Parookaville Desert Valley Stage equipped with 2 hangs of 10 x CODA Audio AiRAY.

Sited at Weeze airport, a former military base in the Lower Rhine region of Germany, this fifth edition of Parookaville proved very popular with critics, who hailed it as a major step forward in delivering a truly state-of-the-art experience for those in attendance.
World renowned headliners played on multiple stages, one of which was the Desert Valley Stage where Tillmann Stockschläder of service providers ENTEC, in cooperation with audio specialists TEQSAS, deployed a CODA Audio system.

Coda Audio AiRAY used here for DJ monitoring.

This event is one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world and this year attracted around 200,000 visitors over three days. The Desert Valley Stage is one of the largest at the festival, covering an area of more than 5000 sqm and CODA Audio AiRAY was used as the main PA as well as for DJ monitoring.

Front-fill was taken care of by CODA Audio APS. 2 hangs of 10 x AiRAY were used as a stereo application complemented by 24 x CODA Audio SCP sensor-controlled subs in an end-fired cluster. Restrictions on height and load capacity were easily overcome by AiRAY’s light weight (just under 40kg per unit) and compact dimensions (67.4cm x 35.6cm).

Coda Audio AiRAY line array.

TEQSAS Application Engineer, Michael Linden commented: “The system delivered a uniform sound distribution across the frequency spectrum up to the required depth of 80 metres. Even in the sub area the SCP subwoofers have been able to match this standard with the end-fired arrangement.

The consistently positive response of visitors to this new sound experience was achieved thanks to CODA’s ring-diaphragm driver technology and the unique sensor technology in the sub-bass. The system produced great power with negligible distortion and we deemed it to be a success. We’re looking forward to next year!”

More information on:

• Coda Audio,
• Entec,
• Teqsas.

An investment of 150 Sharpy Plus units, Claypaky’s brand new high performance hybrid lights, has just been completed by AMG International.

Some of the crew members of AMG International, from left to right, first row: crew member #1, crew member #2. Standing, second row: crew member #3, crew member #4, crew member #5, crew member #6, crew member #7, crew member #8.

AMG International was founded on the experience and intuition of Gino Vinciguerra, and is today one of the leading companies in the industry. It has four offices in Rome and Milan, and one of the most complete assortments of equipment in Italy.
AMG has been supplying television studios, theatres, events and shows since 1965. AMG’s customers know they can rent a wide range of materials and services: lighting and sound equipment, video projections, generators, stages, rigging, and technical management services to meet every staging need.

Alex Vinciguerra, General Manager of AMG International.

Alex Vinciguerra, General Manager of AMG International, asserts: “Our initial requirements were to add a high performance light to our range, one which was suitably versatile for our events. In order to choose the equipment which suited our needs best, we carried out a series of comparative tests and asked lighting designers and operators for their opinions.
Claypaky’s Sharpy Plus was the only one that really had all the features we were looking for, including power, versatility and low weight.”

The Claypaky SHARPY PLUS is a fully fledged hybrid light, with two independent operating modes, weighing only 23 Kg (50.71 lb). In BEAM mode, its aerial effects stand out thanks to the unit’s extraordinary light output. In SPOT mode, its light is diffused more evenly allowing you to project wonderfully uniform visual effects.

Alex Vinciguerra went on to add: “We have always seen Claypaky as the benchmark in our industry. We have a lot of Claypaky models in our stock, including the Scenius Profile, Mythos, Sharpy, Sharpy Wash, and Alpha Wash, Spot and Profile units.
We have always appreciated their reliability and versatility of use. When we saw the Sharpy Plus units at work, they immediately struck us as the natural continuation of the quality choice we have always made. We therefore opted for a notable investment, also because of their competitive price when considering their excellent top leader performance.”

Sharpy Plus: the new big player in the Hybrid league.

Alex Vinciguerra concludes: “AMG International has worked for the most important television shows in Italy in recent years, including X-Factor, Italia’s Got Talent and the David di Donatello Awards.
What our company offers its customers today is a ‘turnkey’ package that provides the production team with an all-round set of services, including the rented equipment, TV studio rigging, hanging units and lighting desks to control the show professionally.
We have always fitted a large number of Claypaky lights at all these shows, and from today onwards, with the Sharpy Plus units in stock, you can be sure you will see them more and more often on stages at our shows!”

More information on Claypaky Sharpy Plus and on AMG International.

