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London’s Mean Fiddler Puts Soundcraft’s Vi6 Console To The Test
Soundcraft’s eagerly awaited Vi6 large-format digital live console has proved a huge hit at artists and visiting engineers at London’s Mean Fiddler (formerly LA2) where it is currently being beta-tested.
More than 80 bands have used the console since it arrival at the venue in May, including The Kooks, The Mystery Jets, Bitch Tree, White Rose, Phoenix, Pendragon and The Mad Heavies.
House engineer Rob Barham says: “The sound quality is brilliant and the analogue control surface makes it so easy to use that even visiting engineers who claim not to like digital consoles have got to grips with it within half an hour. What really makes a difference for a venue like ours is its capacity to recall settings at the touch of a button. Since May we’ve done three all-day Punk gigs feature a whole host of bands, plus a lot of club nights, and in each case the desk’s ability to move quickly between sets has made the engineer’s job so much easier.”
The Soundcraft Vi6 console is already ahead of the pack, being third-generation thanks to a joint development with sister console company Studer. The console is heralded as the first in a wide range of digital consoles to come from Soundcraft over the next two years.
The console has been designed using the proven reliability of Studer’s Vista and On-Air 3000 series of consoles, and uses a derivation of the Vistonics user interface (Vistonics II) to allow the engineer to operate the desk intuitively. Vistonics II uses the same type of touch-screen colour TFT monitor with integral rotary controls and switches mounted on the glass to provide a ‘where you look is where you control’ user interface.
The Mean Fiddler acquired its Vi6 following the demise of its old console. The venue’s long association with Soundcraft made it the obvious company to approach about a replacement.
“Our engineer Liam Halpin spoke to Soundcraft and arranged for us to borrow a Vi6 because the company was keen to test it out in a hard working live environment,” Barham adds. “The initial prototype version had a few glitches but this was eventually replaced with a production version, which has worked flawlessly. It’s a great desk and everyone loves it.”
One visiting engineer who has been very impressed by the console is Sean Whisner, who used the Vi6 to mix the Mad Caddies gig.
“Rob Barham showed me the ropes and off I went,” he says. “I was really impressed with the way the desk handled. It was not a 5d and didn’t feel digital. The touch screen technology was awesome! It made doing live sound on a digital desk possible and not a pain in the ass. I was able to mix around, use FX, and generally operate the desk like it was analogue - and I didn’t feel that I lost any sound quality.”
Ivor Wilkins, regional manager of the Mean Fiddler Music Group, says the venue plans to keep the desk until Soundcraft has completed its beta-test, at which point a final decision about a long-term console solution will be made.
“Naturally we want to hang on to it for as long as possible because it’s a top of the range desk and everyone who has used it has been really happy with it,” he says.
5th September 2006
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