Working closely with event production and rental company OneBigStar, the team from Roland Systems Group (RSG) put together a combination of products which covered all areas of the festival. This year saw the new M-480 live mixing console play a key role in the event, with one console controlling both FOH and monitors for the large outdoor stage and one console FOH in the big top tent, plus a Digital Snake set up on each of the four stages.
RSG took the opportunity of Glastonbudget to demonstrate the new M-480 digital console in the UK and to emphasise its capabilities as a live mixing console. On the main stage, the M-480, in the hands of Neal Allen, took care of both FOH and monitors. "The M-480 is a rock solid piece of kit and did the job well," he commented.
Also on the main stage, the M-48 personal mixer was used by monitor engineer Graham White, in a set up to provide PFL feed. "We used the M-48 to separate the reference control between the wedges and in-ear which allowed Graham to preview and also to control the volume of the wedges from the desk," explained Simon Kenning from Roland.
In the Big Top tent, engineers were mixing from front of house on a Roland M-480 powered by two S-1608 digital snakes. In charge of the console, Chris Yeardsley, assistant project manager at OneBigStar commented, "The M-480 really is bomb proof - which is great because there are volunteer engineers here who have never used a digital console before. With the M-480, they can pick it up easily because it is so intuitive."
In a smaller marquee, the 'Charnwood Arts' tent, new musicians were encouraged to get up and play - some of them for the first time in front of an audience. Most played acoustic sets, but engineer James Britten had to be prepared for whatever turned up - and had to deal with a variety of setups including a six piece band. Using a Roland M-300 for the job with a Digital Snake system, he had the flexibility and the features at hand to change setup quickly and easily.
The M-300 digital mixing console was used FOH in a smaller covered stage area along with an S-4000S-3208 Digital Snake.
(Jim Evans)