Sometimes it can get rainy in the Stuttgart area… Dormettingen is a town 80 km away, and this is where this year’s Elements Festival, a 2-day showcase of great vibes and fabulous house music – techno and tech house to future house, hardstyle and EDM – took place in a beautiful amusement park.
This proved the perfect occasion for the Robe’s new IP65 rated iPointe moving lights to be prominent among lighting fixtures on the main stage.

Elements Festival main stage at night.

Lighting for the main stage – located in a natural amphitheatre-like dip in the topography – was designed by Raphael Herrmann whose company Prolite Event also co-ordinated the supply of the lighting kit which included 8 x Robe Pointes and 16 x LEDBeam 150s as well as the 22 x iPointes, plus some other lights.

Raphael has lit the main stage since Elements Festival started five years ago and has been involved in designing and supplying lights and running his own associated business since 2000 when he was aged 18.
Being dance / DJ orientated, the Elements stage set-up was different to a standard rock event. The set was also designed by Raphael with a 35-metre-wide pyramid structure supporting striking columns of LED, with a large scenic / LED event logo sign in the centre upstage and above the DJ riser. The highest point of this back wall was 14.5 metres.

Wet Robe iPointe at (sometimes) rainy Elements Festival.

An overhead canopy provided immediate weather protection above the DJ, but the main structure was completely exposed to the elements.
Other challenges included lighting for daylight … as only the final acts of the two-day event each night played in full darkness, so Raphael needed high output fixtures that registered in daylight and were weather resistant.
Realising that iPointes would be suited for all the uncovered positions on the stage, Raphael utilised 22 luminaires which were rigged to the top of the LED structure at the back and positioned on the deck and in front of the PA wings … all completely in the open.

The volatility of the weather didn’t disappoint, as bouts of sunshine were regularly interspersed with violent downpours of rain … and the iPointes were put to the test, indeed!
Due to the shape of the design, “They were the main light to carry the show” said Raphael Herrmann, “giving those huge super beam looks and mid-air effects that are so important for dance music festivals.”
The standard Pointes were centrally above the DJ booth below the canopy roof and proved an “ideal” complement to the iPointes, allowing numerous effects that could fill the black hole immediately behind the lower central area of the DJ booth.

Elements Festival in the daytime, very popular gathering indeed! And high output fixtures like iPointes still register in daylight.

Raphael has been using Pointes for a while in his work for their great beams, multifunctionality and mid-air effects.
Eight LEDBeam 150s were tucked away behind the DJ on the main stage, and another eight were spec’d for the Lakeside Stage where they were also the primary backlight for the DJ.
This was the first time that Raphael had used the iPointe, a brand-new Robe fixture that has just gone into production.

It’s been developed following the success of the standard Pointe for dance style events – Robe’s R&D realised that a complimentary water-resistant version would be an asset for outdoor shows and seasons, and launched the iPointe early 2019.
“The large zoom range is really wide”, reports Raphael. Also helpful were the high output and the rich colours. “It’s simply a great extension for outdoors and we do not need to use domes which can sometimes have distracting reflections!”

From left to right is Andreas Mohl, Sebastian Seibert, Dennis Hertrich and Raphael Herrmann from Team Prolite.

Two lighting operators ran lights for the Elements 2019 and both were also suitably impressed with the iPointe.
Sebastian Seibert commented: “They are definitely in a class of their own in terms of powerful, bright and well-engineered IP rated spotlights. The incredible zoom range is what I needed for EDM!”

Dennis Hertrich agrees: “The beam power, even at a great distance, is amazing and you can still clearly see the beams piercing the sky. The IP protection saves us serious amounts of work on site in not having to use domes etc. The effects are great, the choice of gobos is perfect for me. In summary, it’s a great package, working immediately ‘out of the box’ and seem properly reliable.”

Some of the event lighting kit was cross rented by Raphael from NicLen. Marcel Bognar built the set and co-ordinated the décor, video was operated by Marc Schuler and the event was organised and hosted by Happyland GmbH.

More information on the Robe iPointe.

“Siriusly”? We like play on words and couldn’t resist this (nasty) one. Nevertheless, this new appointment of Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems as RCF new exclusive distributor for Greece is anything but a joke.
Sirius Sound may be a newly-established company, but there are strong reasons for RCF to choose it. Speaking of the new appointment, RCF sales manager Massimo Bruni, said, “We selected Sirius Sound for their high technical qualification of their managers, which will help RCF consolidate its primary role in the Greek market.”

