Régis Cazin, CEO of Arbane Groupe, said: “For the past four years, APG and Active Audio have been able to leverage a number of technological and organisational synergies, supported by strategic recruitment and exceptional results. We’ve seen many successful innovations come directly from our strategic alliance, including APG’s Uniline Compact and Active Audio’s Ray On.”

Régis Cazin

He added: “The creation of Arbane Groupe is the natural outcome of our strategy of bringing together and perpetuating the two brands.”
Arbane is the name of a grape variety used in the production of Champagne, which shares many similarities with the two French manufacturers, as Cazin explained:
“This name perfectly illustrates the philosophy and the common approach of our brands. Robust and singular, it is chosen by some Champagne winemakers in order to stand out from other more standardised and mass productions. It may not be the best known grape variety, but it is distinguished by the excellence of its results.”

Arbane Groupe’s mission is to offer unique solutions with a particular focus on directivity, and improve the intelligibility and fidelity across all points of a particular venue. The group’s values reflect those of the two manufacturers, with the desire to put the environmental agenda and acoustic performance at the forefront.

The Active Audio and APG brands will continue to offer audio solutions that meet distinct needs, building on their existing international network of distributors.
At the same time, the two manufacturers will be able to draw on common synergies, particularly in terms of the production line located at the Nantes headquarters, as well as marketing.

With Active Audio and APG, the Arbane Groupe enjoys a unique position in the professional audio market; offering a range of solutions, from public address to professional loudspeakers for events and fixed installations, while providing its customers with the flexibility of a company on a human scale.

APG and Active Audio were awarded ‘Best Small Company’ at ISE 2020, a recognition from the market of the successful strategy that both companies managed to implement over the last four years.

And visit the APG Audio website and the Active Audio website

Over the course of a three-year hiatus, the La Halle ô Grains theatre in Bayeux, Normandy, has been completely redesigned to meet the latest expectations in terms of reception, accessibility, aesthetics, visibility, and comfort; reopening to the public at the end of 2019.

This update was undertaken in order to offer the best possible experience to spectators, and a more versatile technical palette for incoming artists and crews. The new hall now boasts a complete APG loudspeaker system installed by the ISA Group, an integrating partner of the APG network, enabling the theatre’s management to count on high-precision, high-quality acoustics.

“The specifications were drawn up around the programming and shows, 80% of which are theatrical,” said Romain Motte, general manager of La Halle ô Grains for the past five years.

“We were looking for precise audio quality, particularly at the high frequencies for a totally faithful reproduction of the voices. We also wanted to differentiate La Halle ô Grains from other theatres in the region and opted for a sound system that we felt was superior.”

The theatre’s tender was won by the ISA Group, which was able to put forward a bid with a high-performance and financially competitive sound system. The theatre was no stranger to the APG brand, thanks to local event provider Music Light, a member of the APG network. Motte and the theatre’s management were able to testify to the performance of APG loudspeakers during summer events organised in partnership with Music Light.

The complete APG system with the main bass and tops lines and the central hang made of ultrawide UC206W.

For Motte, the choice was based on the quality and performance of APG products, but also on the relationships he was able to establish with APG representatives in a relatively short period of time. “We had already worked with Music Light on outdoor events that we organize in the summer and we were very impressed by the quality of listening and the availability of the APG teams,” he said.
“When we received ISA’s response to the call for tenders, we also made enquiries with another renowned French theatre, Le Grand T, which had just equipped itself with APG and was delighted with its choice.”

The three UC115B bass elements stage right.

After evaluating the best possible configuration to host the eclectic performances planned by the theatre, the choice fell on an L-C-R configuration based on APG’s Uniline Compact system, consisting of a group of six UC206N and three UC115B bass on each side, as well as four UC206W in the centre of the stage coupled to a pair of DX12s.

The theatre also specified a versatile equipment list consisting of 16 APG DX12 multi purpose loudspeakers, four SB115M2s and four DX8s, as well as 15 loudspeaker lines on the grill.

“The venue required an atypical sound design,” explained Motte. “In addition to the predominantly voice-based programming, the sound system also needed to be discreet in size and aesthetics, so that the audience would be focussed on the actors and performers, not on large clusters of loudspeakers hanging above the stage.”

DX12 stock.

He continued: “In terms of sound quality, the Uniline Compact offers excellent homogeneity and precision in voice timbre. A large proportion of the audience is of a certain age, so the sound has to be very clear. The use of a French manufacturer was also essential for us, to ensure a good after-sales follow-up.”

The training was done jointly between the integrator and the APG teams. “The team is delighted with the performance of the APG system,” he noted. “Thomas Fouillaud, the theatre sound engineer, quickly became familiar with the system, received extensive training to complement his own experience, and has since recorded a wide variety of different room configurations. This essential aspect creates a collegial relationship, which continues today.”

Alexis Reymond

Alexis Reymond, technical sales engineer for France’s Eastern region at APG, commented: “This key installation is a perfect illustration of the quality and synergies created by APG’s network of around 40 integrators and service providers in France.
On this project, we have an end user who has become familiar with our brand through a local event provider, before being accompanied by a regional integrator; also a partner of the APG network. This ability to listen and provide service is the strength of our network, and directly benefits the users who trust us.”

La Halle ô Grains was re-opened on December 2019, but was forced to put its activity on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the initial reactions to the APG system have been excellent. “The artists who have performed recently have been pleasantly surprised,” Motte said.
“In particular, we welcomed singer L (Raphaëlle Lannadère) accompanied by BabX on the piano for Un jardin de silence, directed by Thomas Jolly, as well as the immense Christophe, who unfortunately has just passed away. As great professionals, their expectations in terms of sound were high, and their feedback was very positive.”

Audio control with, in the rack, nine DA50:4 and DA15:4 amplified controllers.

He added: “APG has a reputation for offering an ‘open’ system, which gives sound engineers a certain amount of freedom. In particular, Christophe’s host engineer was able to configure the sound in his own way, and mix the show exactly as he wanted. It’s a welcome change in a landscape populated by brands that don’t necessarily trust users as much.”

Motte was also keen to point out that the venue’s remit is not limited to live performances, explaining that La Halle ô Grains has aspirations of becoming a place for experimenting with spatialised sound as well. “Having a system like the Uniline Compact provides a very precise sound,” he said.

“It’s a definite advantage in performances, but it will also help us achieve our goal of becoming a training space for sound and light, and more specifically for spatialised sound. APG’s sound quality reputation was another big factor in our choice.”

More on the APG Audio website and on the Halle O Grains website

©Julian_Huke

One of the more pressing questions our industry had in mind throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is how to safely welcome a live audience at a staged event.
DRIVE.IN Concerts of Monheim, Germany has popped up with one concept, a solution that let music fans of the area enjoy a live concert again.

©Julian_Huke

DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim is a pioneering series of events in which the crowd park their cars in front of the stage just like at a drive-in movie.
With events launched throughout May and into June, with a variety of live acts and DJs performing, the concert series includes an impressive stage setup that relies on Elation Professional and ADJ lighting fixtures.

