Taking advantage of its annual technical overhaul, London’s Ministry of Sound (MoS) has installed a Soundcraft Si Performer digital mixing console to partner the Soundcraft Si2 in 103 – the venue’s second dance room.
The three-week shutdown also allowed the club to extend its BSS network and add a further four channels of AKG DMS 700 wireless capability. Although other spaces within the club have been reconfigured, including the VIP Room, it is 103 that has undergone the biggest change, in order to bring it more in line with its larger neighbour.
This has included re-locating the DJ console, upgrading the sound and giving the room its own dedicated FOH console for the first time, in a new booth offering better sightlines across the dancefloor. As a result, it is now an adaptable space which can also feature headline acts.
‘It made perfect sense to invest in a new console, since we also handle corporate work and film shoots,’ says Production Manager, Chris Thoms. ‘We wanted a good sounding desk that was easy to use and spoke to Ben Todd at [Harman Professional distributor] Sound Technology. Although we conducted a lot of research, this presented the best solution – particularly since the new Si Performer contains all the best elements of Soundcraft’s superior Vi platform – minus the screen.’
Also part of the overhaul, the club purchased a Compact Stagebox, which with the Madi card and single Cat5 connection to the Si Performer gives them a capacity of 64 I/O channels.
‘With the I/O expansion not only do we get the increase in channel count, but if we have a band playing we can plug in over Madi and the Si Performer will double as a monitor and front of house console,’ Thoms explains. ‘It is simple for the FOH engineer to control the console from the surface, while a monitor engineer controls it simultaneously via the free Soundcraft ViSi iPad control app (or vice versa).’
As for channel assignment, the DJ feed takes up four channels, a further four channels are used for booth monitors, there are two crowd mic channels for the radio feed, the AKG radios are on four channels, and the remainder are spare – for the time being. Thoms says the immediate increase in sound quality has been matched by the ease of use of the desk.
‘The way you assign channels to buses [with the Assignable Fader Layers] and can customise these on any page is fantastic. For instance, our main operating page will have DJ inputs, VCA, busses for radio mics, crowd mic levels and if we want to mix a band we go to Layer B. The desk feels solid and the faders are quick – you seem to get a lot more for your money with an Si Performer.’
Broadcasting its live radio shows has also seen MoS upgrade its BSS Soundweb network, replaceing its CobraNet infrastructure to create a new 256-channel Blu-Link matrix, chosen for its low latency. The club has also added a Blu-BOB eight-channel output expander, installed in the radio studio from which they perform a broadcast mix of the two main rooms on a Saturday night. It is also used for logging the broadcast material for PPL royalty purposes, taking a direct feed from the Soundweb network.
Finally, Mos has added four channels of AKG DMS 700, with extra receivers and lapel mics to match the four channels in The Box (purchased with D7 capsules last summer for a Hadouken! live show).
‘This investment will keep us ahead of the game,’ Thoms says. ‘We will now try to incorporate the equipment we have here in our touring concepts around the world.’
More: www.soundcraft.com
