MIDAS network facilitates 18-band Paris event
rench PA company On-Off, supported by MIDAS distributor EVI Audio France, has used a MIDAS digital network consisting of three PRO6s together with three DL431 mic splitters for La Nuite Africaine at the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, Paris. The event featured 18 bands including Alpha Blondy, Manu Dibango, Mory Kanté and Magic Systems.
On-Off, a long time MIDAS analogue customer, was chosen to provide both the sound system and the engineers. The18 bands played for just five and half hours, making the timing of the whole evening crucial, and this was a large factor in selecting the MIDAS digital technology. The setup was expertly manned by On-Off's team of professionals, who managed to achieve an impressive changeover time of just three minutes between acts.
"It was an obvious choice to use our PRO6s as in addition to being able to cope with an event of this complexity, they sound better than anything else on the market," says On-Off technical director Gilles Gautrois. "When there are several different desks on a festival using the same PA, as we experienced last year, it's amazing how the PRO6 stands out. For this event we had more than 100 line array boxes and 48 subs, so no compromise was acceptable."
Two PRO6s were used at FOH, with one for monitors, together with the DL431 splitters. "These splitters are unique and extremely convenient," says Gautrois. "The 'C' transformer outputs were used to feed a remote van as TV channel FR3 was broadcasting the show in HDTV. We were using DL452s AES/EBU I/O cards with the DL351 I/O boxes, going directly into the amplifier inputs in 96 kHz, which gave the most impressive dynamics! The other great feature for the show was the automation: we had 18 scenes with different patches which gave a flexibility impossible to achieve with analogue desks."
Engineers Philippe Bouic and Philippe Davesne were also delighted with the MIDAS network. "I love the POP(ulation) groups and the easy access to VCAs," says Bouic. "The EQ is perfect, and the sound is even bigger and warmer than that of the Heritages I used for years. The internal compressors are excellent, and as for the onboard effects, the multiband compressor is a must. Finally, the 'feel' of the pots is not like any other digital mixer."
Photo: MIDAS PRO6s at La Nuite Africaine, Stade de France