A regular stop for alternative rock, hybrid and metal bands touring Spain since opening in L’Hospitalet del Llobregat, in Barcelona in 1996, Sala Salamandra has recently installed a Solid State Logic Live L200 Plus console.
With the 800-capacity venue’s previous FOH console no longer being supported, the desk was chosen not only for its features but also its flexibility and configurability. ‘We tried a few consoles that were around the same price and the SSL L200 was the best,’ says Technical Manager for sound, Oleguer Batallé. ‘As for features, we really like that it has 38 faders, user keys and a touch screen, and that it supports up to six layers with five banks on each of the three 12-fader Tiles.’
‘The open configuration of the surface and the processing allows everyone to create a customised start-up session adapted to their workflow, and to be able to work quickly during soundcheck and the concert, which is a must,’ he continues. ‘To the technicians on tour, once we see what their workflow is like, we suggest and implement ways of working that help them optimise their time.’
Supplied by Zentralmedia, SSL’s distribution partner in Spain and Portugal, the open architecture of the console offers many possibilities: ‘You can decide in your own way the order of the audio chain in each path. You can send stems to auxiliaries or to other stems. You can chain different plug-ins into a single insert and listen to the solo signals at the point in the chain that you want. You can do almost anything you can think of in terms of the way that you want to work.’
Both in-house and touring engineers can make the most of the L200’s onboard processing. ‘Especially the Effects Rack, which obviously everyone uses,’ Batallé elaborates. ‘We typically use the SSL Bus Compressor on the master output, and the dynamic EQ, multiband compressor, de-esser and Sourcerer on vocals, as multi-band dynamic controls and as a noise gate.’
Most recently, PiL, Buzzcocks and Napalm Death have performed at Sala Salamandra, which has also hosted international touring acts such as Michael Schenker, Phill Campbell and the Bastard Sons, Manu Chao, Black Flag, Combichrist and Brutus. Local, regional and national bands such as Angelus Apatrida, Smoking Souls, Veintiuno, Morgan, Ginebras, Def Con Dos, La Fuga and Ilegales have also played at the venue. Salamandra additionally houses a recording studio and offers space for tour pre-production, training, live concert sound and video recording.
Several artists have already recorded their shows through the new console, Batallé reports: ‘We use the L200’s built-in Dante interface.’ The venue’s console is integrated with an SSL ML32.32 analogue stagebox at the stage.
The installation has also allowed Salamandra to become an ambassador for SSL’s Live console platform: ‘Many Spanish engineers really want to get to know the SSL Live console. They are surprised how easily it works. We held an initial training session so that engineers could familiarise themselves with the console in a clear, easy and fast way. So far everyone is very happy with how easy it is to handle and how good it sounds.’
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
