UK - Andy Reed of APR Audio took personal control of the huge Battersea Fireworks concert last month, using a 32-channel Midas Venice desk to mix one of the biggest events of its kind in London. The annual fireworks display, held on the nearest weekend to Guy Fawkes Night (5th November), attracts 70,000 people to Battersea Park in south London. APR Audio, in collaboration with Major Tom, supplied audio for the event, providing an ElectroVoice X-Line system.

Each side of the soundstage, two large cherry-pickers each supporting a hang of eight Xvls three-way line-array enclosures. Below each crane were ground-stacked eight x X-Line subs. EV's Precision Series remote-controlled amplifiers, the P3000RL, 24 units in all, powered the system. With the pyrotechnics triggered by time code, the music was all playback - with the exception of a saxophone soloist who, using an EV RE-20 wireless mic, was suspended from another cherry-picker. The compere, using an EV RE-1 wireless mic, provided live commentary.FOH engineer Andy Reed said: "I was very impressed with the performance of these mics, the flying sax player was about 120m away from our mix position, and the compere was about 500m away, but we had them both on hi-power settings and the mics performed immaculately."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)


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