www.psneurope.com
July 2014 l 41
live
encouraged to multitask. We do try to make sure that people are multi-skilled to be able to deliver the different types of jobs that are required.
On working with Coda Audio... We got involved with them from very early on. Coda’s Svetly Alexandrov came over here, we were talking about the shortfalls with the system, which wasn’t the audio, but was how the technicians wanted to handle the DSP and the rigging. There was a definite willingness on Svetly’s part to listen.... and here we are, a few years later, with a whole new amplifier platform being released. The DSP is coming up to speed – what they are planning will take it years ahead. The fact that Svetly also owns BMS, probably one of the best component manufacturers, has always meant that his cabinets sounded great. Now I think Coda are ready for [the next stage].
The ViRAY – it’s outrageous! It’s the modern version of the LA8 and it’s night and day between them. It really flies quickly and is deceptively powerful for its size.
On the next generation of engineers…
As part of understanding our staff and our clients’ requirements, we have always invested heavily in training. This has taken many guises over the years from day release courses in theatre studies or basic electrical installation, whilst still learning on the job. Myself and Dave Kay have even been involved in creative apprentice steering groups and could be found at the front of any new production educational initiative. Many of these have come and gone and unfortunately we believe the only way to progress is with our own in-house training. Further education appears to present too many empty hopes. Adlib now actively works with many schools providing complete production days all free of charge and also work experience opportunities. This has proved very successful in the past with over 20 current employees coming from the direct schools route. The fulfillment in watching young talent develop into industry recognised professionals is incredibly rewarding.
www.adlib.co.uk
ITALY Radio Italia scores with Outline
Outline Mantas stacks at (a very quiet)
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
The FM station fields 72 Mantas enclosures for pre-match shows at AS Roma’s home ground. Mike Clark reports
RADIO ITALIA, one of Italy’s top private FM radio stations, recently took delivery of 72 Outline Mantas systems, which the station will use for pre-match entertainment at AS Roma’s Olimpico stadium. This is part of a deal inked with the Roman football club which sees Radio Italia became an official partner of the team – similar to agreements signed with the station by rival clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan and Italy’s national football team. The rig, installed around the pitch before each match and manned by distributor and technical service company Mods Art of Chieti, comprises 13 stacks – 11 of which have six Mantas vertical line array elements, an Outline DBS18-2 sub and a rack with two Outline T5 power amps; the remaining two have three Mantas and a sub. Four of the larger stacks are positioned in front of each of the two main stands, Monte Mario and Tevere, and two cover each of the curves, with one of the small stacks midway between them, in correspondence to the pitch’s two big screens.
The layout is almost always the same, but the curve speakers
are sometimes moved depending on the event being held – for example, for rugby matches, to accomodate the slightly larger pitch.
Matteo Celentano, low- frequency audio manager with Radio Italia, explains: “As well as supplying the sound reinforcement used for the pre-match entertainment, [which features] all-Italian playlist and the teams’ anthems, we are responsible for all the pre-game activity at an artistic level.” Along with Outline’s technical support specialist Francesco Ferretti, Celentano studied the system’s design and installation in relation to the type of activity for which it was to be used, and, regarding the choice of brand, adds: “We’ve worked very satisfactorily with Outline for several years and already have several Mantas systems in-house, so it was quite an obvious choice. We have also used other Outline systems for some time, such as their low-profile H.A.R.D. monitors, [which are] installed on-stage in the auditorium at our Cologno Monzese studios and HQ.” To design a system that ensured optimum sonic results in the venue – with a seating capacity of 70,634,
it’s Italy’s second-largest soccer stadium – the Mods Art team imported a 3D design of the arena into its Outline Open Array software and ran a series of tests to find the ideal configuration (stack position, splay angles, etc), while ensuring compliance with the restrictions laid down by the club’s management regarding stack placement and spectator sightlines. Mods Art’s Luigi Lombardi comments: “We’ve used the software on numerous occasions in the past and it is extremely accurate, so after finding the best configuration we just had to put it into practice.” Once the stacks and racks were deployed, the technicians used SmaartLive to calibrate and fine-tune the set-up. This enabled some imperfections to be ironed out, particularly in front of the Monte Mario stand, where there are many glass balustrades and booths for journalists and guests. In addition to the speaker enclosures, the rig includes
a Yamaha 01V96i console, two Shure ULX wireless microphone systems, an Altair wireless intercom system and a PC running the music. MCing at the matches is official Roma speaker Matteo Vespasiani, a very popular personality with the supporters and host of the club’s FM radio channel. The Outline system also, in addition to speech and music, reinforces the audio tracks of the video content shown on the stadium’s maxi screens.
Admitting that he knew he wouldn’t be disappointed by Outline, Celentano concludes: “I’m very satisfied with the results achieved. Timbre and intelligibility are better than other systems I’ve heard at the Olimpico, and this is very important for us … although it isn’t a live concert, we want the music played by Radio Italia to be heard well – always!”
www.modsart.it
www.outlinearray.com www.radioitalia.it
Mods Art’s technicians used Outline Open Array and SmaartLive software to calibrate the system
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