RCF and Sirius Sound and Lighting Systems in a forecast successful partnership.

RCF, celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, boasts a wide range of products in its extensive portfolio, for applications ranging from professional audio for both rental PA and permanent installations, as well as commercial audio.

Sirius Sound’s mission is to create a solid and long-term business relationship with its customers and support a nationwide network, with the desire to stand out and establish its name in the Greek market. One of its principal aims is in the field of training and seminars in Italy, through the RCF Audio Academy, where targeted seminars are conducted by specialists to promote a high level of understanding and knowledge.

RCF Audio Academy is an important asset for RCF Distributors all over the world.

Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems sales manager, Mr Giannelos said, “It is a great honour to co-operate with the best, aiming high to ensure that RCF broadens and strengthens the position it deserves in the Greek market through Sirius Sound & Lighting Systems.”

He also emphasises the importance of collaboration with a specialised team of experienced audiovisual engineers in being able to provide high-quality technological solutions using RCF tools.

More information on RCF products and RCF Audio Academy.

DiGiCo has proudly supported the iconic Montreux Jazz festival for 11 years.
This year, the top British console manufacturer introduced its latest ground-breaking product development, the new SD7 Quantum console, plus the 32-bit ‘Ultimate Stadius’ Microphone Pre-Amp and DAC Analogue Output cards.

For over 50 years, Montreux has carved a unique place in the live music calendar, staging concerts across the city throughout the first two weeks of July, with as many free venues as ticketed events. These days, the festival is on the bucket list for many top artists, and year on year an increasingly eclectic line up of jazz virtuosos, pop stars and legendary rock groups perform.

DiGiCo all over Montreux’s major sites

In 2019, DiGiCo consoles were installed at all of the festival’s major sites, each fitted with the new 32-bit I/O cards, whilst SD7 Quantum consoles were installed at FOH and monitor position at the flagship venue, Stravinski Auditorium. An SD7 Quantum was also installed in the demo/prep room, a facility DiGiCo provides each year, for visiting engineers to come and explore the new developments, including a KLANG in-ear monitor system, allowing engineers to study the integration possibilities.

Developed with seventh generation Super FPGA devices that further increase audio processing power, Quantum expands DiGiCo’s flagship SD7 to over 640 channels of processing in 96kHz operation that can be connected in the outside world to approaching 3000 potential I/Os.
The engine is also equipped with eight newly assignable MADI connections and two DMI slots (DiGiCo Multi-Channel Interface) for AoIP and other connectivity options from the complete family of DMI card options. There are other powerful enhancements, too, including Nodal Processing and True Solo.

The ‘Ultimate Stadius’ 32-bit 8-channel microphone Pre-Amp and output cards use the latest analogue-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analogue (DAC) converter technology available, combined with 50 years of analogue expertise with fully redesigned differential topology through the entire signal chain. As well as the two SD7 Quantum consoles, the system specified for the Stravinski Auditorium included four SD-Racks and two SD-Mini Racks.

Festival highlight Janet Jackson, who has in recent times only played two shows outside of the USA, performed her hugely anticipated headline show at Stravinski, with FOH engineer Kyle Hamilton using her own touring SD7 Quantum system. She was preceded by the legendary, Quincy Jones, who performed a ‘soundtrack of the 80s’ mixed on the house SD7 Quantum consoles.

Key artistis with their own DiGiCo consoles

Other key artists who also arrived with their own touring DiGiCo consoles were notably ZZ Top (with Jamie ‘Jamo’ Rephann using an SD10 at FOH plus two SD12 consoles at monitors all supplied by Clair Brothers), Joan Baez (SD12 at FOH operated by Derek Williams and SD11 at monitors via Wigwam Acoustics), James Blake (an SD10 via Skan PA), Rag ‘n Bone man (SD7 Quantum on monitors via Entec), George Ezra (SD12 and SD10 via Stylus Producitons), Janelle Monae (SD12) and Rita Ora.

In other festival venues, the Jazz Lab specified two SD5 consoles, two SD-Racks and two SD-Mini Racks; the Jazz Club selected a SD12 with two SD-Racks; Music in the Park chose a SD10 with a SD-Rack; Liszto Club, which included an enhanced artist roster this year, upgraded to a SD12 with SD-Rack.

