Taking place at the DG1 in Dumfries, a modern multipurpose venue, the awards took place on 28 November and were broadcast two days later on BBC television. Sound provider for the event was Midlothian-based event production company A&R Martin, which has a long and successful history of using the Yamaha / Nexo combination.
"I've been using the Yamaha M7CL and LS9 for several years and we've found them powerful, flexible and easy to use," says the company's Dougie Martin. "We first bought into Nexo about a decade ago, gradually increasing our inventory of PS and LS series loudspeakers and adding the GeoS12 system shortly after it came out.
"Using the Yamaha desks and Nexo controllers/loudspeakers with the SB168ES stage box in an Ethersound network, you have a system that is quick to set up and take down, sounds great and offers tremendous flexibility."
The Scots Trad Music Awards show had two elements - live music performances between the awards and the awards themselves. Three Yamaha digital consoles were deployed, an LS9-32 and M7CL-48 at front of house, with another M7CL-48 on monitors. The PA comprised a flown system of five Geo S1210 and one Geo S1230 (with 120ยบ degree flanges) per side, plus two S2 subs per side, all controlled by an NX242-ES4. Onstage monitors were 12 PS15s in wedge mode.
Lines from stage were split through four 12-channel KT DN1248+ active splits with one set of feeds going to the monitor desk, another going to the OB truck doing the music recording for broadcast and another to three Yamaha SB168ES feeding the M7CL at FOH.
A fifth KT DN1248+ split the awards ceremony channels, lectern mics, presenter headsets and house band doing the award stings - played live for every award - to the TV scanner and to a fourth SB168ES, which fed an LS9-32, also at FOH.
The Ethersound network connected the FOH M7CL and LS9, plus the four SB168ES, linked through to the Nexo NX242-ES4 which fed the FOH system.
"The LS9 ran the show and, in addition to the awards microphones and house band, it handled the audio play in from the TV trucks which were running the VTs for the awards. The audio from the VT was compressed as a key-in on the presenter microphones group, so it automatically ducked as the presenters read out the awards over the running VT," says Martin.
(Jim Evans)
