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.

Dear SoundLightUp readers, we love this long-running musical “Les Mis”, not only because it’s been written originally from a gifted bunch of french wizzards, but also because of the book from which it was inspired, Les Miserables from Victor Hugo.
The other ultimate and more profound reason, of course, is still tearing us apart, as the whole story takes place at Notre-Dame, almost lost in flames a few months ago, but miraculously still standing. This is why the story below attracted our attention so much. Enjoy!

The theatregoers visiting the Stanisław Witkiewicz Studio Theatre were treated to an equally hot performance (very much like the outside temperature this summer in Europe!) of Cameron Mackintosh’s blockbusting musical ‘Les Misérables’ (school edition) staged by the Śródmiejski Teatr Muzyczny (Downtown Musical Theatre).
The company – made up from talented school pupils aspiring to be acting / performance professionals – produces an annual musical which was lit by LD Michal Piskorski who has also lit the previous two such productions, 2017’s “Footloose’ and the surreal slapstick of Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’. He worked closely with programmer Krzysztof Gantner from the show’s technical sponsor, Prolight, on the spectacle which was directed by Antoniusz Dietzius who also designed the set.

In addition to the young cast, Six Robe T1 Profile moving lights were the stars of the show, provided by Warsaw based lighting and technical sales specialist Prolight. Also, part of this ‘specials’ package were five Robe LEDBeam 150s and two Spiider LED wash beams.
Michal also utilized the theatre’s house lighting rig which includes Robe DLX Spots, DLS Profiles and LEDWash600s plus a few other moving lights and generics.

Les Mis – am ambitiously epic production requiring high production values and outstanding presentation – was chosen to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Śródmiejski Teatr Muzyczny annual showcase productions. The cosy venue was selected because of its stage revolve which was essential for the show – unusual to find in smaller venues – in addition to its downtown location in the prestigious Palace of Culture & Science in Warsaw.

With up to 40 cast onstage at times, a full range of locations to recreate and plenty of drama to convey, Michal faced multiple lighting challenges, including having only two intense days of onsite programming and tweaking. While he and Krzysztof were fortunate enough to be able to spend a decent amount of time visualising and pre-programming, this was not a substitute for being able to see things for real onstage.

It was the first time that Michal had used T1s. Three fixtures were positioned on the front truss and three on the second most upstage bar, so they were doing both key light and effects, and he was delighted with the versatility and scope of the results,
Michal studied at the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź, so initially learned about lighting from a cinematographic perspective and began his industry career working in television, mainly on cultural shows. From there he made more contacts in theatre and performance and steadily increased his portfolio in that world. He’s worked with Les Mis director Antoniusz Dietzius on previous projects.

Prolight is involved in several projects encouraging young people already working in or considering a career in lighting and performance, and their technical partnership on this production was “essential in assisting us achieve everything we needed in terms of scale and dynamics” commented LD Michal Piskorski.
When it came to choosing the additional lighting fixtures for the show, he all the available options at Prolight with Krzysztof and chose the T1s as his primary lights. Having multifunctional luminaires was his main priority.

He was extremely impressed with the results and amazed at the range of options they could get out of just six T1s … admitting that he has only ‘scratched the surface’ of the T1’s potential on this show due to time and other parameters.
He loves the colour mixing and the general richness and detail of the colour as well as the CT range, plus the fact that the lights are quick to programme as there was not a moment to waste once they were on site … and all the fixtures needed to keep up with Krzysztof’s super-quick wizardry on the console!
He appreciated the quality of the pastels and offbeat colours, the oranges, pale blues and ambers, the soft tinted shades of ‘pink-ish’ and ‘blue-ish’ that were possible. They even created an ephemeral ‘Paris grey’ which featured extensively.

“Sometimes you need what the director calls a ‘dark light’ in a scene, and this is exactly what we could do with the T1’s.”
He used the rearT1s for ambience and scene-setting including gobo looks, while the front ones were great for producing softened, abstracted gobo looks and ‘enhancing’ effects like smoke and flowing water.
Lighting had to create many scenic elements like windows, plus shape the architecture of buildings and interiors as well as recreating the streets of Paris, so the T1 shutters were used extensively.

“It was a to be able to use less lights to do more and achieve better and more authentic looking results” concludes Michal. The silent running of the T1s was a bonus in the Studio Teatr, especially the front ones as the truss was not so far above audience heads!
Michal’s cinematic approach to lighting is reflected in the detail and radiance of his work and the drama and richness of Les Mis combined with the adaptability and numerous features of the T1s were a great vehicle for this MO to shine.

Michal has not used a lot of Robe in his work, and that’s primarily, because the brand is just just becoming established on the Polish Theatre scene, and as original and decade old or more moving light systems are being replaced.
Robe with its current range of refined LED fixtures is becoming a more popular choice for performance venues which are technically upgrading and revamping.

Krzysztof programmed and ran the show on networked Avolites Quartz and Arena consoles. The other Robe fixtures were distributed around the over-stage LX bars. The five LEDBeam 150s were positioned on LX Bars 1 and 2 over the downstage area; the DLX Spots and DLS Profiles were in the pros areas, and the LEDWash 600s upstage and mid-stage providing the main stage washes, supported by the two Spiiders either side.

Three performances of Les Mis ran in June with another three coming in August, and the show has been extremely well received. Apart from providing a total contrast to last year’s irreverent musical comedy ‘Spamalot” in terms of production and vibe, it proves that Antoniusz Dietzius and his young team of actors, creative and and technical crew all the talent to create the most engaging and entertaining professional theatre.

Full SoundLightUp test of the Robe T1 Profile here, and more info on Robe projectors.

