Lawo and d&b at heart of Ravenna Festival
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For the past three years, Italian rental company BH Audio – which specialises in classical, contemporary and jazz production work – has used the combined d&b/Lawo platform for critical trials ahead of Soundscape’s official launch at the ISE event in February.
In charge of the Ravenna Festival system setup is BH Audio’s Massimo Carli, who chose Lawo’s IP audio capable mc²36 console for FOH mixing as he had previously proved its adaptability at a Verdi Festival staged at the Farnese Theatre in Parma.
“After three weeks of rehearsal, the producers wanted multitrack recordings to be made – this was easy, using two recording systems connected to the console through Ravenna,” he says. “Then I was asked to add all the intercom and dressing room calls for the singers and choir – this was possible using only the desk’s channels and internal matrix.
“The mc²36 made it possible to meet all the requests without problems – it was very easy, and very fast. With other live consoles that we have in our warehouse, it would have been much more complicated, and I probably would have needed additional equipment.”
Returning to the Ravenna Festival, Carli says: “The use of Ravenna/AES67 makes the setup very clean compared to the past. From the mc²36, I can send 44 direct outs and 20 post-fader auxes to the Soundscape DS100 processor via one of its three Ravenna/AES67 ports. And I send the DS100 outputs to the AES/EBU outputs of the Lawo Stagebox directly to the various loudspeakers. We also used a tracking system through the network to dynamically transmit the correct position of the singers to the DS100.
“Soundscape will not be suitable for every type of work,” Carli reflects. “However, I’m sure that, with time and the changing of listening habits, it will be easier to get beyond the obstacles. Ultimately, in my opinion, it will transform live sound. Once you’ve used it, it’s very difficult to go back.”
(Jim Evans)
