UK light and sound hire company Sono Vie put its new Roland M-480 Live Mixing Console in heavy use in a series of recent theatre productions across Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Putting the desk at FOH allowed Sono Vie to take advantage of the M-480 Remote Control Software feature for setting up the system and monitoring radio mics during the performance.
The M-480 Remote Control Software (RCS) is an application that runs on a desktop computer or iPad and allows the console to be controlled remotely. The application can also be used for sending or receiving set-up data, allowing channel set-ups and configurations to be prepared before arriving at a venue and leaving only minor adjustments to be made on site.
For the production of Beauty and the Beast at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow, the RCS was primarily used by the radio mic technician to check the functionality of the numerous radio mics in use at one time by the cast. When online, the M-480 RCS can be configured so that the remote screen (PC/Apple Mac) can view and control separate content than that which is live on the screen of the console itself. In this case, the M-480 itself was used to mix the show FOH (using all 48 channels), but at the same time, by working with a separate screen, keyboard and mouse, the radio tech could check all the radio receivers and view all the meters.
As well as making things simple in rehearsal, the tech could also check each mic as they were handed out during the live performance – without any interruption to the show. Even the radio mic of the soloist could be constantly monitored by the operator by just checking one screen. In terms of extra hardware – the only additional items were two Cat5 cables and a headphone amp – keeping the set-up easy and the footprint small.
For Beauty and the Beast, Sono Vie also used the M-480 RCS in combination with a VNC (Virtual Network Computing) application/Remote Desktop for adjusting levels when setting up the system. Used in this way, the screen of the iPad resembles that of the console itself and allows adjustment of EQ, delay time and levels in real time from different locations in the venue – allowing the engineer to walk around the theatre, making adjustments for each floor and each area as he went.
A fully digital solution, the M-480 is the flagship console of Roland’s V-Mixing System.
More: www.sonovie.co.uk
More: www.rolandsg.co.uk
