Paul Hatt Takes HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi4 Console On The Road With Paolo Nutini

POTTERS BAR, United Kingdom – Heralded as one of the top voices in modern soul”, Scottish singer/songwriter/musician Paolo Nutini has quickly hit the big time since his 2006 debut album These Streets reached 5-times platinum in the UK. His 2010 follow-up Sunny Side Up reached Number One on the UK charts, as did his latest 2014 release Caustic Love. Nutini is currently touring worldwide in support of Caustic Love with monitor engineer Paul Hatt, working behind a HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi4 digital live sound console. Hatt has been with Nutini for the past six months, relying on the Vi4 to deliver monitor mixes to Nutini and his 11-piece band that includes guitars, bass, drums, a 2-piece brass section, backing vocals and more. In addition, Hatt’s company, CS Audio, has been providing a control and monitor package for the tour.

“Paolo has a wonderful dynamic range and we’re doing a nice mix of rock and some softer tunes,” Hatt pointed out. “The Vi4 sounds equally clear and musical whether Paolo and the band are quiet and subdued or rocking away at full bore—the console never sounds strained or harsh no matter what we ask it to do.”

Hatt notes that Paolo and the band are so tight they don’t need a click track: “This is the first band I’ve done in years where I don’t have to hear that click in my ear all the time and can just concentrate on the mix. The vocal and instrumental balances are always varying and changing with a band of this size and with the Vi4 I can easily store hundreds of cues if I like and easily keep up with anything Paolo and the band want to do, even on a moment’s notice.”

Hatt finds the expanded monitor mixing capabilities provided by the Soundcraft Vi4’s latest Version 4.8 software to be especially useful. Version 4.8 offers a number of significant new features including the ability for all 32 of the console’s mix busses to operate in stereo mode, to allow use as in-ear mixes. A number of new signal routing, panning and processing options are also provided. “I give Soundcraft credit for improving their already-excellent consoles with an update that adds new features to make life easier,” he said.

“The Vi4 is now even more suited to live performance thanks to the expanded bus structure,” Hatt said. “It’s nice to know I can keep adding stereo mixes and not run out of them, which happens with some other consoles.”

Hatt has also been working with the Soundcraft ViSi Remote iPad app, which enables remote control of Soundcraft Vi Series or Si Compact consoles from an iPad. Hatt takes his iPad with ViSi app on the road to EQ the monitor wedges from various locations across the stage, finding it extremely useful in dialing the sound of each monitor without having to constantly run to and from the console to the stage. “To say this speeds up the process of fine tuning and ringing out the monitors would be an understatement,” he noted.

Hatt had been using Soundcraft digital consoles for a few years before signing on with Nutini. “I have to say the Vi4, along with the Vi1, has been my favorites of any live sound consoles.”

In Hatt’s estimation, the Vi4 and Vi1 are the most intuitive to operate and combine all the control, signal routing, instant setup and recall, built-in processing and other benefits of a digital platform with unexcelled sound quality. “With the Vi4 I often forget I’m using a digital board, but when I go back to other brands I can feel the difference in ease of use,” he concluded. “The Vi4 is by far the best and easiest console out there for live concert mixing.”

HARMAN designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and integrated control solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson ®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a global workforce of 15,200 people and reported sales of $5.1 billion for the last 12 months ended March 31, 2014.

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Engineer John Delf Puts HARMAN’s Soundcraft Realtime Rack Plug-in Engine to the Test on 5 Seconds of Summer World Tour

SYDNEY, Australia – Having toured the United Kingdom, United States and Australia with Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, front of house engineer John Delf was one of the world’s first professionals to put the HARMAN’s Soundcraft Realtime Rack to use. Delf has been using his Soundcraft Vi4 digital console in conjunction with the Realtime Rack—a massive library of plug-ins from Universal Audio, compatible with all Soundcraft Vi Series digital consoles.