All were enabled with 32-bit mic Pre-Amp and DAC cards. El Mundo opted for the compact SD11 console and accompanying D-Rack; whilst the La Coupole venue, which hosts training and lectures during the day and jam sessions in the evening, specified a S31 with D2-Rack. Finally, a compact mobile system involving a S21 console and D-Rack, was available for smaller gigs or presentations around the site.

DiGiCo, Meyer Sound and Shure dream trio

Freelance sound engineer, Tristan Mazire, has been working for the festival for 11 years at the Jazz Café and the Jazz Lab. “Artistically and technically, Montreux is the best festival I’ve ever worked at,” he comments. “You are working next to one of the most beautiful lakes in the world, the programme is incredible, and there’s the opportunity to collaborate with amazingly talented technicians and artists, such as The Beastie Boys, Royal Blood and Jack White.

The dream trio of DiGiCo consoles, Meyer Sound speakers and Shure microphones helps each engineer to produce the best possible sound in all venues. For me, the SD5 is the best monitor console available – offering fast entry, multiple layers, macros and a central screen to easily access my output sends. This year, I was really impressed by the sound quality of the new 32-bit I/O cards – the dynamic, the headroom and the extremely low noise level.”

“As a monitor engineer, I need to answer musicians’ needs as fast as I can, and I really feel I wouldn’t be able to make it on any other console. Moreover, DiGiCo is a family, made up of people you can rely on, people that you can call anytime with any question regarding the product.
They truly understand our difficult job and they’re producing tools that make our life easier, and products that give musicians confidence to push creatively.”

More information on DiGiCo consoles.

Have a beer and become famous! A New Yorker visiting the Dublin St. James’s Gate Guinness brewery with her Irish fiancé helped celebrate a momentous milestone recently when she became the 20 millionth visitor to Guinness Storehouse. This place is Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction.
The occasion was highlighted with an event that included an indoor concert for 500 guests along with an outdoor lighting spectacle in which Elation Proteus Hybrid™ weatherproof moving heads helped draw attention to the brewery.

Dublin-based lighting designer Conor Biddle (conorbiddle.com) was brought in by events and branding agency Archetype as creative director for the event, which took place April 25th. “The brief was to have the whole city looking in one direction – toward the brewery – so I knew I needed a powerful beam,” stated LD Biddle.
He actually had noticed the arc-source Proteus Hybrid used on the New Year’s Eve light show on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and was impressed with their performance and durability.

Biddle also handled creative direction on the project and tapped into an element of Guinness’ storied brand, the iconic Guinness harp. “We took the idea of the Guinness harp and created a light harp in the sky with beams from the Proteus Hybrid,” he says. “It was really attention-getting.
We wanted to create a lot of social media talk with people wondering what the light beams were all about. The furthest away we had a report that the light beams could be seen was an impressive 70 kilometers.”

Guinness Storehouse is part of the brewery itself and tells the tale of Ireland’s famous beer, with tastings and a rooftop Gravity Bar with 360-degree views of Dublin. It was atop the bar that Biddle placed the Proteus to emulate the strings of the Guinness harp.
“The main harp look was just the creative starting point,” Biddle says. “We also had three other locations around the Guinness site with banks of Proteus fanned out to create a 360-degree look. Each location was approximately 100 meters from each other and no matter where you were in the city you could see the beams in the sky.”

All equipment and crew, spec’ed by Biddle, was supplied for the event at all locations by leading Irish production company Production Services Ireland (PSI) to Archetype. Biddle commented further on the Proteus lights: “Some other fixtures I looked at didn’t have the nice sharp beam I wanted, but the Proteus gave the nice sharp beam all the way up to the top.
You could actually focus them on a cloud to a sharp gobo, which was very impressive. The optics are great and the power and punch was outstanding. I don’t think there is anything that can match it.”

As this was Ireland, rain was perhaps inevitable (sorry ’bout this line, beloved Irish readers! Ed.) yet the Proteus fixtures didn’t seem to miss a beat. “The fixtures had a lot to deal with, especially the night before the event getting high winds and torrential rain. They definitely had a work out and we didn’t have a single problem,” Conor Biddle concludes.

More information on the Proteus Hybrid, and the others range on the Elation Website.

One line array of the main stage with Nexo M12s.

