limiter, aux input for external devices, plus a top panel ambient microphone to keep the performer in touch with their surroundings. The ME-1 works out of the box with Allen & Heath’s digital mixers, and can also be used with third-party mixers and audio interfaces via the use of a ME-U hub and optional Waves or Dante cards.
Initially the ME-1s were simply connected to an AB168 AudioRack and daisychained with a power supply for each unit. Ultimately the band’s audio engineer Nils Ott built a half-rack enclosure with a POE switch fed from an AB168 and Ethercon connectors at the front to allow the ME-1s to be powered over Ethernet, simplifying set-up and minimising cabling.
Bröckel summed up the move to the ME-1 system as ‘extremely easy, with each of the members getting to grips with it very quickly. The musicians have their own USB sticks to save their own set-up and I think everyone’s been amazed at the sound, ease-of-use and the level of personalised control that the ME-1s offer’.
More: www.allen-heath.com
