Presteigne Charter is buying three Lawo mc²56 consoles to supplement its two existing mc²66 desks, plus two Lawo Nova29 routers, and one of the manufacturer’s more budget-friendly crystal broadcast consoles, writes David Fox.
“The 56 is a bit shorter and less deep, so can fit more easily in an OB van. It is touchscreen-based, whereas the 66 has more knobs,” explained Paul Murray, its head of audio (pictured with one of its existing Lawo desks).It is buying the new Lawo desks for a new contract, “and getting great support from Lawo. We think it is a great product,” he said. “The internal structure of the Lawos effectively means that we can dispense with a separate audio router altogether.”
The crystal is a compact, lower-cost broadcast console with a user-friendly control surface that can have up to 16 faders, and its 1RU core has an integrated routing matrix with up to 288 inputs and 292 outputs.Besides the Lawo consoles, Presteigne Charter also has Yamaha DM2000 and M7CL 48-fader consoles, used for flyaway kits, which are popular with clients at events like the upcoming French Open Tennis (which starts on May 17).
All of its desks are now digital. With larger events, and the move to 5.1-surround sound, “I don’t think we’ve used an analogue console in a long time,” added Murray. “Things are moving quite fast on the technology front these days, with video and audio systems becoming more integrated. Manufacturers such as Evertz, RME and 4HM have included MADI connectivity on their products and this allows us to provide large, flexible systems in a smaller footprint with less set up required. Also, because we ship equipment, furniture and cabling around the world, it saves us the expense of hauling around tons of copper.”
The recently launched Nova29 it has bought is a compact 16-port MADI router, which delivers transparent signal routing for 1024×1024 signals. It has an integral intercom, and can be used as a stand-alone unit with third-party equipment or networked with the Lawo consoles.
Most OB vehicles in the UK use Calrec Audio desks, but Lawo has begun making inroads into the market. Arena Television’s OB14 (pictured), which went into service earlier this year, is believed to be the first OB truck in the UK to use one of Lawo’s mc² consoles.
It has a Lawo mc²66, Dolby 5.1 audio mixing desk, with 56 faders configurable for inputs and/or groups, 88 mono mic/line inputs, 64 assignable analogue outputs, 24 assignable AES inputs, and 24 assignable AES outputs. It also has a Lawo 8000×8000 AES router, as well as Genelec HT210B 5.1 monitoring and a Riedel Artist 128 digital talkback system.
At NAB, Lawo announced a new Extra Faders surface layout for the mc²66 MKII consoles in response to requests from British and American sound engineers for a surface arrangement that provides more faders and less buttons close to the console’s armrest, the new Extra Faders layout brings enhanced capabilities to the Central Control section of the mc²66 MKII while also providing improved surround sound mixing capabilities. The new surface layout incorporates eight additional faders and a new user panel that provides for a variety of essential functions requiring dedicated hardware buttons. This panel contains the Screen Control buttons, Panning Joystick, Bus Assignment, ISO buttons, as well as 12 customisable User Buttons. “By adding more faders to the console’s Central Control section, while also improving the system’s surround sound mixing capabilities, we have demonstrated Lawo’s commitment to listening carefully to our customers while also providing world-class, customizable solutions for the most demanding mixing projects,” said Herbert Lemcke, President of Lawo North America.
The mc² series also now has loudness metering for every channel (to meet EBU R128). A permanent display of the integrated measurements is provided within the GUI. This is claimed to be “a world’s first for production consoles”.Lawo has also introduced the Lawo Remote App allowing an iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch to remote control faders, load snapshots and trigger many custom functions such as Routing Connects or GPIs. The iPhone can also become an additional user panel for Nova73 HD routing systems and mc² consoles. www.presteignecharter.comwww.arena-tv.com
