www.psneurope.com
June 2013 l 39
livereport NETHERLANDS
the spectators’ attention down to the stage; it’s a simple but clever technique, and it gets them more involved in the show.” According to Burton, one of the other main differences in today’s role is having to deal with “the minefield that is time-alignment”. “Back in the day we’d be time- aligning stuff using an old digital
rather than it all being bang on the numbers all the time.” Although he keeps his hand in, mixing the odd show here and there, Burton is certainly in no rush to ride the faders again. “I get so much more out of being a system tech in today’s industry than I ever did as a FOH or monitor guy. It comes with so much more responsibility; engineers have
“OK, it’s all going digital, but I prefer to have some imperfections in there rather than it all being bang on the numbers all the time” Graham Burton
delay unit in the rack, which wasn’t all that accurate anyway, but most of the speaker systems now come with their own amplifier which has its own delay circuit inside, so you can get everything absolutely spot on,” he explains. “Saying that, I don’t like anything being absolutely perfect, so as well as using [Rational Acoustics’] Smaart, I also use a laser measure. I then figure out how close the laser measurement is to the Smaart reading, which allows me to put that little bit of human element into it. “A lot of the guys I tech for
think my methods are that little bit more organic; OK, it’s all going digital, but I prefer to have some imperfections in there
to completely trust us because most don’t understand the science behind the sound,” he insists. “I reckon there are seven ways
of doing everything as a system tech, and I know I’ll never find them all myself; I have to learn from other people. I’m always saying to other techs, ‘Why are you doing it that way?’ because I’m genuinely interested, and that didn’t used to happen when I was behind the mixing desk. In the ideal world, all system techs would share the knowledge; that way, every gig would sound perfect. We’re not there yet, but maybe someday.”n
www.bcsaudio.com www.l-acoustics.com www.dbaudio.com www.rationalacoustics.com
Allen & Heath monitors Dutch icon By Erica Basnicki
DUTCH PAcompany SoundWorks supplied 28 Allen & Heath ME-1 personal monitor mixers for singer Lee Towers, who recently hosted a series of concerts over several nights at the New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam. Monitor engineer Jens van
Koolwijk managed audio design on the project, and tested several personal monitor systems before opting for the ME. “The decision was an easy one – ME just works like clockwork! There’s no hassle, it’s easy to set up, and the audio quality is sublime,” said van Koolwijk. An iLive iDR-16 MixRack was used as a system management hub for the multiple ME mixers,
UNITED KINGDOM Polar Audio to distribute Mackie By Erica Basnicki
LOUD TECHNOLOGIES has appointed Polar Audio as UK and Ireland distributor of both Mackie and Ampeg products. “Together, the Mackie and Ampeg brands have over 60 years of history in the UK and Ireland markets with one of the industry’s
most loyal dealer and user bases,” explained Tony Williams, director of sales, EMEA. “Polar Audio will build on this success by delivering improved local stock availability, excellent in-market sales, technical support and elevated levels of marketing and brand awareness.”
Lee Towers in rehearsals at the New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam
using the rack’s MADI interface to connect to the main monitor mixer. Forty channels of MADI fed the iDR-16 giving access to the iLive DSP system if adjustments to the MADI stream were needed. The iDR-16 was controlled using iLive Editor leaving the ACE connection free to feed the ME-1s.
“Feedback from the
musicians was very positive. The orchestra was pleased with the natural sound and ease of use, and the drummer was thrilled that he could finally adjust his bass drum and snare separately,” concluded van Koolwijk. n
www.allen-heath.com www.soundworks.nl
“We are extremely excited and
feel privileged to be chosen as the exclusive UK distributor of these market-leading brands,” added John Midgley, MD of Polar Audio. “Mackie and Ampeg are at
the core of the music industry and we are confident that with our local support and strong relationship to the dealer network we can gain further market share in the UK.”n
www.loudtechinc.com www.polaraudio.co.uk
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