The on-air radio station desk of today is not that different to its predecessors in looks, but deep down it is now designed to be much more than just a mixing tool, as Kevin Hiltonreports
RADIO LISTENERS today have a choice of how to pick up their favourite stations or programmes: trusty old analogue, digital formats including DAB and, increasingly, streaming over the internet. In the studio there are similar technological options according to requirements, personal preference and budget, with analogue consoles still on the scene despite the growing dominance of digital desks. And in the background IP is increasingly a serious consideration for interconnection and distribution.
The fundamental function of an on-air desk has not changed much, despite the changes from vinyl to CD to automation server systems playing music files. Faders remain the familiar physical control surface but the ‘desk’ itself is increasingly more likely to be one or two panels set into or sitting on a table rather than a big bulky arrangement of
Studer kit is installed at RMC Paris
buttons and metal that a DJ hides behind.
Among the companies adopting this style is Stagetec with its modular On Air 24 console. Treva Head, regional manager for Australia, says “size is very important” in a radio desk, which now has to have “harmony with the furniture”. The fashion of putting the mixing modules into a stylish table has been adopted by Australian national broadcaster ABC, which is using four-fader consoles as the basic building block. In some
cases the coffee table-like stands are mounted on wheels so they can be moved around the studio to accommodate live bands, guests or cameras. Apart from aesthetic considerations Head comments that workflow is a crucial area, although he stresses that the technology is “meant to be a tool, not a distraction”. While he says radio desks are “more control surface oriented”, they are increasingly considered to be the “back end of the routing system”, which is where the real work is done. As well as Australia and the
Allen & Heath’s new XB-10 compact console
Far East, the On Air 24 is being installed in Europe, including tpc in Zurich, German regional broadcaster WDR and the live radio studio of the Muziektheater Amsterdam. Towards the other end of the radio scale is the Sonifex S0, an analogue console with some digital influence. This is aimed primarily at college/school radio stations, although Sonifex managing director Marcus Brooke says it is finding wider use in community services and secondary studios of larger operations because of its low price. Like its higher-end fully digital counterparts the S0 is modular and, says Brooke, is designed to be slotted into “whatever kind of furniture”. In terms of the dividing lines between smaller and big stations, Brooke observes this often comes down to the type of connectivity required: “The smaller stations tend to have a fixed set-up so can use analogue consoles where the inputs/ outputs are clearly defined and not likely to change often. Larger consoles are used in areas where