Liverpool-based Adlib invested in the PM5D shortly after its introduction and the console remains in the front line of the company's rental stock, with a number of LS9s also available for smaller shows.
"Nowadays the PM5D is very much a standard package for festival monitors," says Adlib hire manager Phil Stoker. "It is the ideal console for that role, being very popular with monitor engineers and very quick to change over from one artist to another. The high pressure environment of festivals needs equipment that users can work with quickly and intuitively. ThePM5D completely fulfils that need."
As usual, in 2011 Adlib has deployed its PM5Ds on festival stages right across the UK, including The Big Chill, One Big Weekend, Latitude and T In The Park. With the vagaries of the British climate and other challenges over and above those presented by indoor venues, one of the most important factors is reliability, which the PM5D is renowned for.
"It delivers rock solid reliability, which is one of the reasons for its success," says Stoker. "We have hardly ever had a fault and, on the one or two occasions that we have, Yamaha's support and the service has been fantastic. Their tech support is something for everyone else to aspire to."
Stoker adds, "ThePM5D very much holds its value, which is something we weren't really expecting in digital consoles. Its resale value is really good, which allows us to keep our rental stock turning over at a comparatively small cost."
(Jim Evans)