DRIVE.IN Concerts Monheim started in early May with a live performance by Cologne-based rock band Kasalla as part of their ‘Et Jitt Car-Salla’ tour of drive-in concerts.
Since then, most weekends presented two or three concerts taking place at the outdoor site, featuring artists such as DJ Quicksilver, Da Hool, Moguai, TOPIC and The Disco Boys.

The spectacular festival-style light show, supplied by local audio/visual production company LaserFrame, includes Elation fixtures, alongside others from sister-brand ADJ.

©Julian_Huke

The on-stage wash moving head selected for the rig is Elation’s compact Rayzor 360Z LED beam/wash moving effect with three 60W RGBW LEDs, 8 to 77-degree zoom and continuous pan and tilt rotation.

The front of the stage is lined with a combination of Elation Chorus Line 16 motorized pixel bars and Proteus Rayzor 760 IP65-rated wash fixtures that feature Elation’s proprietary SparkLED™ background sparkle illumination system. Finally, blinder duties are being looked over by Elation Cuepix Blinder WW2s.

©Julian_Huke

A like number of ADJ lights populate the rig including Focus Spot 4Z spot luminaires hung from the roof of the stage for gobo projections and mid-air effects; compact Vizi Beam RXONE fixtures on floor-standing truss for super narrow beams; award-winning Hydro Wash X7 moving head wash fixtures downstage for tight beams, washes or eye candy effects; and Encore FR150 wash fixtures for illumination of performers. The lighting is reinforced by an even coverage of dispersed fog generated by portable ADJ Entour Faze Jr machines.

©Julian_Huke

For more information check the Elation website

The CS-Series loudspeaker offerings are available as standalone products or as an upgrade to existing S-Series enclosures. Their Milan ready AVB architecture offers a seamless transition into the future of network integration and boasts built in network redundancy contained in a single cable to relay audio and control signal, as well as assurance of long-term viability as part of an IEEE standard.

Brian Fraser

“The CS-Series is the product of years of engineering and innovation, and we’re proud to now offer this sophisticated solution with simple, straightforward operation and the audio performance the industry has come to expect from Adamson,” begins Brian Fraser, Head of Product and Technology.
“The CS-Series offers networked audio with precise control and monitoring of each individual enclosure to maximize performance. We’ve spent the time and resources to ensure reliability and redundancy in order to provide bulletproof operation in any configuration or application.”

The new CS-Series is comprised of: the ultra-compact CS7 two-way, full-range array enclosure; CS7p point-source enclosure; and companion CS118 subwoofer, along with the sub-compact CS10 two-way, full-range array enclosure; CS10n narrow-dispersion array enclosure; CS10p point-source cabinet; and companion CS119 subwoofer.

We are family, I got all the CS with me…

CS-Series loudspeakers feature the same form factors as their S-Series counterparts, and their fully compatible sonic signatures are uniform with the S-Series and IS-Series, ensuring scalable configurations from portable corporate solutions to high-performance touring and installed systems.
Meanwhile, the turnkey CS Upgrade Kit allows any existing S-Series cabinets to be easily converted to CS models in minutes by simply removing four screws, connecting the CS Jackplate with the provided wiring connectors, and switching the front grille.

Also included are four rack-mounted products designed to provide the necessary tools to get the highest level of performance out of the CS-Series.

– The CS Gateway is a 16 x 16 matrix with 16 channels of DSP, containing dual-LAN, Milan-ready AVB, AES/EBU, and analog connections.
– The NDS is a network and analog patch bay that allows users to send redundant audio and control to CS loudspeakers on a single network cable.
– The PDS ensures that all CS-Series systems receive ample power, regardless of region, and also allows the user to monitor consumption data, both per power output as well as overall draw.
– The CS Bridge is designed to replace existing network infrastructure in Adamson’s E-Rack, allowing users to seamlessly integrate the CS-Series into their existing inventories by converting dual-LAN, Milan-ready AVB signal to AES/EBU, while also offering six channels of DSP per unit.

The two point source CS7p andCS10p

Finally, Adamson’s new CS software enhances the user’s ability to design, deploy, control, and monitor systems in mobile and installed environments with a simplified workflow and easy-to-navigate user interface that moves logically from design and simulation through to patch, control, metering, optimization, and diagnostics.

“The response we’ve had to the CS-Series from some Adamson Network partners involved in early field testing has been outstanding,” notes Jochen Sommer, Adamson’s Director of Operations, EMEA.

Jochen Sommer and Marc Bertrand.

“This is the future of intelligent loudspeaker design. From initial system design to deployment and tuning, the CS-Series offers top-tier performance with an incredibly simple workflow.
The work our engineering team put into the DSP and amplifier technology has been widely praised, and of course, the products sound phenomenal.”

Drawing from early experiences with the products, veteran system designer and FOH engineer Patrick Demoustier (Simple Minds, Night of the Proms, Rock Werchter) says: “The CS-Series is already the future of networked audio. The CS7p offers an incredible power and headroom-to-size ratio and the proven sound quality of Adamson’s line array systems.

Patrick Demoustier

We’ve used it with great success on many corporate events, fashion shows, and car shows and as front fills and delays with larger systems; meanwhile, the CS7 is probably the most powerful ultra-compact array enclosure out there.
When I first used it, I was sure that the limiter settings weren’t correct – so much power and body from such a compact speaker without even being close to the limiter threshold. But I was wrong…”

“The Adamson S-Series is a proven staple of the international installation and mobile markets,” states Adamson CEO Marc Bertrand in closing.
“CS-Series loudspeakers, software, and rack-mount products build on that legacy and bring Adamson’s consistency, innovation, and performance to a powered, intelligent loudspeaker platform that is built for – and will help to usher in – the future of professional audio.”

The two line arrays and relative subs now all powered and networked, the CS7 andCS10.

For full details on each individual CS-Series product, visit the Adamson website

For the first time in its 64-year history, the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) due to be staged in May in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and all 41 qualifying countries have been invited back – same time and place – in 2021 with the same artists … who will be singing different songs!

No-one takes Eurovision more seriously than Sweden, one of the countries which has done consistently well since its 1958 debut, winning six times, most famously with Abba’s “Waterloo” and most recently in 2015! Since 1959, the Swedish entry each year has been chosen via an annual televised talent competition, known since 1967 as the ‘Melodifestivalen’, organised by public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR).

Photo: Sofia Drevemo, Creative Technology

In 2002, the Melodifestivalen upped the ante further in terms of a selection event and started touring to six key cities around Sweden with a final in Stockholm, this year at the 65,000-capacity Friends Arena. The finale broadcast is among the most popular programmes on Swedish television.
Top Swedish LD Fredrik Jonsson of Eyebrow Designs has lit Melodifestivalen since 2002, capturing all the glamour, glitz, unashamed kitsch drama and disco-tastic moments!
This year he enlisted the help of 168 x Robe moving lights (upped to over 300 for the final show) including MegaPointes, Spiiders, LEDBeam 150s and six BMFL WashBeam follow spots running on four RoboSpot remote BaseStations.