As the original Woodstock Festival celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, there’s an on-going temptation here and there to compare this or that event to this mammoth historic feast of music (and mud).
Nevertheless, there’s one Festival, maybe slightly more discreet, that could match easily the comparison, both in terms of attendees, and quite historic too, on its very own way, dedicated to World Music in its widest expression.

NEXO GEO M12 mid-size line array made a spectacular debut in north Africa, taking its place on the main stage at the colourful Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, Morocco. Often called the ‘African Woodstock’, this eclectic music, arts and culture festival is in its 22nd year, attracting 400,000 visitors to see more than 300 artists perform.

Essaouira Gnaoua and World Music Festival 2019 main stage, equipped with complete Nexo M12 system.

This year, among many others, attendees could acclaim Susheela Raman, Tinariwen, Moh! Kouyaté, Maâlem Omar Hayat, Majid Bekkas Afro Ganoua Jazz Ensemble, Reggae legends Third World, and many others.

Nabil Krat, Tekos Morocco CEO.

In a joint initiative between NEXO and its new distributor in Morocco, Tekos, the first GEO M12 system in north Africa was deployed on the mainstage.
The system was set up, left and right, with arrays of 12x M12 modules (total of 24), running in active mode, plus 16x MSUB18s, left and right, in cardioid mode.  The system was running on a Dante network, with a Yamaha digital CL5 console and RIO units at front-of-house.

Nabil Krat from Tekos Morocco, reported that “sound was impressive with huge dynamics. Visiting sound engineers from La Scène Musicale in Paris appeared to have total confidence with this new system, and were very comfortable with the headroom.
This event gave us great visibility for NEXO’s prospects in Morocco.”

Detailed view of some Nexo subs.

One of the amplification and processing racks, with Dante.

More information on Tekos, Morocco and Nexo M12.

And even more information on previous Nexo M12 SoundLightUp launch article and exclusive SoundLightUp video.

In our industry, we all know how personal contact is vital. This is why dBTechnologies Deutschland, based in Köln (Cologne, Germany) is expanding its service team with two additional employees, now working in the after-sales service department.
dBTechnologies Deutschland GmbH supports customers of the RCF and dBTechnologies brands in Germany, Austria and the Benelux countries. Offering qualified service for the complete product portfolio has always been the company’s recipe for success.

Nadine Dohmen (left) and Rene Lohmar (right), new service managers for dBTechnologies Deutschland team.

Nadine Dohmen and Rene Lohmar join the dBTechnologies Deutschland team as service managers to offer customers even more flexibility and to meet the increased demand for the products. Both have many years of experience in direct customer contact and service and serve now as personal connections to the customers.
Direct contact, short communication channels and on-site help are key factors of the service strategy boasted by the company. dBTechnologies Deutschland GmbH is once again investing in their service team to fulfil this promise even better.

dBTechnologies Deutschland building.

dBTechnologies and RCF want their products to impress with their outstanding quality and reliability. To offer perfect service for the customers is a further aspect of the companies’ ambitious success story.
The employees at dBTechnologies Deutschland know how important it is to be able to fall back on a competent and fast acting service team that can be reached directly and without a waiting loop when working in the live business.

dBTechnologies want to offer just more: direct contact persons in the service department, quick help and a workshop that carries out repairs on site in Cologne. Over the years, dBTechnologies Deutschland is looking back to very high customer satisfaction values. To even improve these, users of RCF and dBTechnologies equipment now have additional service staff at their disposal.

The service team at dBTechnologies Deutschland is available from 10:00 to 12:30 and 13:30 to 17:00 (weekdays) and can be reached by telephone at +49(0)2203-92537-50 or by e-mail here.

More information on dBTechnologies products.

The first white Ghibli LED spot fixtures installed in China came in numbers indeed! Installed at the China National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, eighty of the beautiful white units were elegantly into the glamorous interior of the Center’s Concert Hall by ACE, Ayrton’s distributor for China, as part of a major upgrade of its lighting inventory.

Designed by the late prestigious French architect, Paul Andreu, this Concert Hall includes a 2000-seat Opera House and 900-seat Theatre, within a giant oval shell. It is distinctive in its silver-white interior with an acoustic ceiling that resembles undulating white waves. The 1,900-seat auditorium is arranged in-the-round to enable the large-scale symphonies and Chinese traditional music that are performed there to be heard and viewed from any angle.