“I have been using the Soundcraft Vi desk range for many years now so I was very excited when they announced the release of the Realtime Rack,” Delf said. “I had heard great things about the Universal Audio plug-ins, so the thought of using these in combination with the Vi4 that I was using on the 5SOS tour was a very exciting prospect.”

According to Delf, the Realtime Rack has opened up a new world of possibilities. “The onboard dynamics and effects on the Vi range are exceptional but to be able to scan through the entire UAD catalogue and insert other extremely tasty emulations is so cool,” he said. “I am able to put two or three different compressors and pre's into all my important channels and switch between them, trying out which ones are best for each application.”

In addition, the Realtime Rack enables Delf to create processing and effects combinations that would not be practical if he was using outboard hardware. “At one point I was running three compressors on my kick drum microphone and it sounded great—not something that would have been practical using actual outboard gear,” he noted. “The advantage of the virtual emulations is that I can create chains that in the real world I could only ever dream of.”

Of equal important is the Realtime Rack’s ease of use—a crucial benefit on tours where every second is at a premium. “Once the Realtime Rack is cabled up to the Vi it’s very easy to add the effects to your existing channels and you can still use them in combination with the onboard desk dynamics and effects. All internal connections are done though the MADI interface so once you have the ins and outs sorted in the Realtime Rack, it’s very simple to link those into the channels.”

According to Delf, the diversity of effects at his disposal gives him a virtually limitless sonic array to choose from. “A kid in a sonic sweetshop probably best describes using it,” he quipped. “The only downside is that once you have used the Realtime Rack you will really miss it next time you have to do a show without one!”

“It just adds that extra bit of magic to your mix that was only previously available to studio engineers, but is now quite literally at the fingertips of the live engineer, via a great touchscreen. Thank you Soundcraft, I really loved using this piece of kit.”

For more information on John Delf’s recording studio, please visit www.theedgestudios.co.uk

HARMAN designs, manufactures and markets premier audio, visual, infotainment and integrated control solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. With 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson ®, the Company is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a global workforce of 15,200 people and reported sales of $5.1 billion for the last 12 months ended March 31, 2014.

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5 Seconds of Summer, One Mixing Console of Choice: HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi4

SYDNEY, Australia – Australian pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer is currently one of the hottest bands in the world. Since forming in December 2011 as college students posting YouTube videos of cover songs, the group has rocketed to worldwide fame—it has performed as the opening act for One Direction and will reprise that role on an upcoming tour, had its debut single “She Looks So Perfect” hit Number One in 39 countries and sold out headlining shows in Australia, the US and the UK in minutes. Over the last year the band and front of house engineer John Delf have toured the world with one console: the HARMAN Soundcraft Vi4.

“We’ve done more than 110 shows with One Direction, interspersed with 5 Seconds of Summer’s headlining shows and last year played in front of a combined audience of over one million people. Not bad for a band that at the time hadn’t even had a single out yet,” said Delf. “Most of the venues have been arenas from 10,000 to 20,000 capacity although we did a couple of shows that were 25,000 to 30,000, and a few 1,000 to 3,000-seat theaters. Through it all the Vi4 has been rock solid.”

Although 5 Seconds to Summer has been playing some of the world’s biggest venues and the Vi4 is capable of 96 inputs to mix, the band has a channel count of 32, making the Soundcraft Vi4’s compact size and ready access to all functions a big benefit. “I can get all my important channels on layer one, so I find it really easy to get access to everything I need without having to switch pages on the console,” Delf said.

What’s Delf’s biggest challenge in using the Vi4? “Trying to hear the mix over the screaming girls! For the first three songs of the set it’s almost impossible to hear the music because the fans are so excited to see the band that their screams are in the region of 115 to 120 dB, which is quite a lot louder than the usual 104-105 dB gig level. This also batters your ears and they take a little time to recover so it’s not until around song four that can you start to really get an idea as to what is going on.”