Each year he imagines a new and original lighting design. Keeping the show looking fresh and relevant is one of the main challenges and a task he enjoys. This year, the producers wanted a large open stage look to set the scene, so they could use more and bigger props for the songs to give each an individual look.
Set designer Viktor Brattström opted for a huge projection surface as the backdrop, which was divided into three sections – in a geometric horseshoe shape, with content fed by eight laser projectors. So, the first starting point for lighting was to take this into consideration as the main visual element onstage in addition to lighting.

Photo: Sofia Drevemo, Creative Technology

“The backdrop was grey / white with a strong linear texture, and rather moody and dark without projection, so I had to be careful with levels so not to kill or over-shine the projections,” he commented.

With the backdrop being so prominent, it could also become flat in close-ups shots with less depth-of-field for the cameras, so early on, he knew he needed lights in front that could move in and out providing more punch from the back when required, effectively adding a natural depth via lighting. Hence several moving ladders rigged with MegaPointes!
Out of a total of 10 ladders, four could move sideways on a Gerriets Cargo Track system, supplied by Creative Technology Northern Europe together with the lighting. This trick enabled the ladders to slide in and appear in front of the SR / SL backdrop upstage.
Each ladder was rigged with two Heavy Duty Runner blocks (rollers) as rigging points on the top pipe. These Runner Blocks were then attached to the Cargo Track beam, a set up that facilitated moving the ladders into view and choosing the best configuration for any song.

When projection needed to cover the whole backdrop, the ladders were slid out of view and stored – two ladders each side of stage – behind the diagonal projection screens, in an area called “the garage”. The Cargo Track beam reached well outside the “horseshoe” corners, creating the hidden storage position. Sometimes the ladders were positioned on stage in conjunction with the projection, so “masks” in the projection were mapped in the disguise servers for the different ladder positions, keeping them dark and out of the projected image.

Photo: Sofia Drevemo, Creative Technology

The ladders were slid in and out of position manually by the lighting crew during set changes and with five different positions for each ladder, there was plenty of versatility. “It was a neat, simple and effective solution.” Surrounding each section of backdrop was a tower / ladder filled with MegaPointes (64 in the touring system) plus a bunch of strobes.

Approximately 5 meters downstage was another arch in the same horseshoe shape, also with towers and lights arranged similarly to create a mid-stage performance area. Scattered around all the towers and in the roof beams were numerous Roe LED strips arranged in geometric patterns.

Two enormous DS / US staircases at 45-degree angles to the downstage arches further dissected and defined the main performance area, and inside the stairs pointing outwards onto stage were a bunch of LEDBeam 150s. The over-stage lighting rig followed the horseshoe shape of the stage, with 5 x US / DS trusses crammed as tightly as possible with spots, washes, and strobes, optimised to get the most coverage.

An extra upstage truss was dedicated to backlighting, including fixtures doing gobo-washes and the six BMFL WashBeams follow spots on the RoboSpot systems.
Robe’s Spiider LED wash beams in the roof were the main wash fixtures, the first time Fredrik has used them in this way, which was a great success. “It’s a great fixture – love the zoom range, and the LED ‘flower’ effect is a nice bonus,” he stated.
The diversity of the MegaPointes was ideal. They were all positioned on the 10 x towers and utilized for aerials and hi-impact effects as well as for some extra lighting ‘props’ in specific songs.

Ledbeam 150

Fredrik first used LEDBeam 150s on a dinner show last year where he needed something small and potent and immediately “fell in love with the tiny fixture!”
For Melodifestivalen 2020, the 42 x LEDBeam 150s on the touring system were rigged in the roof in groups of 4 to simulate ACLs. “Yes – I am THAT old, and I still LOVE those looks,” quips Fredrik, with the rest built into the set stairs to provide eye-candy, side light and more effects.

The BMFL WashBeams were they key lights, back lights and follow spots with a few extras rolled in when Fredrik needed to boost the sidelight. The intensity of two BMFL WashBeams was mapped in the disguise media server to sync perfectly with the video content during one song!

Fredrik always uses moving lights for key light now, and this year choose WashBeams for all the fixed positions to cover the show hosts and interval acts “for the pure quality, texture and coverage” of the fixture. “Everybody looks like they are standing in a follow spot on camera when in fact … they are in BMFL WashBeams!”

BMFL WashBeam

The WashBeams were also great as side and key lights for the dancers, especially trimmed with the blade system and with a blurred breakup gobo slipped in to add more texture and make artists stand out even in crowded dance acts.
An additional 59 x BMFL WashBeams and 74 x BMFL Wash XFs joined the rig for the final broadcast … just to cover the audience and floor areas around the arena.

The lamp count was ramped up dramatically for the final, mainly due to the vastness of the Friends Arena (capped at 30,000 for this show), a soccer venue with a dizzily high trim height where fixtures at 28 meters had to be able to cover the audience with some serious punch in all colours.

“It was a pretty neat upgrade,” Fredrik comments raising the famous eyebrows! He often uses Robe products in his work, including previous Melodifestivalen tours and on the 2016 ESC Final in Stockholm, for which he was the lighting designer. (He also lit the 2013 final in Malmo.)

A standard practice when designing the initial Melodifestivalen rig drawings is to list alternatives for every position, but this year lighting supplier Creative Technology Northern Europe had a lot of Robe to hand, so that tended to be his first choice. Last year, he had tried using smaller numbers of BMFL WashBeams and was suitably impressed by the optics to switch other fixtures out for these this year, as well as using them for the six onstage follow spots.

“The quality and texture of the WashBeam light is way more refined than a BMFL Blade or Spot simply because the lens is so much bigger – the more glass, the more beam quality!” When he hit on the idea of the structural ladders / towers with lights and wanted to move some of these sideways, a weight issue came into play and that sent him in a MegaPointe direction.
“As I knew the MegaPointe could deliver all the effects with less weight, it got the job!”
The four RoboSpot systems were positioned backstage and controlled the six BMFL WashBeams on the back truss. “It is a trick employed last year to cover different sweet spots / performance areas from two different angles,” he elucidated.

This year, they had two different positions upstage and downstage, so the follow spot rigged at the right angle for key lighting at the “standard” downstage sweet spot would not work for a position upstage as it would hit the backdrop and disrupt the projections. So, an extra pair of front spots were rigged closer to the stage edge controlled by the same RoboSpot system.

Photo: Sofia Drevemo, Creative Technology

The BaseStation controlling the downstage stage right follow spot also controlled the upstage stage right one, and as Fredrik had master control via one of the lighting consoles, he could switch between them or use both simultaneously and seamlessly during the songs, depending on where the artists moved! “Basically, you get two different follow spot positions for the price of one operator!”