Consequently, its new lighting fixtures had to be capable of handling swift lighting changes and multiple staging configurations. ACE recommended Ghibli on the basis of it being a truly versatile fixture that can handle a variety of uses and throw distances – and be customized in appearance to blend it with the stylish surroundings.

In its white livery, the Ayrton Ghiblis invite the show to the concert hall of China’s National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

“Stage lighting for concert halls always requires an elegant appearance, uniform illumination, comfort and quietness,” explains Zhang Wei of ACE. “Classic halogen lights have always been used in the past. However, with the development of LED technology, the luminous efficacy of LED has overtaken most of the halogen lamps and discharge lamps, and Ayrton’s product portfolio is a testament to how good LED lighting fixtures have now become.

“When choosing the lighting for the Concert Hall, our overall indicators were size, weight, noise level, colour rendering index and beam angle. We needed to ensure the optical performance of the replacement fixture was better than the superseded product, but also better in appearance, weight and size.”
“We carried out a strict comparison and screening of a wide number of products, and it was the quiet, 600W LED Ghibli profile moving head, that we chose above them all. Ghibli far out-stripped the former 1200W discharge fixture we were replacing, and its competition, in optical performance, weight, size, noise level…in fact, in every parameter.”

“In long-term use, Ghibli’s innovative light source significantly reduces the costs on lamp replacement and power consumption, and enables both the artists and audiences to enjoy the performance in a more comfortable and quieter environment. In addition, the new white cover design merges perfectly with the surroundings of the Concert Hall, ensuring the appearance of the fixture within its surroundings is homogenous and aesthetically pleasing.”

More information on the Ayrton Website..
You can also read a complete test of the Ayrton Ghibli on our SoundLightUp Website.

South Africa version of The Voice and is proving as popular as ever. This world-known talent show phenomenon entered the ‘live show’ phase, broadcast from Mosaiek Teatro in Fairland, Johannesburg and aired on M-Net, DStv 101.
This year, this exciting section of the TV show is bringing a brand-new audio experience to its studio audience, courtesy of L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology by L-Acoustics and DiGiCo mixing consoles, provided by the show’s full technical supplier, Multi-Media.

The Voice South Africa at the Mosaiek Teatro features an L-ISA Scene system comprised of Kara and KS28, with Kiva II as an Extension system, X12 for frontfill, ARCS WiFo to cover the outer sides of the venue. X12 provides stage monitoring,

Multi-Media has worked with The Voice since the popular competition hit African soil four years ago. During this time, the company has grown and become more involved in live events. At the beginning of this year, it decided the time was right to invest in a top-end audio system, initially purchasing 30 L-Acoustics Kara, 12 SB18, four KS28 and seven LA12X amplified controllers, adding a further 18 Kara, four SB18 and five LA12X for the Mosaiek Teatro L-ISA configuration.

The limitations of stereo systems

Early in his career, Multi-Media audio engineer Adriaan van der Walt recognised the limitations of stereo systems when trying to create a natural sounding mix. He became interested in how technology would develop to achieve a closer representation of how sounds are perceived by the human ear. “I always jumped at the opportunity to work on quadrophonic and surround shows,” he says.
“These were few and far between and some had greater levels of success than others. There was generally very little correlation between the setup in a studio and a large format PA system – it was really hit and miss! Then L-ISA caught my attention and I knew it would be a game-changer.
L-Acoustics is a brand I trust and is always leading edge, setting trends and standards for the rest of the industry to follow. For me, moving to L-ISA was a no-brainer. I knew it would have huge benefits for a strong production like The Voice. When I presented the idea to the production team, they were convinced, too.

Van der Walt and DWR’s Chris Pugh travelled to the manufacturer’s head office near Paris for an extensive four-day L-ISA training session. “It was very informative with a great deal of information to absorb, but the friendly and welcoming spirit that is present at L-Acoustics made it a special experience for me,” says Pugh. “I had dreamed of visiting L-Acoustics for 15 years and Adriaan and I loved every moment. We couldn’t wait to get back to South Africa to get started.”

The Mosaiek Teatro configuration

A DiGiCo SD10 provides control for the system.

The Mosaiek Teatro configuration sees five arrays of nine Kara each, positioned across the width of the stage as a Scene system. The KS28 subs are flown centrally, providing seamless coverage across the venue. Six Kiva II per side act as the Extension system and provide a wider panorama to the audio experience.
Front fills comprise two X12 and, due to the width of the venue, there are an additional two ARCS WiFo flown per side to cover the outer sides of the venue. For stage monitoring, Multi-Media’s Simon Panos has used two X12 flown in the lighting grid and two X12 on the side of the stage.

