"The Thunder organisation was concerned that Ford Centre's sound system wasn't adequate to handle the playoffs," says Jerry Hooper, owner of Hooper Sound Production Services in Norman, Oklahoma. "The Thunder fans are among the loudest in the NBA, and a playoff scenario against the defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers, was sure to test the limits of the current system. We determined that the analogue FOH console was the weakest link in their situation."
Hooper consulted the house sound engineer for the arena, Jeremy Griffin, and recommended the Allen & Heath iLive, largely for its ability to be quickly integrated.
"We brought in an iLive-144 console and tied it into the existing sound system. In about three hours, we had it all plugged in, checked out, and ready to rock."
Audio sources include the PA announcer, video playback system, music from two DJs, a CD player, and four wireless mics that are used for everything from vocal groups to drums as the occasion demands.
"With our system, it's not really a question of channel count, it's more about flexibility," notes FOH engineer Jeremy Griffin. "The wireless mics are the biggest challenge as during the course of the game I might be asked to cover almost anything using the same mics because you can't run cables out onto the court. Everything happens on the fly, and you can't use the same mics for choirs and percussion and expect both to sound good. However, iLive changed all that instantly as I can set up different EQs, duplicate the channels, put them anywhere I want on the surface and recall them when I need them."
(Jim Evans)
