Allen & Heath’s iLive digital mixing system has been employed for Juan Presbyterian Church’s recent musical production, ‘Unfailing Love’, in Incheon, South Korea.
“I have always been an avid Allen & Heath user and find the desks excellent value for money. My first mixer was a GL4 and there is an ML5000 VCA console installed at the church,” explains H. T. Kim, executive mixing engineer at the Juan Presbyterian Church. “Some engineers I know are still concerned about the stability of digital mixers and I was one of them before I touched iLive. By the first day of the show I had complete confidence in iLive and it is surprisingly intuitive for a digital system. One of the key benefits of going digital is the scene memory and recall function, which saves a lot of set up time as you can recall settings from the previous night’s performance.”
Unfailing Love is a retelling of the passion of the Christ in musical format. Audio requirements included 20 wireless mics and music sources.
“The iLive pre-amp provided plenty of headroom - it’s really something different from any other digital mixer. The smooth feel of the iLive-144 surface controls gave me that familiar “analogue” feel, and the built-in compressors, noise gates, EQ and de-essers were really helpful for shaping the voices of the performers. The reverb provided an excellent vocal effect and the output EQ, especially, did a great job to refine the overall sound quality. Allen & Heath's years of design experience are evident in the system’s functionality; I think this could be the best digital gear on the market!”
Switzerland’s 7th annual ‘Dance with the Wolf’ festival recently took place in Corbeyrier with Allen & Heath’s iLive digital system managing monitor mixing.
The two day festival is a celebration of everything Celtic, with Celtic food, folk tales, dance and most importantly, music. The event hosted 8 bands over the two days from Ireland, Brittany and Wales.
“I have managed monitors for the festival for several years and decided to use A&H’s digital system this year,” explains Roland Dupertuis, from Allen & Heath’s Swiss distributor, Decibel SA.
Comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface, iLive managed a range of musicians playing a diverse range of instruments from electric guitars and bass, to harps, mandolins, bagpipes and accordions.
“All the musicians praised the sound quality on stage, and the scene recall is very fast so in two minutes the desk is ready for the next set, and there’s no laborious manual set up that you get with analogue mixers. I had forgotten to update the configuration settings for one of the bands prior to the show but the system is so intuitive I was able to correct the problem during the short change over period. The preamp is also excellent, so I only use the hi-pass filter for 90% of the time,” concludes Dupertuis.
Allen & Heath has launched the iLive Configuration Utility, a new online tool to aid customers wishing to purchase the new modular digital system.
The Flash-based web application enables the user to build their own iLive system, selecting iLive control surfaces, iDR10 MixRacks and the various components needed, to design a system tailored to their specific requirements.
The application comprises 3 screens, starting with the iLive surface, followed by the MixRack, finishing with the addition of extra modules or accessories. There is a simple 'drag and drop' configuration utility, whereby modules can be ‘dragged’ to the corresponding slots on the back of an iLive surface and MixRack. An item code is generated for each iLive surface and iDR10 MixRack built, and up to 5 surfaces and 5 MixRacks configurations can be saved during the process. Upon completion, the configs can be forwarded to a local sales representative.
“As iLive is modular with a wide variety of options and components, it can be difficult for customers to visualise and cost a system. This tool allows them to explore the range of options available, pick and choose according to their requirements, and match their budget,” explains Allen & Heath’s sales director, Bob Goleniowski. “Everything can be saved, recalled and sent to our sales distribution network, which also eliminates any order errors. It will really help streamline the sales process for this complex product.”
Cheshire hire company, The Audio Group, recently employed Allen & Heath’s iLive digital system to manage a festival for M.A.D Sound and Lighting near Aberystwyth, Wales.
Comprising an iDR10 mix rack and iLive-80 control surface, the system managed FOH audio for the 2-day event at Pafiliwnbont in Pontrhydfendigaid, which featured 10 top Welsh bands including Huw Chiswel, Sibrydion and Radio Luxemburg.
Audio Group’s director, Paul Adamson, said: “We have been looking to purchase a digital audio system for some time and iLive’s audio quality and features make it very appealing. With everything on board, we don’t need to carry big outboard racks of EQ and FX processing.” The iLive system was complemented by a Logic Systems VA Line Array at FOH and Logic LM20 monitors, with amplification from MC2.
“The event manager was anxious at the thought of a digital console at FOH. He asked ‘where’s your multicore?’, and walked away scratching his head when I explained we had already flown the two pieces of CAT5 required off the truss!” commented freelance sound engineer, James Jewry, who was driving iLive throughout the festival. “We reached sound checks in no time and as I hadn’t used the iLive before on location I was surprised at what was to follow; the audio is rich and detailed, all the onboard FX simulations are superb, and the features and flexibility of the system really impressed me. As soon as you select a channel everything is in front of you, unlike other digital desks where you have to navigate a little to find what you need. We especially liked the mute buttons, which are like Allen & Heath’s analogue boards.”
“If you’re thinking of buying a digital board and you dismiss iLive, to put it bluntly you’re either deaf or stupid. “It doesn’t sound like a digital board should, it just sounds awesome. Enough said,” concluded Jewry.
Kent-based PA company, SRD Group, recently added two Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing systems to its hire inventory. The two systems, comprising an iDR10 mix rack plus iLive-112 surface and iDR10 mix rack plus iLive-80 control surface, enable the company to field a complete FOH and monitor solution.
