Ref:
Date: April 2007

BRITANNIA ROW DEPLOYS FIRST M7 MIDAS XL8 ON UK SHOWS

FOH engineer Jon Lemon has used a Midas XL8 Live Production System supplied by Britannia Row Productions Ltd in its role as part of the M7 Group, for two shows in late March. Lemon mixed for Noel Gallagher and Friends on two nights of The Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at The Royal Albert Hall and for Manchester Versus Cancer at the MEN Arena later that week.
 
This was the first real UK outing for the eagerly anticipated flagship Midas digital console.

“Britrow had told me they had one available and I’d been looking at using it for a while, being an avid XL4 user in the past,” says Lemon. “I happened to be in London, I was already thinking about these shows, Mike Lowe from Britrow told me it was available and I thought, why not?”
 
Did Lemon harbour any reservations about using the console for what were very public outings? “I don’t mind that aspect of being a guinea pig,” he continues. ”After spending a day with the XL8 I felt pretty good about it; the layout is very familiar, the centre section is not that different from an XL4.”
 
Lemon took the desk into Oasis’ own recording facility in The Chiltons and was already filled with expectations. “I was sure that characteristic Midas EQ and general sound would be there; I certainly didn’t have any reservations on that score, it’s a Midas console isn’t it? And as far as it being a new digital console system well… put it this way, I didn’t have a fallback position for the two shows!”
 
Lemon is one of the world’s most sought after live engineers, with credits including Beck, The Verve and Nine Inch Nails. He has recently been spending much time in the studio with Oasis. “I work on a lot of their live recorded output these days,” he says. “Because of that I come into contact with all sorts of consoles in different studios, so moving that digital experience into the live domain for these shows is not intimidating. I’m quietly confident, the Midas system has so much redundancy built in and I’m only using about 40 inputs.”

For part of the show, Lemon was mixing a small orchestra. “That’s why I was happy to use the board. It was only an eight-piece string section, but nevertheless that’s a good enough reason to want the Midas for its reputation of warm sound.”

How easy was it to master the fundamentals of the desk while rehearsing the band? “Well like all new systems it has its own idiosyncrasies, but fundamentally after having a good first day with Jason Kelly from Midas UK distributor Shuttlesound it all started to fall into place. On day two’s run through with the band however, the console really started to sing sonically, it really has the Midas warmth about it and it’s fun! I’d like to thank Britrow for the opportunity to test the desk in a real world environment; as always they’ve been very supportive, and also the chaps at Midas have been excellent!”

After completing the three shows Lemon was able to confirm his first impressions from those rehearsal sessions. “In practise it came back to that sonic aspect; the desk just stands head and shoulders above everything else for sheer panoramic range. Lots of headroom, lots of depth and beautiful imaging across the panoramic range.

“The way the dynamics reacted sounded really good, and of course the channel EQ is outstanding. I think it’s to do with running at 96kHz rather than 48kHz; I always use an external Waves BCL unit with a Renaissance compressor and I found that seemed to react more smoothly. There was definitely a different sound from what I’m used to. In a room like the Manchester Arena, not a great acoustic environment, it was possible to localise instruments in the mix to their proper positions on stage; that’s what I meant by panoramic range.
“The layout is much like an XL4 so it’s familiar from that point of view. I certainly don’t have any gripes, I think they’ve used the space well. I’ve enjoyed the whole experience and I’m looking forward to watching the development of the whole Midas range.”

Mike Lowe of Britannia Row Productions, who has provided front of house control and monitors to Oasis and Noel Gallagher for the last 15 years, says, “It is universally agreed by everyone who has played with the Midas XL8 that it is the best sounding live digital console. Like all audio kit, consoles appeal to people for a whole variety of reasons - sound, facilities, ergonomics, price etc. It is early days for people to have an informed opinion on most of these issues but the superb sound quality of the Midas XL8 digital mixing system would appear to be undisputed.”
 
Lowe is a director of M7 Audio Ltd, the company set up to facilitate UK rentals rental of the Midas XL8.  M7 Audio Ltd is owned by Britannia Row Productions, Cane Green, Capital Sound Hire, Concert Sound, Skan PA Hire, SSE Hire, Wigwam Acoustics. “It has been a great experience working on this extreme flagship product, which is Midas's entrée into the digital console market,” he says. “It has also been fantastic working closely with six of our competitors on this project while still competing, sometimes fiercely, with each other.
 
“This has been, and continues to be, a challenging experience but Britannia Row is very happy to be part of the XL8 story, having been involved with Midas since the 70s. It is great to be part of M7 Audio and to be the M7 Audio partner to have Jon Lemon agree to be the first soldier 'to go over the top' and use the Midas XL8. We will be introducing the product to the industry with many more XL8 outings scheduled over the coming months, together with engineer training sessions being organised by the individual M7 partners. A couple of further software releases are due between now and the end of July, after which the we look forward to increasing our stock of XL8s and being busy with them on the touring scene this autumn.”

The Teenage Cancer Trust concerts was serviced by Entec, providing a d&b J System for the Albert Hall, while Manchester Versus Cancer was serviced by Skan PA, providing a V-dosc system.

ENDS

All brands and trademarks are recognised.

Editor’s information:
Klark Teknik was founded in 1974 and in the years immediately following, their innovative approach to design and development allowed them to introduce some truly groundbreaking designs. Klark Teknik was responsible for the world’s first digital delay and digital reverb units, however it was their concepts for equalisation devices that really changed the world of professional audio resulting in the DN370 and the famous DN360. Today Klark Teknik continues to bring innovation in design and dedication to engineering and sonic quality in both the analogue and digital realm of signal processing, with the Square ONE and Show Command ranges updating the brand.

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.

 

The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2006, some 260,000 associates generated sales of 43.7 billion euros. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering,” the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of some 300 subsidiaries and more than 13,000 Bosch service centers in over 140 countries.

The special ownership structure of the Bosch Group guarantees its financial independence and entrepreneurial freedom. It makes it possible for the company to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future, as well as to do justice to its social responsibility in a manner reflective of the spirit and will of its founder. A total of 92 % of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by the charitable foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.