Pro’s Andy Huffer and L-Acoustics’ Chris Vass throughout the process. Huffer has had an association with the National Theatre stretching back to 1996, when he first supplied equipment through Marquee Audio.
The L-Acoustics gear (at a total cost of around £150,000) went in at the end of May. (This rigging upgrade is part of the ambitious NT Future scheme, which will see around £70 million, raised from a number of sources, including profits from War Horse and an Arts Council grant, spent on overhauling many aspects of the National Theatre complex.) The ‘LCR’ vocal and music system comprises nine KARA cabs per side plus the six ARCS II centre hang, on chain hoists so that two people can rig/de-rig the lot during a change over day between shows.
system – it’s a work in progress. But I love it.
“Chris has been good at supporting us, and we’re really happy with what we have so far, considering the weight that was on my shoulders to make the right decision!” Ultimately, Ferguson says the
The National Theatre on London’s South Bank Six SB18 subs sit below the line
arrays to the sides of the stage; eight 8XTi delay cabs and two 12XTi coaxial sidefills bolster the sound to the trickier areas. It’s all powered by eight LA8 amplifiers. The system was tuned over
three evening sessions, one of which included renowned sound designer Paul Arditti making final adjustments on the eve of the run of Timon of
Athens. (Arditti’s tweaks were “small”, reports Ferguson.) London Road, for which Arditti also designed the sound, followed a week later and saw the KARA/ARCS set-up put to the test for a full musical production. There’s still a little work to
do, admits Ferguson. “Yes, there are little tweaks here and there – we would like to add to the
new rig “is wonderful in its simplicity – considering we’ve come from a system with multiple speakers from different manufacturers, rigged at various points, to, basically a LCR with a row of delays.” Once upon a time, the Olivier
+ HD Pro Audio is holding a demo day at the NT on 28 November, where Andy Huffer will present ARCS Wide and Focus cabinets, the Olivier’s KARA and ARCS II systems, and other L-Acoustics kit.
The state-of-the-art control room at the newly remodeled Reduta Concert Hall in Bratislava now features Genelec1238 CF monitors. Genelec SAM software was able to ‘virtualise’ the space to create a perfectly calibrated audio monitoring environment. The SAM system allows monitors to be controlled with digital networking to enable the building of flexible computer controlled systems of monitors. www.genelec.com
Bar Cubo in the Bulgarian resort of Varna has opted for a Martin Audio OmniLine system. Installed by local integrator Imperia AV, the system is driven by Martin Audio MA2.8Q, MA1.3S and MA4.2 amplifiers, along with dedicated DX1.5 system controller, while sub- bass extension is provided by two low-frequency Blackline S18+ units.