“We evaluated a variety of products before deciding to purchase iLive, looking at overall value for money, quality of sound, features, ease of use and flexibility. We chose iLive because of its simple interface for analogue desk users and its ability to provide full DSP to every input and output. iLive’s flexible architecture and micro footprint makes set-up very easy, yet we still have the capacity to manage up to 64 inputs and 32 outputs,” explains Stuart Roberts, MD of SRD Group.
SRD Group provides dry hire or complete event management services for entertainment and corporate clients, specialising in concert sound. The team, including in-house staff and freelance engineers recently attended an iLive training session in preparation for this summer’s busy event schedule.
“Overall, iLive’s sound quality is, in my opinion, as good if not better than the competitor products we evaluated. The mic pre-amps are very natural sounding with loads of headroom, the EQ responsive and easy to use, and the in-built effects and dynamics are every bit as good as the well known outboard processors we use with our analogue consoles," continues Roberts.
“The thing that really tipped the balance for me is the flexibility that Ethersound brings to the more unusual shows we regularly manage. The ability to route anything to anywhere including the 4 slots on the back of the surface and then control it all from a laptop if required is the icing on the cake.”
Norwegian PA rental company, Lydfiksern, used their new Allen & Heath iLive system to its full potential during this year’s Sami Grand Prix (SGP) music contest.
SGP is part of the renowned Sami Easter Festival, the biggest cultural gathering of the Northern Europe’s indigenous Sami people, held at the Bakteharji Arena in Guovdageaidnu.
FOH engineer, Thomas Mikarlsen, selected the iLive system – comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface - for the event, and took full advantage of the 8 effect engines, using no outboard processing.
The show was broadcast live by Norwegian national station, NRK, and for the first time in the event's history the FOH mix was used for the broadcast rather than the usual separate mix provided by NRK's own engineers.
Lydfiksern also provided a multi-track recording system for record producer, Bernt Mikkel Haglund, comprising the Ethersound B 64-track split output from the iLive’s iDR-64 DSP mix engine and a computer equipped with a Digigram LX6464 card.
“Haglund raved about the sound quality being the best provided in the history of the event and now looks forward to mixing the festival CD,” explains Mikarlsen. “The iLive performed flawlessly once again with its warm musical sonic quality, fat-sounding effects, and flexible user interface.”
Allen & Heath’s French distributor, Audiopole, is supporting a new show "Yvan Le Bolloc’h and My Guitar is called Return", a musical comedy show in the Gypsy tradition.
Yvan Le Bolloc’h, who is a famous French TV star, developed the show after he met several Gypsy musicians.
Yvan performs the comedy section of the show and also plays guitar alongside Patrick Batiste, lead singer, Yannis Patrac, and the rest of the band.
Sometimes the iLive system – comprising an iDR10 stage box and iLive-144 control surface - is used for front of house and monitors. Is this case a 10-wedge speaker line is complemented by a two in-ear monitor line, all controlled by iLive.
Except for the electric bass, the stage is filled with acoustic instruments and vocals, which bring out the iLive's sonic quality – the preamp sound, compressor and extensive effects.
Florida-based TSC Productions recently purchased an iLive digital system, comprising an iDR-10 64-input x 32-output mix rack with iLive-144 control surface. The company has already used its new iLive system to provide mixing duties for a wide variety of events ranging from outdoor festivals and Ultimate Fighting contests, to touring acts at the various clubs in the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area during spring break.
Established in 1998, TSC Productions is located on Florida’s Emerald Coast, and is owned and operated by Brendon “Grimey” Grimes.
“iLive has been a fantastic system for our events,” says Grimes. “The layout is like an analogue console, so it is very familiar, and any of our engineers or guest engineers can get up and running with it in 5 minutes. Also, the iLive sounds amazing, the preamps are beautiful and really, really clean. So far, we have managed several events with iLive, including the LoCash Cowboys at the Block, the Ying Yang Twins and Bubba Sparks at the Nightown Club, Ultimate Fighting at the Emerald Coast Convention Center, and at the end of May, we will be managing the Doolittle Raiders’ Homecoming Celebration at Eglin Air Force Base.”
“The LoCash Cowboys were recently signed to a label and are currently on the RedMan/Maxim Roadhouse Tour. They have been playing at the Block club for years and like to include it on their schedule when they can,” continues Grimes. “They brought a 7 piece band including fiddle, acoustic & electric guitars, bass, drums, and vocals to the most recent gig. We had them dialed in with a couple of different reverbs and delays, compressors and gates on the drums and amps, and some EQ sweetening where necessary. The signal processing on board iLive is extremely high quality and easy to use. Even the LoCash boys told me after the show ‘The sound was great, and the board looks cool too!’”
Allen & Heath, in association with Autograph Sales and the SRD Group, is to host a series of open days in the UK to provide training and hands-on experience with iLive, its ground-breaking digital live mixing system.
The first session will be held on Thursday June 12th at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, London, where an iLive system was recently installed by Autograph Sales in its newly-opened performing arts centre.
Delegates will have the opportunity to get to grips with every aspect of the iLive system, from setting up routing, dynamics, EQs and FX to detailed scene management, Ethersound and network control. Sound engineers who are thinking of moving towards digital, existing digital engineers, event production professionals and installers will all benefit from this comprehensive training session.
The sessions are free and open to all. To register your interest and apply for a place at the session, please email james.langridge@allen-heath.com or call +44 (0)1326 370104.