This was a premiere for the De Kuip Stadium, home of Feyenoord Rotterdam football club indeed. In late May and early June, Dutch superstar Marco Borsato became the first artist to play five sold-out stadium shows there.
A Yamaha Rivage PM7 digital mixing system helped ensure that Marco, his band and an array of guest vocalists gave a quarter of a million fans an unforgettable experience.

Marco Borsato at its best. Photo: Bart Heemskerk.

Borsato has consistently been one of the Netherlands biggest and most successful singers since winning Dutch TV talent contest Soundmixshow nearly 30 years ago. Playing to 50,000 people at each show, the four evening and one afternoon concerts ensured that fans of all ages were able to enjoy a huge and spectacular stadium production.
It included an 80 m wide stage set, pyrotechnics and a 1000 m2 LED video screen, the largest ever used on a Dutch live show. The singer himself said “It doesn’t get any better than this!” The shows needed an equally impressive audio production, supplied by Utrecht-based Peak Audio, who have worked with the artist for many years.

Multiple line arrays for zero complaints

Impressive FOH configuration, courtesy of FoH engineer and system designer Barak Koren. Photo: Bart Heemskerk.

Experienced system designer and FoH engineer Barak Koren deployed multiple line arrays, ensuring that a high quality mix could be heard in all seats. This resulted in an unprecedented zero number of complaints from the 250,000 total audience.
Of course good sound out front requires good sound on stage to begin with, which is where monitor engineer Paul Duwel has held the position for Marco since 1996. It was Paul who helped to persuade Peak Audio to recently invest in a Yamaha Rivage PM7 system.

Paul has used Yamaha digital mixers for many years and was one of the first Dutch engineers to use the PM1D, first with Marco and then on a theatre production. “In the theatre everybody thought I was crazy, because it’s such a big desk,” Paul Duwel says. “But I showed them the first layer was Front of House and the second layer was monitors, so it was really two desks.”

First time on a Rivage PM7

Monitor Engineer Paul Duwel. Photo: Jan Prinz.

He continues, “I had been looking for another console for some time and really liked the Rivage PM7. Peak Audio were into it as well, so I was very pleased when they made the investment.”
Such is Paul’s confidence in Yamaha – and the artist’s confidence in Paul – that these stadium shows were the first that he had mixed monitors on the Rivage PM7. But he couldn’t have been happier.
“It’s small in size, but it has so many tools and is so fast and logical to use,” he says. “You can create custom layers really quickly, you’ve got the Rupert Neve Designs plug-ins, you’ve got Dante… it’s all there.”

118 inputs, 70 outputs, 1 happy monitor engineer

Paul Duwel at monitor position, watching the see of seats from the Rivage (sorry for the pun). Photo ©www.donfonzarelli.com.

The monitor set-up for the shows featured 118 inputs, including 16 channels of backing tracks and 12 talkback mics for the seven onstage musicians and five crew (“RIVAGE PM7 has an excellent routing system for talkback,” notes a happy Paul). There were 70 outputs, mainly stereo in-ears and a number of wedges, keeping onstage SPLs low, but not compromising on atmosphere for the performers.

Aided by the experience of Peak Audio production manager and engineer Bart Schouten and the rest of the Peak Audio crew, Paul enjoyed five incredibly successful shows. Despite the size and profile of the shows – meaning huge pressure on the production team – the Rivage PM7 console ensured that everything in monitor world went without a hitch.

“Rivage PM7 is the best thing that has happened to me in the industry,” concludes Paul. “I love it. If I could advise young engineers, I’d say start on a Yamaha QL1, work up to the Rivage PM7 or PM10 and you’ll be very happy!”

More information on Yamaha Pro Audio, and watch Yamaha’s latest In The Spotlight video interview of Paul Duwel.

Powersoft has named Preeti Trading Corporation (PTC) its distributor for the region of South West India.
The company currently supports all kinds of commercial projects in the region, large and small, with its core customer base primarily consisting of small and medium-sized enterprises that sell and install audio equipment for use in commercial, governmental, corporate and public buildings.

“India is an extremely important market for Powersoft,” said Varun Mahesh Jagger, Powersoft’s Europe, India & Africa account manager – distribution. “We see great potential there for strong and consistent growth across all verticals.

Varun Mahesh Jagger, Poowersoft.

“PTC has been appointed to reinforce that vision of a stronger India. It has a strong dealer network, and a consistent record of moving with the times.
We see them as a partner who has taken and continues to take risks in order to come out on top.”

Kammal Dhingreja, chairman managing director at PTC, said: “As a premier AV import / distribution house, we have known and been in touch with Powersoft for many years now. We already distribute Martin Audio’s world class speaker products, and Powersoft’s amplifier platforms are a perfect addition to this side of our audio offering.

Kammal Dhingreja, PTC.

“PTC makes sure that quality comes first and is very proud of the high regard that customers have for our brands and services, thanks to our qualified engineers and technicians, always fighting to incorporate newer technologies and state-of-the-art products.”

One of PTC’s goals for the new partnership is to increase the presence of Powersoft products in the region, thus making it easier to educate the industry about the brand and its innovative technologies.

“In India, despite the availability and activity of many brands, there is a huge void of knowledge and lack of physical stocks,” concludes Dhingreja. “This makes it difficult to provide the right equipment at the right time, for a demo or installation. This is where we come in.

“PTC is able to reach out to a wide range of potential resellers through our strong and young energetic team. This gives us more avenues to arrange demo days and, in turn, makes it more likely that PTC dealers will include Powersoft products in their projects.”

More information on Powersoft products and Preeti Trading Corporation (PTC).