Sound Image general manager, Nashville, Everett Lybolt, was enthusiastic about having not just one, but two Studer Vista 5 SRs: one for the monitors and the other on FOH. Sound Image is also using dbx DriveRack 4800s for speaker management, Crown I-Tech 8000 amplifiers and everything is tied together with HiQnet System Architect.
By each working on their own Vista 5 SR, the FOH and monitor engineer have little problem coordinating. "We can meter, we can see, we can manage everything and troubleshoot from one source," said Jon Garber, long-time front-of-house engineer for Rascal Flatts. In addition, setting up and tearing down is very efficient and fast with the new console. "The Studer sounds great," he said. "It's very smooth and what comes in is what goes out. There's no colouration."
The Studer Vista 5 SR digital desk converted Stuart Delk, a high-profile monitor engineer, who resisted going digital up until hearing the Studer. "This console is solid," said Delk. "This is the only digital console I've been willing to tour with, so that says something."
(Jim Evans)
