"The GL4800 was purchased specifically for the Tristan & Yseult production but it is a long term investment for future shows," says sound designer Greg Clarke. "We needed to upgrade our old desk in both quality and capacity, especially as the company relies heavily on live music in performance. We are really happy with the sonic quality of the GL, plus it's a versatile board with all the bells and whistles. It is simply a tremendous desk for the price point, and it's British!"
The play was staged at the National Theatre in London during the spring, and the Company recently embarked on a UK tour including dates at the Bristol Old Vic, Nottingham Playhouse, and Birmingham Rep.
Clarke continues: "It was the GL's 'plenty of everything' approach that attracted me. The EQ is nice, and there are lots of auxes; the input stage is clearly good and the fader quality is excellent - an important consideration in theatre sound when the desk is going to be used on a nightly basis.Having a matrix takes the pressure off the output structure too, whilst MIDI-controllable muting has obvious advantages for this particular performance as the band is made up of multi-instrumentalists."
The FOH system comprises EM Acoustics speakers, BSS processing, with AKG and Sennheiser mics, and playback via an AKAI S6000 and G-Type PC control program. The Company also uses Tannoy T12s for spot sound effects and monitoring, as well as a pair of Apogee speakers, used as fill speakers flown above the onstage band.
(Lee Baldock)