“I have all my main important channels on layer one of the desk, so all the drums, bass, guitars and vocals, then layer two is just for backing tracks and effects returns that usually look after themselves,” Delf said of his console configuration. “I use the VCAs a lot and have masters for all sections of the band and an all master for the whole band less vocals. It’s with this all VCA that I ride the dynamics of the band. I also have an effects VCA and a delay return VCA so I can control these levels and mutes without going on to layer two.”

Delf noted that one of the main reasons he chose the Vi4 for mixing 5 Seconds of Summer is the new Soundcraft Realtime Rack library of plug-ins developed with Universal Audio and compatible with all Soundcraft Vi Series digital consoles. “The fact that you can now use all the Universal Audio plug-ins in the live environment is so exciting,” he said. “I own Edge Recording Studios in Cheshire UK and we have a UAD2 card installed and the Universal Audio plug-ins sound amazing in the studio, so to be able to apply those to live sound is very cool.”

“Soundcraft also provided us with the touchscreen to control all these plug-ins and that makes it so much cooler to use and also looks pretty damn impressive,” Delf continued. “When I first started using them the effect was quite subtle but one day on tour one of my cables went missing and I thought I couldn't use it for the show and that’s when I realized how much I missed it and how big a difference it really made. We found the cable in the end and it was all systems go. Not sure what I'd do without it now to be honest!”

Having used a Soundcraft Vi6 on a previous tour with the band Plan B, Delf chose the Vi4 primarily for its sound quality. “I just love the way it sounds and it was my first choice for 5 Seconds of Summer,” he said. “This band has a much smaller channel count than the Plan B tour so I was able to fit perfectly on the Vi4, so why not? It sounds amazing, has great pre's, has built-in dbx compressors and Lexicon effects, plus the addition of the Realtime Rack UAD card. Why wouldn't anyone choose one?”

So far, Delf is more than satisfied with the Vi4. “I have loved using the desk and all of its features,” he noted. “It’s so easy to get round and everything you need is there in front of you. We let our support act use the desk too and their engineer had never seen one before the tour and by show two he was all over it. It’s very easy to use, sounds amazing and is so quick to learn. I couldn't ask for more. Bring on the Soundcraft Vi3000, that’s all I can say!” For more information on John Delf’s recording studio, please visit www.theedgestudios.co.uk.

HARMAN designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013.

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Hubei Business News Channel Network Employs Soundcraft Vi4 Digital Console for Broadcast Production

HUBEI, China - As Hubei’s top-ranked network in revenue for eight consecutive years, Hubei Business News Channel Network covers the entire Hubei province and has arguably the strongest influence of all media of Hubei. Recently, to accommodate its HD broadcasting, the network upgraded to a HARMAN Soundcraft Vi4 digital mixing console.

The console is configured with 32 mic line inputs, 32 EAS/EBU digital inputs and 16 analog outputs. The audio equipment was supplied and integrated by HARMAN distributor ACE.

“The main reason we selected the Soundcraft Vi4 model for this project is because it serves as the perfect balance between price and performance that the network was looking for,” said Rico Fung, VP of Broadcasting at ACE. “Also, the touchscreen interface helps the workflow of operators during live broadcasting, as there are many things to monitor.”

Operators of the network prefer the Soundcraft Vi4 mainly due to its value per dollar, ease of use and scalability of the system. It uses the Vistonics™ touchscreen interface in order to monitor and control input parameters and output channels. This increases the amount of control during live broadcasts, as everything is displayed clearly and intuitively. The sound is processed by the SCore Live DSP engine, providing superb signal quality.

“The Vi4 changes the concept of digital mixing consoles; having all this processing power as well as the intuitive layout allows the operator to focus solely on the mixing. After some general testing, we believe it is much easier to use when compared to our previous digital mixing console, making live broadcasting effortless,” Fung said.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of infotainment and audio solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson® and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013.

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Top Recording Artists, Talented Children and HARMAN Soundcraft Vi4 Console Collaborate at LIVE ART: Tree of Life Event

(Left) Bryan Hargrave, monitor engineer (staff engineer, computer
technology specialist), Soundworks of Virginia; and Grant Howard,
FOH engineer (vice president, senior engineer), Soundworks of Virginia.