All the follow spot operators had to do was follow the talent and turn their intensity to full, while the lighting console took care of the rest. “With all the songs being timecoded, we could do some really clever cues,” included Fredrik. The show lighting was programmed and run on four grandMA consoles.

Joining Fredrik on the 2020 Melodifestivalen tour were a highly talented team including technical director Tobias Åberg, lighting operators Timo Kauristo and Robert Kelber, video operator Fredrik Stormby, lighting crew chief Peter “Angry” Andersson, additional lighting operator for the Friends Arena Grand Final Calle Brattberg. Melodifestivalen 2020 was won by The Mamas with “Move”.

More information on the Robe website

Ayrton is extremely happy to announce the appointment of Wholestage as its new, exclusive distributor for Colombia, Panama and the Caribbean Islands.
Launched in 1998 in Venezuala before moving to Miami in 2006, Wholestage offices are in the USA, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Panama, Chile and Spain (Madrid).

The company focuses is in the distribution of video, audio, rigging, lighting and control, and in making avant-garde technologies and solutions available across the Central American, South American and Caribbean markets. Wholestage will now add the entire Ayrton line to its markets with immediate effect.

Wholestage was first attracted to Ayrton by the cohesive range of high-quality products on offer: “The Ayrton product portfolio is balanced and well thought out, which allows you to cover and meet all the needs of the market,” says Luis Duque, Wholestage’s CEO.
“It combines excellence in quality, sophisticated design and LED technology with a unique, advanced development in the engineering, at a reasonable price for the market. This translates into a unique, accessible, quality product which is a great investment for our clients.”
The energy, attitude and marketing strategy at Ayrton was also a major influence in bringing these two companies together: “The Ayrton team is top line, led by Yvan and Chris, characters with great vision and leadership skills, and a well-structured multinational team of development, service and sales personnel led by Michael,” says Duque.

“They have a coherent business plan, fantastic marketing, and a business vision which is in perfect harmony with our own objectives. The brand is perfect for our goals of offering first-rate, high-quality solutions. We believe that Ayrton is a few years ahead in developing and understanding the current lighting market and is the perfect complement to our service offering and growth expectations.”

Wholestage is formed of a solid group of industry professionals with backgrounds in touring, designing and rentals, and many years of experience in every aspect. With its philosophy of ‘The Brains Backstage’, Wholestage has worked hard to establish its excellent reputation and strong client base.
“The best marketing is our reputation and the name that we have built over 25 years in the field,” says Duque. “This allows us to recommend and demonstrate a product directly to our customers who have complete confidence and belief in our recommendations. That’s why we take great care in what we offer and recommend – we will only do so when we are sure of the product and the brand behind it and this is well recognized by our market.”

“We were looking for an active partner that would meet the needs and requirements of our Latin American and Caribbean customers,” says Ayrton’s Kseniia Igoshkina, “which is why we started our cooperation with Luis Duque and his amazing team, and feedback from market has proven it was the right decision. We enjoy working in partnership with Wholestage as a highly professional company and they have become a key partner in supporting our growth strategy in the South American market.”

“To become an Ayrton distributor is a great responsibility that we assume with great pride and professionalism,” concludes Duque. “We are very pleased to be part of this new chapter in the world of lighting that Ayrton is writing. They are undoubtedly the leader in the development of professional LED lighting products in the entertainment sector.”

More information on:

– The Wholestage website
– Email: [email protected]
– The Wholestage Instragram
– The Wholestage Facebook

For more information on Ayrton and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit the Ayrton website

For many years, a key part of Yamaha’s professional audio service has been technical seminars, webinars and a wide range of other training and self-training resources.
Recently an extended programme of webinars has been introduced for sound engineers keen to learn about the latest RIVAGE PM Series digital mixing systems.

Before being a TV anchor, Andy Cooper has been a very skilled audio guy ;0)

As well as product-focused learning for sound engineers, systems integrators, venues, rental and event companies, Yamaha provides workflow-focused training on subjects ranging from how to approach live mixing, through to advanced theory like how to build a networked audio system using Dante.

With continually increasing demand, in 2018 these education initiatives were consolidated under the Audioversity banner.
At the same time the company expanded and updated its studio facilities for webinar recording and streaming in various locations around the world, accelerating the provision of intensive learning opportunities.

Demand for in-depth information about the newly-introduced, compact RIVAGE PM5 and RIVAGE PM3 systems has been high. Joining the established RIVAGE PM10 and PM7 systems, they allow a much wider range of applications and budgets to benefit from Yamaha’s flagship mixing technology.

Produced by, and co-ordinated between, Yamaha’s three main technical centres in the UK, Japan and the USA, all live RIVAGE PM Series webinars are streamed globally and many are presented twice, to ensure people in as many time zones as possible can take part. Yamaha also runs online Q&A sessions, where people from all over the world can directly interface with the company’s experts to get answers to any technical enquiries.

All sessions are free, but participants will need to register to take part. Please visit Yamaha Pro Audio Training support webinar for further details.

If you are unable to join the live webinars, don’t worry – the RIVAGE PM webinar series is archived on its own YouTube channel.
Further self-training resources include the RIVAGE PM Feature Vlogs, which look at new features in detail, while the RIVAGE PM Training video series offers application-based suggestions of how to configure and use the system.

All Audioversity webinars and self-training contents can be found at the links above and on the links to our social media channels at Yamaha Pro Audio website.

60 Xtylos were deployed for the 62nd Grammy Awards wich is now the first major broadcast event to use a large complement of Claypaky Xtylos fixtures. The Lighting design is signed Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz from Full Flood Inc. and enlighted the Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s duet, “Nobody But You.”
In addition, 118 Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures took part of the main set rig and the dish stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRG is the lighting vendor for the show.

Le maillage de faisceaux des Xtylos. @Alex Talbot

The show’s Creative Producer Raj Kapoor requested to the lighting designers for a lighting installation that could separate Shelton and Stefani from the band and wrap up them as they performed the romantic ballad.
“Raj was looking for lighting as architecture to surround the duo,” explain Mitz. “We first thought of Mythos 2, but when we realized Xtylos would be available we made the switch.”
He noticed that Xtylos was on the LDs’ radar since last summer. “We were impressed by their color rendering, color intensity and the tightness of the beams. We were looking for an opportunity to use them.”

Lighting Director Madigan Stehly thought of a series of custom carts for the Xtylos, the first moving head light with a laser light source. The Xtylos formed a pencil-beam cage of architectural positions between the duet’s verse and choruses beginning with a lacy lattice look and switching to a straight aligned grid.
“The carts aligned the fixtures in a perfect grid, covered the joins and made everything accurate and repeatable. Xtylos was a perfect match for that performance; they delivered on the creative beam look we were going for,” said Mitz.

