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Renkus-Heinz and beyerdynamic Power Apple’s ‘Guitarists and the Mac’
The aim of the roadshow, organised on behalf of Apple UK by production company Nutmeg, is to demonstrate how the Mac and Apple’s audio creation software – along with the latest third-party products – give guitarists unparalleled creative freedom using amplifier emulations and pro-quality effects, as well as being able to explore sampled sounds, virtual instruments and synthesizers.
‘Guitarists and the Mac’ (GATM) features a live presentation from resident Apple guitarist Mark Altekruse who demonstrates products including GarageBand, Logic Express and Logic Pro 7, and third-party hardware and software products from supporting suppliers including beyerdynamic UK, Fender, Focusrite, MOTU, Native Instruments, IK Multimedia, Waves and Brian Moore Guitars.
As befits a company at the cutting edge of technology, the shows are slick and impressive, and at Olympia, which formed the grand opening to the GATM tour, the audience was treated to some fine music from four top session musicians – jazz guitarist Jay Roberts, the young virtuoso Ben Lacy, Sting’s guitarist Dominic Miller and ace percussionist Selvaganesh, who has gained international fame as a member of John McLaughlin’s Remember Shakti.
The full audio production package featured both at Olympia and at the NEC (alongside the ‘Music Live’ show), where the main PA, also supplied by beyerdynamic UK, comprised four groundstacked cabinets per side of the Renkus-Heinz PN102/LA self-powered wide-dispersion line array along with a pair of DR18-2 self-powered subwoofers per side. In-house AV company AVSC provided mixing and control systems at Olympia.
Event and exhibition organisers Nutmeg, based in Bournemouth, have run Apple’s roadshows for some five years. The events fall into three types: large single-day events, product launches and Apple’s presence at exhibitions such as the recent Mac Expo in Olympia, alongside which the GATM presentation was staged.
GATM is one of the largest of Apple’s roadshows, the UK dates forming just one leg of a European tour taking in 22 cities, with the first part ending in December. The format is consistent, embracing two identical shows per week. Apple hosts three or four roadshows a year on various subjects, including pro video software, music, architecture and more.
Nutmeg event manager Jackie Wills explains: “We handle the logistics side of Apple’s events, so that once the cities are chosen we find suitable venues and order in all the relevant supplies including catering, hotels, equipment, AV systems, and we’ll usually be on site to make sure the day runs smoothly.
“Apple is a very precious brand,” she explains, “and both they and we are very conscious of their image, so it’s always essential that the presentations are as good as they can possibly be. This means the AV is always to a very high standard: only high-lumens projectors, only a first-rate audio system. The opening date at Olympia was particularly technology-rich with world-class audio and video systems and four great musicians on stage.”
Alongside the auditorium, an exhibition area was laid out with ten workstations, each sporting a complete music production system comprising an iMac G5 computer running both GarageBand and Logic, a Focusrite Saffire pre-amp, a pair of beyerdynamic DT770 Pro headphones and a guitar, which visitors were invited to try out for themselves following the presentation.
These were complemented by BlueSky MediaDesk 2.1 computer music monitoring systems, and beyerdynamic handheld NE500 Series radio mics and SND860 handhelds with belt pack systems.
“Visitors can try all the products personally after they’ve seen the presentation,” Wills adds. “People can go along, pick up a guitar and a set of headphones and experiment with Logic Express or GarageBand.”
Beyerdynamic UK’s Mark Bromfield comments: “At the Olympia event expectations were very high and the whole setup had to sound great with a high profile client in an intimate setting – not to mention an audience full of musicians! As we’ve found elsewhere this year, the Renkus-Heinz PN102/LA’s 150 degree dispersion, integral amplifiers, ultra compact size and ability to work ground-stacked makes it perfect for critical, small to mid-size applications.
“Apple and Nutmeg laid on a great package of musicians to mark the start of the roadshow and we were as delighted as the audience that it worked out so well and did justice to the occasion.”
In picture: (left) Jay Roberts, Ben Lacy, Dominic Miller and Selvaganesh; (right) Renkus-Heinz PN102/LA self-powered line array in action at Apple’s ‘Guitarists and the Mac’ event at Olympia.
7th December 2005
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