RICHMOND, Virginia — LIVE ART: Tree of Life is a unique collaboration that brings prominent recording artists, musicians and children together. Held at Richmond, Virginia’s 3,200-seat Landmark Theater and produced by the School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community (SPARC), this winter’s LIVE ART: Tree of Life featured GRAMMY-award winner and SPARC alumnus Jason Mraz, along with k.d. lang, Christina Perri and other artists performing with more than 200 children of all abilities. Soundworks of Virginia handled the live sound for the event, using two HARMAN Soundcraft Vi4 digital consoles for front of house and monitor mixing duties.

Any show with multiple performers is always a challenge, but the LIVE ART: Tree of Life event presented an unusual and daunting logistical hurdle: the monitor console was located behind some of the scenery, which blocked monitor engineer Bryan Hargrave’s view of the pit band and the bands and performers at one side of the stage. The fact that the house band was positioned in the orchestra pit, right in front of the main PA system, did not make his or FOH engineer Grant Howard’s job any easier. A group of children in the box seats at stage left were also in front of the PA and had to be miked for the show.

Thanks to some careful aiming of the PA speakers and the Soundcraft Vi4’s functionality and its ViSi Remote iPad control, the show went off without a hitch even though it was, in the words of Howard, “like performance art, musical theater and bands playing all rolled into one,” and mixed seasoned veterans with children with little or no experience in front of an audience.

Soundworks used 62 inputs in the FOH console and configured the output with left/right/subs on an aux configuration for the main outputs plus two more feeds going to the under balcony and a feed dedicated to the hard of hearing. In addition to the complex live mixing duties, it was necessary to generate 62 channels of audio for a multi-track recording to be used for a planned PBS documentary film. “It was about as simple a hookup as I’ve ever seen for such a complex routing scheme,” Howard noted. “We just plugged in the MADI interface, turned on the consoles, assigned things accordingly, and that was it.”

“The ability of the Vi4 to be controlled by an iPad was an absolute lifesaver,” noted Hargrave. “In any other situation, not being able to see the performers during the show would have been a severe disadvantage.”

Instead, during rehearsals Hargrave was able to walk away from the monitor console, listen to the mix from anywhere in the theater and make adjustments. “We had 16 powered monitors across the stage and I could walk right up to a performer, the piano player or a group of singers, hear exactly what they were hearing and use the iPad to make adjustments to the monitor mix right on the spot. Without the iPad app, I would have had to walk to and from the console a hundred times.” After dialling in their monitor and FOH mixes, Hargrave and Howard saved their mixes using the console’s Snapshot feature.

Hargrave and Howard only had two days of rehearsals to dial in the sound for the more than 200 people who were onstage at various times, and found the Vi4’s ability to recall scenes indispensible. “By the time the show went on, all I had to do was scroll from one Snapshot to the next and the mixes were right there,” added Hargrave.

“This was the most out of the ordinary show we’ve done on the Soundcraft Vi4, but we found it to be perfectly adaptable to the situation,” Howard pointed out. “In my experience it’s also the easiest console to teach visiting engineers how to operate.”

For Soundworks, none of this would matter much if the Vi4 didn’t sound great. “We’ve demoed a lot of boards and Soundcraft is one of the best-sounding digital consoles,” said Howard. “And aside from being extremely useful, the color-coded FaderGlow™ controls look great in the dark! We got a lot of compliments about how cool the board looks from people in the audience walking by it.”

“Doing the LIVE ART: Tree of Life event is a humbling experience,” noted Soundworks president Steve Payne. “It’s just absolutely astounding to watch these kids perform with artists of the highest caliber. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Many of these kids have special needs and face challenges on a daily basis. Watching them perform on this stage is like watching a flower blossom. The process is hugely rewarding for all of us—the kids, the performing artists, the crew and the audience alike.”