Les Mythos 2 alignés en rubans dans le mur vidéo. @Alex Talbot

Lighting Director Patrick Boozer encoded the Xtylos for the performance. “I am always cautious when programming a brand-new fixture for a live broadcast show, but the Xtylos worked perfectly out of the box and Claypaky support was with us 100 percent throughout the project,” he explain. “Having used them once, we can’t wait to put a large quantity of the Xtylos through their paces in a big, upbeat performance on a future project,” add Mitz.

The LDs enlisted 110 Mythos 2s for the main lighting rig where they were arrayed in ribbons above the LED videowall; they were used in multiple performances, including the collaboration between Aerosmith and Run DMC. Lighting Director Andy O’Reilly encoded the fixtures.

Furthermore, eight Mythos 2s were installed into the circular perimeter of the dish stage in the middle of the audience, which welcomed Alicia Keys and a tribute to Nipsey Hussle. The fixtures were put under glass and were revealed as needed by circular pieces of flooring material that covered the glass. “The Mythos 2 served as a fully-functioning beam, color mixing, high-output spot in both the set rig and dish stage,” Mitz emphasize.

“It was an amazing experience to see this team create such a wonderful vision with the XTYLOS fixture,” said Ray Whitton, Western US Sales Manager for Claypaky. “The Xtylos were the lighting eye candy of the evening and truly an eye opening segment.”

David McKinney

Headquartered in Jakarta, PT Goshen is a well-established distribution company, with representation right across the country. “They are a great fit for Martin Audio as they cover all the vertical markets we work in—from Touring/Rental to all the installation markets,” explained Generation AV founder Dave McKinney.

“PT Goshen’s MD, Cunario Suriya leads a terrific team of people, and sales director, Franky Cahyadi runs a highly motivated sales force. They have a highly capable technical team that will be able to provide product and system training to all our dealers and customers.”

PT Goshen’s MD, Cunario Suriya.

Martin Audio already enjoys a strong brand reputation and exposure within the country’s Entertainment markets, and PT Goshen’s goal will be to focus on expansion into other key vertical markets from House of Worship and Live production through to Corporate and Education as well as growing the foothold in Entertainment.

“We are excited about what might be achieved together to ensure more engineers and users can experience the latest Martin Audio products and technology,” McKinney continued.
“PT Goshen are a great partner, with an incredible customer-focused attitude, which fits perfectly with the Martin Audio culture and it is a great testament to the new cooperation that they have been able to get the new acquisition up and running whilst in lockdown.”
“It is a privilege to add the Martin Audio brand to our portfolio as it complements our other distributed brands,” responded Cunario Suriya. “This will now enable us to offer full, end-to-end systems to our customers.”

The changes in China mean that existing distributor, Sino Hui Feng, will continue to handle the Entertainment market, under which Martin Audio has achieved great success in some of the leading nightclubs across the country. As of June 1, 2020 they will be joined by Guangzhou Guidance AV Technology Ltd Co which will be responsible for developing many new market opportunities on top of existing Martin Audio foundation in China, including the Hong Kong and Macau territories.

Guangzhou Guidance General Manager, Xu Ruixian.

Guangzhou Guidance is a newly established Professional Audio Company, with headquarters in Guangzhou, led by General Manager, Xu (Rico) Ruixian.
“The members of the new Guangzhou Guidance team have a long history in the Chinese audio industry and the company has quickly established its dealer network across the country, with a strong support network in place,” said McKinney. “Martin Audio already has a great brand name in China, and with a great distributor like Guangzhou Guidance AV Technology now partnering with us, we feel confident Martin Audio will be more accessible to more customers across the country.”

“With the latest product releases from Martin Audio such as Blackline XP, the expanded Adorn Series, and of course the new Wavefront Precision WPS Series we are now set up to show and demonstrate these products to all regions of China,” added Xu Ruixian. “We look forward to getting these in front of customers as soon as possible and are relishing the opportunity to promote this famous brand in China.”

“In an ever-changing market such as China, where we constantly need to adapt and change in order to progress, we feel we now have the perfect structure to support our Martin Audio customers in all markets,” reflects McKinney. “We are thankful to have two such great partners looking after our interests.”

“China remains an important market for Martin Audio, while Indonesia offers the opportunity for growth,” concludes Martin Audio MD Dom Harter. “With the breadth of our portfolio it’s important that we can maximise sales across vertical markets. The addition of Guangzhou Guidance and PT Goshen is a reflection of that strategy and we have great confidence in both companies.”

More information on the Martin Audio website

As many countries slowly lift confinement restrictions, L-Acoustics will re-open in-person education programs this month. Simultaneously, to complement in-person training and to offer the greatest flexibility to users, L-Acoustics is pre-launching a new Online Education Platform.

The first program on the platform is a complete, but remote, version of its renowned System Fundamentals training, a prerequisite for all other L-Acoustics training modules. In 2019, L-Acoustics hosted training courses in 60 countries, completing 670 training days and awarding 6,000 certificates. Of these, 240 training days and 2,400 certificates were for the Systems Fundamentals course.

Etienne Corteel

“This education platform will foster the creation of a learning community where participants can share questions and develop a useful network of L-Acoustics users, as well as benefitting from the expertise of the instructors and the other trainees,” explains Etienne Corteel, Director of Education & Scientific Outreach.

The online Systems Fundamentals course provides an overview of what an L-Acoustics system is, including electronics, loudspeakers and software, and puts them into the perspective of a global project workflow. The course is structured around the full, in-person training, and grants participants the exact same industry-recognised certification.

The course is personalized, beginning with a virtual class, followed by several days where participants complete e-learning courses and practical exercises on Soundvision and LA Network Manager. During this week, participants access an online community room to exchange with classmates or pose questions to the instructor. A second virtual classroom closes out the program, with the trainer correcting the exercises submitted by students, followed by tips and feedback.

Francois Montignies

“The online System Fundamentals course is a great opportunity for us to try new collaborative and interactive learning methods for the L-Acoustics Education program,” explains François Montignies, Head of Education Programs at L-Acoustics. “It allows us to continue offering the same level of industry-leading training to the widest possible audience, and to meet the evolving needs of our users.”

“Our strictly in-person approach will evolve towards a blended approach, where the in-person courses remain at the core of the offering, complemented with additional online activities to reinforce the learning experience,” concludes Corteel.

Beginning in the week of June 22nd, in-person training will recommence at the company’s Marcoussis, France and Westlake Village, California headquarters, as well as at partner locations where local legislation permits. All in-person classes will follow a strict sanitary protocol to ensure the safety of instructors and participants, including ajdustments to group size and agenda as well as supplying masks and hyroalcoholic gel for all participants.

– Registration for online and in-person trainings, accessible on the L-Acoustics website here

L-Acoustics in an official AVIXA™ Certified Technology Specialist™ (CTS®) Renewal Unit (RU) Provider. Engineers who complete L-Acoustics Systems Fundamentals either online or in person, will receive 3.5 CTS Renewal Units (RU).

Fellow General Device Type Format (GDTF) founders MA Lighting and Robe lighting, global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc. are happy that DIN SPEC 15800 officially acknowledge GDTF as an open standard for the entertainment industry worldwide.

