"Historically, Avolites consoles have been Siyan's first choice at Lovebox," explains project manager Jez Johnstone. "For the past few years we've used the D4 range for FOH at the main stage, with the Expert on the smaller stages. With technology moving forward, it was a natural progression to spec the Sapphire Touch at main and the Tiger Touch Pro at stage 2."
At the controls of the Sapphire on the main stage was lighting designer Paula Trounce, taking care of artists including headline act Azealia Banks as well as Tinchy Stryder, Jurassic 5, D'Angelo, Rudimental and Charlie Wilson, among others. Her first time with this console, she's been using Avolites ever since first operating a Pearl at the London Astoria in 1992. "I also used Diamond 4s as house desks at Shepherds Bush Empire, and I have toured with the Tiger Touch and the Pearl Expert," she says. "I strongly believe you can't get a better 'in house' desk than a Diamond 4. As a house engineer you are asked on a regular basis to help out touring engineers by programming their show into your desk. Having such a simple and fast interface meant I could give people a quick five minutes tutorial and leave them to it, regardless of their experience level."
Lovebox gave Trounce the opportunity to explore the Sapphire Touch over a weekend. "I have a lot of experience setting up desks for other people to use and for busking shows," she continues. "Having two screens on the Sapphire was useful for both programming and quick access to fixtures and pallets. There were lots of 'Oh wow' moments with the Pixel mapper; I would go to do something only to find out that the desk had done it for me.Simple, good design with a good amount of faders and the dual screens mean you don't have to hide things away on different pages. It's all right there in front of you. And if you do want to use different pages, the motorised faders give you the confidence to do so live."
Trounce has keenly kept pace with Avolites technology and software updates during the course of her career. "There has been a huge advance over the past few years with Avolites consoles and I'm very excited to see where it ends up," she says. "I have a feeling this is just the beginning. The way people programme and operate shows has had to change with new technology and fixtures. Desks have to be constantly evolving too, and the latest from Avolites shows they are taking that very seriously."