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,600 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.5 billion for the last twelve months ended September 30, 2013.

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Melkweg Extends Commitment to HARMAN’s Soundcraft Audio Consoles

Melkweg sound engineers, Ard Boot (left)
and Richard Balk with their new Soundcraft Vi6

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands – When in late 2009 leading Amsterdam music and arts centre, Melkweg (Milky Way), purchased a multipurpose Soundcraft Vi4™ from Dutch distributors Audio XL it was just the beginning of a relationship with the UK company’s digital platform.

They have now doubled inventory by adding a Vi6, using the same operating platform and Vistonics™ II interface, but packing a greater number of inputs and busses.

It has taken up the FOH position in the venue’s 700-capacity Oude Zaal (Old Room), while the Vi4 has been redeployed as a dedicated monitor desk, replacing the previous long-serving console which was becoming increasingly unreliable.

Needing a minimum of 72 channels, the decision was again taken by head of the technical department, Richard Balk (and his team), providing the Melkweg with an intuitive means of mixing the many disciplines it hosts — including music, theatre, dance and cinema.

“We wanted to keep continuity with Soundcraft,” he explained. “We were debating whether to take another Vi4 but we had a demo of the Vi6 — and the extra fader bay won!” Other compelling reasons for buying the desk, he said, included quality of the sound, the quality of the built-in Lexicon FX and the user-friendly set-up of the desk.

The sale was arranged by Audio XL, Soundcraft’s Benelux distributors, who were also responsible for the demo.

The desk is configured with 72 inputs, 16 outputs, and supplied with two DSP expansion cards. “If necessary we can upgrade the channel count by adding further cards to the Stage Rack,” said Balk.

Another of the venue’s freelance sound engineers, Ard Boot, added that the Melkweg’s pool of technicians had all backed the decision. “What we like is the flexibility of the desk and its size. The fact that we already owned the Vi4 made it a logical step to buy the Vi6.” The venue also has the facility to relocate the console between the Oude Zaal and the venue’s main ‘Max’ room.

Back in 2009 Richard Balk and his team had thoroughly researched the market before voting in favour of Soundcraft, noting that other desks they reviewed at the time had often been too complicated. He was already familiar with the Soundcraft digital topology and knew that the Vi platform would provide a fast-track learning curve for uninitiated engineers, boosted by the library of Lexicon FX and BSS EQ’s.

At the same time the FOH station was specially modified; since Dutch sound engineers tend to be tall a clever custom feature was to have special brackets made to elevate the mixing desk, which travelled up and down over a distance of 20cm. This ensured that their hands were always at the right angle to the desk for maximum comfort.

The senior technician confirms that the decision to standardise on Soundcraft has met with the full approval of his team. He also confirms that the Melkweg simultaneously changed the set-up in monitor world, adding a new 72-channel input box and 48-channel broadcast output, along with the rest of the infra-structure.

About The Melkweg

The Melkweg is operated as a multi-room, non-profit making venue by the Stichting Foundation and funded by the local government. Originally built as a sugar factory it later became a milk depot (hence the name). By the late 1960’s it had been abandoned until local hippies asked the council if they could stage a couple of “happenings” there — and this revived interest. The venue thrived during the punk era of the mid-to-late 80’s so that by 1995 they were able to take space from the adjoining City Theatre to develop “The MAX”. However, the original “Old Room” remains. Aside from its two band/dance rooms Melkweg also operates a 150-seat theatre and a cinema and is available for private hire. Recently a new 800-seat venue has been constructed on the roof in a joint venture with the City Theatre, and co-funded by the local government and sponsors.

HARMAN (www.HARMAN.com) designs, manufactures, and markets a wide range of audio, lighting and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer, and professional markets. It is a recognized world leader across its customer segments with premium brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, and Mark Levinson®, and leading-edge connectivity, safety and audio technologies. The company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with Harman audio and infotainment systems. Harman has a workforce of about 14,300 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.4 billion for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2012.

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