“Thanks to this latest recognition of DIN SPEC 15800, GDTF will continue its growth and look for even greater success now that it is part of a standard way of communicating manageable characteristics of lighting fixtures,” explain Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “GDTF has covered a lot of ground in the two short years since inception.

We already count 35 manufacturers engaged to support the open standard and are thankful for their contributions to help create a solid basis for a standardized format that will help the industry move forward in new ways. I am looking for to see more manufacturers, as well as more entertainment professionals taking part to the wide-spread availability of GDTF files and benefiting from it in their workflows.”

DIN, the German Institute for Standardization, is the independent organism for standardization in Germany and worldwide. A DIN SPEC, is a document that specifies requirements for products, services and/or processes, and it’s a reliable strategic instrument for quickly and easily establishing and spreading innovative solutions on the market. DIN’s job is to ensure that a DIN SPEC does not block with any known standards or rules of procedure.
Now, GDTF will be a standard for describing the hierarchical and logical structure and controls of any type of controllable device in the lighting and entertainment industry. GDTF will be employed as a foundation for the exchange of device data between lighting consoles, as well as CAD and 3D pre-visualization applications. The aim of an existing GDTF file is to present the real-world physical components of the devices and to supply control based on this information. A GDTF file gather and is derived from the device’s real-world geometry, attributes and abilities.

“At Robe we are exited by all the new development around GDTF because there are now great possibilities for providing detailed specifications of our moving head fixtures in a format not specific to a particular console manufacturer, but defined by a standard format the new DIN SPEC 15800,” said Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe lighting.
“This format covers DMX desk related use-cases and also includes data for visualization purposes, dedicated portions for media servers and for event-planning workflows. With DIN SPEC 15800 and the GDTF Builder to create the files online, there is absolutely no reason to remain locked to old, manufacturer-specific proprietary formats but rather use open standard fixture definition files.”

“The recognition by DIN that GDTF offers value to manufacturers and practitioners in the live production and events industry is a monumental moment in the maturity of the GDTF file format,” said Gerhard Krude, managing director of MA Lighting Technology.
“This signifies that the industry is ready to embrace the benefits of using it to standardize the definitions of real-world controllable objects, which is just the start for GDTF. Looking ahead, future revisions to the DIN SPEC 15800 will extend the GDTF to all parts of the industry including media servers, rigging systems, laser systems and much more.”

“DIN SPEC 15800 is a good example for what DIN wants to achieve with DIN SPECs: support those who improve the status-quo with an innovative idea,” said Michael Bahr, project manager at DIN. “GDTF can be one of those ideas for the entertainment industry. I’m happy that we could support this project and develop a standard with the GDTF group.
In a short period of time, we were able to develop the document which will build trust in the GDTF format. DIN SPEC 15800 will make the GDTF format available and usable to everyone. That’s what DIN SPEC is made for: ‘Today’s idea. Tomorrow’s standard.’”

A17 Stage Systems was established in 2019 with the mission to service its customers’ projects from concept to completion using only the best, most reliable brands in the industry. The company is composed of experienced technicians with many years of expertise in the lighting, sound, rigging, staging, conferencing and video markets.
Its customer base includes VVIP and government organi-sations. Ayrton is pleased to announce A17 Stage Systems as its new, exclusive distributor for Be-larus with immediate effect.

“From the very beginning, A17 Stage Systems has hunted out the best brands in all areas of its activity,” says A17’s engineering director, Vitaly Kazakevich. “We look for future leaders, not just current brands, and see that Ayrton is a fast-growing company with interesting new technologies, and a very good, professional team.
“The Ayrton product range fills us with great confidence because all of its new products carry the ‘Ayrton DNA’ which guarantees a combination of superb quality and innovation across a range of products that serve all applications. It’s not only our team, but also our clients who feel this and we like it!”

A17 Stage Systems decided to show the full range of Ayrton products in different regions of the country as soon as current health restrictions are stopped. In the meantime, the team is making good use of their industry contacts with local dealers and rental companies to introduce them to the Ayrton brand, whilst A17 has integrated Ayrton products into several of its own upcoming projects.
“We are very happy to be distributing the full range of Ayrton products across the region,” says Dmitry Alexandrovich, director of A17 Stage Systems, “and are looking forward to a very productive collaboration.”

“The whole Ayrton team, and especially I, are delighted to be partnering with Vitaly and Dmitry,” says Ayrton’s Kseniia Igoshkina. “With A17’s in-depth understanding of the entertainment lighting industry and strong local presence in Belarus, we can finally access this new, and often complex, market, and deliver our lighting solutions to customers who haven’t had an opportunity to buy Ayr-ton fixtures before. We have been working with A17 Stage Systems for a few months already, and we’re pleased to continue and expand our co-operation.”

A17 Stage Systems can be contacted at: A17 Stage Systems Ltd., Pobediteley Ave. 100, of.612, 220020, Minsk, Belarus.
Tel.: +375(17)354-55-55 – Fax: +375(17)354-65-55
e-mail: [email protected] – Website: www.a17.by

For more information on Ayrton and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit the Ayrton website

With immersive audio fast becoming the “gold standard” for modern live sound reinforcement, L-Acoustics is pleased to announce that its L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology will soon be natively controllable via Yamaha Professional Audio’s entire lineup of RIVAGE PM digital mixing systems, including the newly launched PM5 and PM3, thanks to a DeskLink co-developed by the two manufacturers.

As an exciting feature of RIVAGE PM firmware version 4.0, which will be released simultaneously with the PM5 (CS-R5) and PM3 (CS-R3) hardware in the coming months, DeskLink enables Yamaha’s newest consoles to be fully capable of controlling L-ISA mixes, just like their larger siblings, the flagship PM10 and PM7 mixing systems.
Within the RIVAGE PM desks, for every mono or stereo input channel, direct control of L-ISA Objects or Groups will be available on the console control surface and touch screens. The five main L-ISA parameters—Pan, Width, Distance, Elevation, and Aux send—will also be stored for each object in the console Scenes, with dedicated recall scope.

Yamaha’s full RIVAGE PM Series offers native L-ISA control via the new V4.0 firmware release.

“More than three decades ago, Yamaha helped pioneer the digital mixer market, and has since remained one of the premier live console manufacturers,” says Sherif El Barbari, Director of L-ISA Labs. “With the recent additions of the PM5 and PM3 to their RIVAGE range, Yamaha can now accommodate a much broader user base and allow them to each experience the future of live sound reinforcement in a very intuitive way, via L-ISA’s object-based mixing approach.”

“Yamaha is delighted to have been able to include L-ISA system control integration for the newly expanded RIVAGE PM family of consoles, through the recent launch of our new PM5 and PM3 console systems together with the V4.0 firmware release,” says Chris Angell, Yamaha R&D. “This opens the doors of our collaboration with L-Acoustics to an even wider range of customers and projects.”