Control is via a DiGiCo SD10 running the latest firmware. “It has a couple of new features that tie L-ISA and DiGiCo together,” says van der Walt. “The configurability of the SD Range is incredible. I set it up so that, in no more than three button pushes, I can be anywhere I need to be and do anything I need to do. Of course, it takes a bit of time to lay it all out and programme it but, once you are in that operation mode, it really is a breeze to work on it.”

The DiGiCo system integrates Waves Multi-Rack, L-ISA Controller, Multitrack Recording and a busy Optocore backbone. “There was a lot of routing and insert patching that had to happen in the background,” he said. “We almost managed to max out the first Optocore loop – there are only 40 audio paths left out of 500.”
For van der Walt, the SD10 is an extension of himself with the console’s layout going hand-in-hand with his thought process: “That’s the beauty of it; once you’ve laid it out, it becomes an extension of your thoughts because you don’t have to tap around to get where you need to be. You think something, you tap once or twice, and you are there.”

15 seconds between performances

Back row: Simon Panos (Multi-Media), Chris de Lancey (Multi-Media), Kyle Robson (DWR), Martin Wurmnest (L-Acoustics L-ISA appiclation engineer) and Chris Pugh (DWR). Front Row:Adriaan van der Walt (Multi-Media), Duncan Riley and Richard Smith (DWR).

The Voice is a complex and busy show, sometimes with only 15 seconds between performances and van der Walt is able to jump from one to the next with great ease.
“The way the SD10 recalls fader banks over the entire console with just a Snapshot is truly amazing. We have rehearsed the show so much that it’s really just about recalling Snapshots and adding fine adjustments during the live broadcast.”

While there are familiarities in how the audio system is set up, the approach to mixing is, says van der Walt, a departure from what he is used to: “The experience means applying yourself in a new way. Your creative input becomes more valuable with L-ISA. It gives you the opportunity to interpret the music and place things where you think they should sit spatially. It’s incredible how this, in turn, affects the mix; the possibilities are endless.”

In the weeks leading up to the first sound check van de Walt spent many a night awake, imagining what they were going to do with, amongst other things, spatial placement and room engine configuration.
“The approach on The Voice is to create a pocket in the mix which surrounds and supports the talent’s vocal abilities,” van der Walt explains. “My traditional route was to make use of sub-groups; either for parallel compression for a fuller sound on drums, or to use side-chain compression on groups for guitars or keyboards. Naturally there was some compromise on how these groups sounded – to make space for the vocals to sit.

Listening with an open mind

L-ISA in full blown configuration on laptop control.

“I’m finding that I don’t have to do things on the console in a traditional way, or have to work so hard on the console to get the separation I want, as a lot of that is being achieved by L-ISA technology, freeing up space and providing tonal separation that I’ve never had before.

Now, I listen with an open mind to put a mix together, whereas before I had to work hard at EQ and dynamics and overlaying things with Groups. I can push the vocals back into the mix and still hear them clearly, without losing the finer nuances of something like the guitars or keyboards. It really sounds like there is more resolution and depth associated with each object within the immersive environment, definitely more room to move.”

The integration of different brands and different technologies has pushed the system beyond what they had ever have imagined.

“L-ISA is new technology and we feel it is the future of sound,” adds de Lancey. “It really holds the audience. For the first time, we can create a scene using speakers. All 96 objects can be placed virtually anywhere in that space so you can hear where the instruments are coming from, where they are positioned on stage. If a vocalist were to walk up and down the stage, we can move the vocal to follow the artist. The system ties in what you are hearing with what you are seeing; now you know exactly where the artist is performing from.”
In a recent interview with South Africa’s Entertainment Technology magazine, finalist Anslin Gysman comments: “Keeping in mind that this is a first for South Africa and The Voice globally, it is an absolutely amazing opportunity for the talent participating in this season of the show. We have become used to working with a range of sound systems, but L-ISA is going to provide us with a better opportunity to showcase our vocal ability and also to give the audience a more exhilarating, emotional and personal experience.”

More information on L-ISA Hyperreal Sound technology, and click here for our SoundLightUp interview of creator Christian Heil. More info on DiGiCo consoles.