Soundcraft LX7 Compact Console
Fits At 12 Bar Club

Paul Gilbert at the new LX7 in 12 Bar Club's shoebox-sized control room.

The 12 Bar Club , voted the 'Best Live Music Venue in London' by Time Out magazine, has just installed a 16-channel Soundcraft Spirit LX7 at the head of its main sound system. The intimate venue has recently played host to Nigel Kennedy, Lambchop, Mark Eitzel, Billy Bragg and the Jesus & Mary Chain's William Reid. Live music from up to four acts is offered seven nights a week.

"We'd been using a Spirit Live 3 for years," explains Paul Gilbert, engineer and on-line webcaster for the club. "The longest anyone's been working here is seven years, and the desk was here before he started, so we figured it was time to get a new console. The club is extremely small and the control room is absolutely tiny, so we knew we needed a really small console with plenty of features and outputs.

"I knew what our requirements were, so I visited the Soundcraft web site - largely because we were always happy with the Live 3 - and picked the desk that I felt most applicable to our needs. It's really compact, and six auxes and four subgroups are really important as we broadcast every night live on our web site," he continues.

"It took a little bit of adjusting for all of the engineers to get used to the LX7, but it's basically the same as a bigger desk. Sixteen channels are fine for us, because so many performers just need a vocal mic and a DI for their acoustic guitar. At the other end of the scale, we had a seven-piece here last night and it was fine. The sound from the desk is great.

"The two sweepable mids give us the EQ control we need, plus it has plenty of outputs. We run outs to the main bar and restaurant, one to the front-of-house, one to the webcast camera, another one to a MiniDisc player if a band wants its show recorded, and one to the monitors. Soon we'll be installing A/V screens throughout the club so people in the other rooms can see the acts as they happen."