More information on the L-ISA website and on the Yamaha website

Robert Juliat is very excited to present Sully, a new family of LED products based around the same exclusive 115W white LED engine, with an output that equals or exceeds that of a traditional 1kW tungsten fixture. Sully is a brand-new range of luminaires – and the latest introduction to its LED lines.

Sully LED compartment accessory (T650SX) – The inspiration for the new family

Robert Juliat has made up a new LED compartment which will let customers upgrade their current traditional profile installations to LED by simply changing the tungsten lamp base on their existing RJ 600SX Series for the new T650SX LED module.
The new accessory fit also with Robert Juliat’s Aledin Series, Figaro, and Quincy, and with its tungsten Cricket and MSD Buxie followspots.

This ingenious new development is more respectful to the planet as well as your budget. Any 600SX Series profiles can switch from tungsten to LED sources whilst keeping the iconic, ergonomically-designed, steel bodywork that automatically lead to the Robert Juliat name.
By simply readapting your existing tungsten lamp base with a Sully T650SX LED base, you can have a new LED rig without the cost, inconvenience and waste of replacing your existing rig.

Explanation video

What’s more, you can keep all your existing 600SX Series accessories (iris, gobo holders, etc…) which are matching with the new module – recycling at its best! Your reward for helping to save the planet? Lower power consumption and running costs too!

A complete new range of LED lighting fixtures

The newly-developed Sully LED compartment represent also the key element in a whole new range of fixtures from Robert Juliat which gives a choice of profiles, beam spots and a followspot in both cool and warm white versions.

Sully RJ 650SX profile series offers an LED alternative to the classic 1kW theatre zoom profile. This variable zoom profile range features a high-quality 115W warm white LED source. It delivers a first-class white light (CRI of 96 / TM-30 Rf=92 Rg=98 / TLCI of 97) and an output comparable to a 1000W tungsten luminaire. A cool white LED version has been launched as well and it is perfect for times when ‘daylight’ rendering is required.

Using this new LED engine with the proven optics of Robert Juliat’s renowned 600SX Series, Sully profiles produce accurate framing with clean shutter cuts and superb gobo projection. With its silent operation, Sully 650SX offers three zoom options (28°-54°, 16°-35° and 11°-26°) and is equally happy on stage, overhead, on side booms or prosceniums, in opera houses, theatres and studios.

Sully RJ 305LF and RJ 305LPB are multi-purpose LED single lens fixtures with a choice of interchangeable Fresnel or Pebble Convex lenses. Offering a multi-faceted solution in compact packages, Sully 305LF and Sully 305LPB luminaires combine the high-quality 115W white LED source with either a single 150 mm / 6” Fresnel or a Pebble Convex lens, both of which can be easily interchanged.
These little units happen to be especially valuable in multi-purpose venues and rental companies where the interchangeable lenses can be put to full use. With uniform light, a very wide beam and premium colour rendering, Sully 305LF Fresnel and Sully 305LPB Pebble will easily substitute 1000W tungsten models. They represent an affordable and lightweight LED alternative with renowned build quality and overall performance.

Sully RJ 1156 followspot is an affordable entry point LED followspot with a wealth of RJ features and no compromise on quality. With a 10.5°-22.5° zoom range, Sully 1156 is the perfect introduction to Robert Juliat LED followspots for discerning schools, amateur dramatics and smaller venues. Its optical excellence, ultra-compact dimensions and low power consumption make it a reliable and easy-to-use luminaire.

A big advantage of Sully’s LED source is the lack of heat it generates which adds to the comfort and safety of the operator. Controlled both locally and remotely by DMX, this little followspot is definitely accessible to beginners as well as skilled operators. Like the rest of the Sully range, Sully followspot is available in cool white or warm white versions.

For more information on the Robert Juliat website

The two new control surfaces – CS-R5 on the left and CS-R3 on the right – and the new DSP engines behind them.

This is a huge surprise. Yamaha rounds out its RIVAGE PM series of consoles, creating a true signal mixing and transport ecosystem with two new surfaces, PM5 and PM3, and two new mixing engines, DSP-RX and the more powerful DSP-RX-EX.

In case you missed the first part of this saga of Japanese high-level digital audio mixing, let’s start from the beginning. The first model to make its debut was the PM10 system, a large control surface with three banks of 12 faders, two large touch screens and its huge Selected Channel panel, not to mention its famous burl walnut arm rest, two dedicated RPios equipped with transformer-emulating Hybrid preamps and the Silk circuit and a separate DSP engine.

The Complete Rivage Ecosystem.

PM10 also brought in the new TWINLANe signal transport protocol and, above all, very high quality sound. A few years later Yamaha introduced the PM7, no longer a simple surface but a full-fledged console with an internal mixing engine, communicating with the RPio’s via the same protocol, but also with the less expensive Rio stage racks via Dante. The PM7 configuration was a way to offer a super console at a more affordable price and without sacrificing RIVAGE’s unique flexibility, power and sound.

The new control surfaces

A height designed to offer the best working comfort.

Today Yamaha is making the PM range more accessible by offering two smaller, lighter and more intuitive surfaces to form two systems, PM5 and PM3.

The CS-R5 surface, for PM5 RIVAGE systems, features three large touchscreens and a condensed “Selected Channel” section for smooth, simplified operation. The depth of the console has been significantly reduced for more comfortable operation and better visibility of both the controls and the stage.

The new VU meters, more detailed and better placed.

The VU meters are now located next to each fader in order to additionally reduce the depth of the control surface. These are highly precise and offer increased visibility, making it easier to fine-tune the levels.
At only 42 kg, the CS-R5 control surface is also remarkably light and can be easily transported and handled by two people.

The CS-R3 control surface, for RIVAGE PM3 systems, packs all the features and performance of the series into a console that is just 114 cm wide. This makes it the most compact of the series, while offering the same fader configuration as the rest of the RIVAGE PM series three banks of 12 faders each.

Although it has only one touch screen, it works specifically with the Selected Channel section to provide simple and intuitive control, familiar to RIVAGE series users and easy to use for CL and QL series users. A full suite of physical controls also makes the CS-R3 surface an excellent choice as a monitor console.

Goodbye DSP-R1; make way for two new DSP engines

The new DSP-RX engine in the EX version: almost twice the resources for very large configurations.

At the heart of any RIVAGE PM system is its DSP engine. The new DSP-RX engine provides 120 inputs, 48 mix buses, 24 matrix and 384 plug-in instances, while the DSP-RX-EX engine features 288 inputs, 72 mix buses, 36 matrix and 512 plug-in instances.

A rear view of the DSP-RX with its four slots for HY cards where you can choose, for example, between the TWINLANe multi-mode HY256-TL fiber cards – which have a maximum transmission distance of 300 meters – or the HY256-TL-SMF single-mode fiber cards, with a maximum cable run of 2 km. The digital audio signals are transported at 96 kHz and 32 bits. That’s quite a bandwidth…

Both chassis offer four slots for HY cards capable of transmitting and receiving up to 256 signals. Two Mini-YGDAI slots accept a wide variety of different MY cards. Two independent power supplies provide redundancy.

