Vocal Content & Coverage
Four Yamaha PM1D digital consoles were the choice for both front of house and monitor mixing, presenting a highly functional yet comfortable mix format.
This was especially important given the considerable number of mix engineers on hand to mix their specific artists.
Chris Rabold, front of house engineer for Beyoncé, mixed one of the most powerful segments of the evening, combining choreography, music and vocals for the first live interpretation of Beyoncé’s new single, “Run the World (Girls).”
“I’d say what impressed me most was the system’s reproduction and intelligibility of vocal content and its coverage,” Rabold states. “From the emcees to the children who spoke to someone really belting it out like Beyoncé, the PA just sounded very natural, very true.
“This stayed true no matter where anyone with a mic was standing, which is a testament to the system’s coverage. Sound went where it was intended to go and didn’t where it wasn’t. The thrust wasn’t an issue with regards to feedback and from what I understand that was with very little system EQ.”
John Harris of Music Mix Mobile used the company’s Eclipse truck for the multitrack recording of the musical elements of this event as well as the live line mix. He wasn’t even in the hall, but still enthused about the system. “You don’t want excessive room coloration for the TV mix. You want the audience to have a good time and excite the room to a pleasurable level.
“The room sounded very nice to me, so however they were doing it, it worked for my mix.”