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The ABTT Theatre Show Reflects Market Trends for Compact Solutions
Every year The ABTT Theatre Show reflects the current trends in theatrical staging and production. The 2009 event is no different and will highlight the move towards smaller and more compact audio equipment for stage plays and musicals.
Producers and theatre owners are always keen that technical equipment should not take up space where seats could be earning valuable ticket money. The audio mixing console is the biggest culprit in this situation but digital technology has been used to design a new generation of smaller sound desks that take up less room, making more seats available for the audience.
Soundcraft introduced the Si3 compact digital console specifically for such applications and at this year's ABTT Show the desk's new, smaller relative will be shown on the Sound Technology stand. The Si2 features 48 mic inputs on 24 faders, compared to the Si3's 64 inputs, but like its big brother has four dedicated stereo line channels, four dedicated FX returns from the four stereo Lexicon FX processors, eight balanced insert sends and eight balanced insert returns. The Si2 has been designed for churches and other places of worship and small-scale touring as well as theatre work.
Another of the new breed of digital desks, the Roland M400, will be displayed on the Red Square Audio stand. This console is based on the V-Mixing system, which uses a combination of REAC technology and top end microphone pre-amplifiers to convert the audio from the stage into a high quality digital signal. Connections are based on CAT5 cables, which are not affected by the humming and buzzing that plagues analogue cabling.
Most theatres in the UK were not built with sound systems in mind, so sound designers have to work around historically important and often listed decor in venues that do not have the space for a big loudspeaker rig. To cater for this need manufacturers have produced slim-line loudspeaker arrays that deliver high quality sound from a small source.
Making its first UK appearance will be the newest addition to the d&b audiotechnik T-Series range. The T10 loudspeaker is the company's smallest line array, based on a passive two-way design housing two 6.5-inch neodymium LF drivers in a dipolar configuration and a 1.4-inch exit HF compression driver attached to a waveguide horn. This makes the cabinet very flexible and ideal for theatre.
Alcons Audio UK will also have a number of firsts, including the debut of the LR7 bass unit. This joins the LR7 micro pro-ribbon line-array range of lightweight (8kg), 16-ohm impedance loudspeakers, which offer either 90-degree or 120-degree horizontal projection. These features were designed with theatre in mind and are aimed at venues were space is at a premium and good imaging is vital.
RCF will be promoting the new 'Systems Integration' project design service along with a number of speakers from their TT+ Theatre and Touring range including the TT 22 and the TT08. Also on show will be the Acoustica C4128 under balcony speaker.
The ABTT Theatre Show takes place at London's Royal Horticultural Halls, June 10-11th 2009. Pre-register for free at http://www.abtt.org.uk/theatreshow/
21st May 2009
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