Each show tells a story through the media of theatre, music and song. The company responsible for transmitting those messages - aurally, at least - is Freiburg-based rental company, Coco Sound, who specified a significant Uniline system from APG for PAN.OPTIKUM's European tour.
The PA configuration is an unusual one given that PAN.OPTIKUM perform in large, open spaces with the audience in the middle and the show going on around - and indeed, at times, amongst - them. Consequently, Coco Sound's Joscha Muschal specified a four-point sound system with a Layher speaker tower in each corner and a further four solo speakers down two sides (so eight in total) dedicated to the spoken word.
"This means that we keep the spoken word completely separate from the music and effects, which is a really important effect for the theatre pieces," explained Muschal. "I used the Uniline system from APG to handle the music and effects from the four P.A. towers. I switched over this year from my previous system because I was able to achieve far more homogenous coverage across the whole venue with Uniline, and the speaker clearance is also much better. Another big advantage for us was that we saved a huge amount of loading space in the truck as it's a much lighter, more compact system than we were using before."
Each of the four towers contained three UL210 mid/hi cabinets stacked in a cradle at a height of 2.5metres and one TB218S sub on the ground. The PA is driven by Lab.gruppen amplifiers with processing courtesy of APG's DMS26 digital loudspeaker processor.
PAN.OPTIKUM's MD and creative director, Matthias Rettner, is very pleased with the results. "It's a clear improvement over our previous solution," he confirmed. "APG equipment is of the highest quality - the sound reproduction is crystal clear and extremely natural across all the frequencies, with wonderfully transparent highs and smooth, even lows. This is important for us as our shows include everything from the spoken word (including simultaneous translation), music of all genres and of course effects. The integration of Uniline into our audio set-up has been a huge step forwards for the production."
During 2011, PAN.OPTIKUM have performed at the majority of Europe's international performing arts festivals with their Uniline system, often as the headline or finale show, including the Olavs Fest in Trondheim, Norway, the Accroche Coeurs Festival in Angers, France, and the legendary Sziget Festival in Budapest. Currently back in Germany, PAN.OPTIKUM are enjoying a short break before preparing for the next leg of their tour which is due to start in the spring of 2012.
(Jim Evans)