If you start with the DSP-RX and need more processing capacity later, a DEK-DSP-RX Expansion Kit enables the DSP-RX to deliver the same performance as the DSP-RX-EX.

A pair of DSP-RX-EX engines, but this also works with the less powerful engine in mirror mode. Absolute reliability with PM10, PM5 and PM3. With its internal engine, PM7 cannot offer redundancy.

The new engines also allow mirroring: two DSP-RX engines or two DSP-RX-EX engines can be employed in situations where redundancy is required.
If a problem occurs with the master DSP engine, the second one takes over so that the show can continue without interruption. This is true except for the PM7 console which has its own DSP with no possibility of mirroring with an external engine.

The choice of two DSP engines with different mixing capabilities, plus a total of five control surfaces, including the two new models, gives sound engineers the flexibility to create systems that are perfectly suited to all types of applications.

The RIVAGE PM ecosystem

All RIVAGE PM systems use the same DSP engines, the same I/O racks and the same firmware. Therefore, no matter which control surface is used, the sound, the characteristics and the basic operation remain the same.

A configuration using a PM7 with its own on-board DSP and an R10-S control surface, the compact surface of the PM10 system. This provides additional channels for working with 60 faders or with two operators. There are 144 mic preamps in three RPios connected via TWINLANe in a ring.

The system’s “Dual Console” function allows a second control surface to be used as a “side-car”. Any control surface can be used one day at FoH, the next day as a monitor console, and then as a side-car if required. Additionally, all models have the same fader configuration with three banks of 12 faders each, so that the same fader organization can be maintained regardless of the model being used.

The rear panel of the RPio622 stage rack, with its two slots for HY cards occupied by a TWINLANe module and a second Dante module.

Like the RIVAGE PM10 and PM7, the RIVAGE PM5 and PM3 are compatible with two main digital audio network technologies: the proprietary Yamaha TWINLANe network (which can carry up to 400 audio channels simultaneously with extremely low constant latency, 125 µs at 96 kHz).
And Audinate’s Dante network, a standard also found in the CL and QL series digital consoles and in many other Yamaha product lines. With Dante, however, the latency depends on the number of switches traversed and is therefore rarely less than 250 µs.
In the case of the TWINLANe ring fibre network, it is possible to use single-mode or multi-mode fibre optics depending on the operating distances; simply use the appropriate HY256 interface cards: HY256-TL for multi-mode fibre or HY256-TL-SMF for single-mode fibre.

A configuration using two EX engines in mirror mode, combining RPio and Rio.

RIVAGE PM5 and PM3 inherit Yamaha’s RIVAGE PM philosophy: any compatible I/O rack can be used on stage for accurate, true-to-life, transparent sound recording and allow creative touches to be added as needed or desired.

New firmware version 4.0

The upcoming new firmware, version 4.0, will be compatible with the whole RIVAGE PM series, from RIVAGE PM10 to PM3. This new version offers many important improvements in the user interface and functionality, including the addition of a new premium plugin, the EVENTIDE SP2016 Reverb. The SP2016 comes with numerous presets, and also offers extensive editing capabilities that will allow sound engineers to customize their settings.

Ray Maxwell

Ray Maxwell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Eventide, comments: “The lush and distinct reverbs of the original Eventide SP2016 have been used in countless hit records for nearly 40 years.
The original reverb can be heard on albums by Adele, Mariah Carey, Eminem, and more. Eventide is honored to partner with Yamaha to bring the signature reverbs from the SP2016 (Room, Stereo Room and Hi-Density Plate) to the RIVAGE PM10 console with V4.0 software.

The colors, displays and buttons are also perfectly reproduced…

“Users will have a faithful recreation of the original rack processor using state of the art analog component modeling to capture the unique sound of this widely acclaimed reverb.”

With this upgrade, the RIVAGE PM series is also now capable of controlling the L-Acoustics L-ISA system. For each mono or stereo input channel, direct control of L-ISA objects or groups will be available directly through the RIVAGE PM control surface in use. With version 4.0, the RIVAGE PM7 will also see its processing capabilities increase, supporting 144 input channels and 96 output buses compared to 120 and 84, respectively, in version 3.

The RIVAGE PM7, the “all-in-one” model of the family, has not been forgotten; its capabilities have been considerably expanded.

Yamaha will continue to develop and add features to the RIVAGE PM series based on feedback from users in the field, and will continue to work with new partners to add high-quality plug-ins.

RIVAGE PM5 version 4.0 and the two new mixing engines will be available this summer. The CS-R3 surface will be available in the fall.

Taking it a step further

Although Yamaha does not provide information about the architecture or technologies used for the DSP engines of the RIVAGE system (processors, DSP, FPGA, …, or combination), we can nevertheless get a clear idea of the processing capabilities available.

The control panel specific to the whole RIVAGE range, here with a mix of real and virtual keys on the screen on the right.

For all input channels (three possible patches: A, B and Virtual Sound Check), there is a 4-band parametric EQ plus two shelving filters (four different algorithms), two dynamics processing modules (a choice of two types of compressors, gate, de-esser, expander, ducking), up to eight insert plug-ins (from an embedded library of 50), an adjustable delay of up to 1000 ms and routing to stereo A/B mix, matrix, direct out, etc…

For each output channel, there is an 8-band parametric equalizer plus two shelving filters, a dynamics processing module (same selection as on the inputs), up to eight insert plug-ins, an adjustable delay of up to 1000 ms and mix to stereo, mix to matrix, mix to input routing, etc…

For the fifty plug-ins included (standard), the engines support, depending on the model, 384 or 512 instances (resources allocated in insert and send). For example, just to give you an idea of the requirements:

The 15″ touchscreens also allow functions such as pinch & swipe.

In addition, regardless of the plug-in instances, there are 48 31-band or 96 15-band graphic equalizers available.

The direct Ethernet connection between the control surfaces and the mixing engines must not exceed 100 m over CAT5. Only one port can be used (without redundancy).

In a system, it is possible to work either only in TWILANe, or only in Dante, or even in MADI, or with the two networks mixed depending on which racks are used and which HY cards are inserted in the DSP engine, knowing that, on the one hand, the latencies are different (network transport and conversion) between the two networks and the two types of racks and that, in the case of the RPio (TWINLANe) racks, even if a Dante card can be inserted, this only concerns the audio, not the control from the console.

128 inputs and outputs via MADI

144 inputs and outputs via Dante with SRC.

256 inputs and outputs via TWINLANe

We do not yet have any information about the pricing of the complete RIVAGE range (the engine of the PM10 system changes with the switch from the DSP-R10 to the two new DSP-RX and DSP-EX-RX) or about the possibility to see and try the new products, but we will keep you informed as soon as these are available.

In the meantime, check out the PM5 system in this short video:

And more information on the Yamaha website