Tattoo events around the world follow a long-established template provided by the Edinburgh original. In this respect the inaugural Russian event was no exception. Marching bands from the Moscow Garrison and German Army Corps were joined by the perennially-massed Scottish bagpipers and drummers. The event's musical highlights included excerpts from Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, along with a special arrangement of Amazing Grace performed by the band of the British Coldstream Guards.
The sheer dimensions of the Moscow arena, however, added a further challenge for the sound design team, headed by Edinburgh Tattoo veteran John Del'Nero, who has relied upon TiMax for the last eight years in Scotland for its ability to keep pinpoint acoustic focus in what could otherwise be sound chaos.
In Moscow, the system was focused onto the multiple sound sources by first defining them as a number of localisation zones across the arena. These image definition origins were then delay-mapped independently to each of the loudspeakers and the seating areas they covered. The TiMax matrix and software would then statically or dynamically pan sound sources to these multiple locations around the arena as directed, continuously varying delay times so that the Haas precedence effect provided accurate imaging for the whole audience.
Del'Nero, assisted on site by associate sound designer, Sebastian Frost of Orbital Sound - who handled the TiMax programming - specified the multi-channel distributed sound system provided by Moscow-based Spin Music. The system comprised L-Acoustics' Kudo line array systems positioned in the arena's four corners as additional distant image anchors, with eight pairs of small dV-dosc arrays in nearfield reinforcement locations close to the two-sided audience seating. 16-channels of compact MTD108P cabinets provided extra audience in-fill.
Spin Music rented the 16x16 TiMax Rack System ShowControl PC from Out Board, who had it express-shipped direct from the Edinburgh Tattoo by Rock-It Cargo with the assistance of the Tattoo's sound contractors Wigwam Acoustics.
(Jim Evans)
