MIDAS XL8 MAKES NEW FRIENDS AT HOUSTON LIVESTOCK SHOW & RODEO
It doesn't get much bigger than the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Held in the city's Reliant Stadium for its annual three-week run (Feb 27 - March 18), the HLSR features a world-class program of rodeo competitions and nightly musical entertainment. An annual general attendance average of well over 1.1 million makes it one of the highest-attended indoor event series in the world. Houston-based LD Systems designs and deploys sound reinforcement and lighting on a massive scale for the HLSR; this year, LD Systems' massive 108-speaker Electro-Voice X-Line rig was augmented by the new Midas XL8 digital live performance system, on site for introduction to the plethora of world-class engineers rolling through the Rodeo, and on hand to lend its inimitable Midas sound to their mixes, if so desired.
The HLSR features 23 top tier acts over 20 days, running the genre gamut from George Strait to Beyonce to ZZ Top. Having had the opportunity to demo the XL8 during the day prior to soundcheck and showtime, well over half the performers' FOH engineers opted to use the XL8 for their evening mix—all became comfortable with the work surface in a matter of minutes. That kind of hands-on appeal and flexibility doesn't usually go hand in hand with the word "digital." One engineer even called his Midas rep half way during his set to enthuse at how well things were going.
"Having the XL8 at the Houston Rodeo was very exciting," says Robert Ausmus, director of production services, LD Systems. "We had 20 nights of first line acts coming through, and there was a constant stream of both FOH and monitor engineers up at FOH position eager to get their hands on the new Midas. The response was unanimously positive—the XL8 looks, sounds and feels unlike any other digital console out there, and everyone who tried it loved it.
"Having the XL8 on hand made for a great sonic partnership with our EV X-Line System," Ausmus adds. "The rodeo is a great opportunity to interact with these crews, to share how sound for a complex, large scale event like this can be precisely managed with great-sounding results, using sophisticated—but user-friendly—digital systems, from the EV IRIS-Net and NetMax controlling the X-Line, to the XL8 under their fingers at FOH."
David Haskell, tour manager and FOH engineer for Gretchen Wilson, was one of the many pros who tried the XL8 for soundcheck and ended up mixing with it for the main event. Just before embarking on his maiden voyage with the new Midas, Haskell shared some thoughts: "I was one of the fortunate few who got to see drawings of the XL8 during the early stages of development, so it's great to finally mix a show on it. There's a lot to like about the XL8. First off, it's a Midas product, so it's going to sound fantastic. Midas waited to jump into the digital realm--they wanted to do it right; I've been mixing on a digital console for a few years now, and the XL8 has a different feel. It's laid out so intuitively - all the latches and switches are exactly where an engineer would want to see them - so those of us coming from the analogue realm will immediately be able to jump on it and figure it out. Those who've been mixing digital for a few years will love it too; they don't have to go through 15 pages and 14 menus to find what they need! What it comes down to though, is that I must be pretty confident in the control and sound quality of this console, as I'm about to mix my first show on it in a 70,000-seat venue!"
And sure enough, the show sounded amazing!
Photo caption: Dave Haskell, FOH engineer for Gretchen Wilson, at the Midas XL8, Houston Rodeo
ENDS
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Editors' information:
Midas live performance mixing consoles have been used by the world's most demanding sound engineers, performers and rental companies for three decades. The company strives to raise the standards of sonic quality through its programme of continual research and development, implementing new control functionality and user-friendly desk operation to anticipate and accommodate the ever-evolving needs of audio professionals who specify Midas consoles for their major tours, festivals, international events, broadcast projects and prestigious fixed installations.