Over the years, the technical requirements of this international festival have increased considerably, particularly in terms of the communications element and it became clear that the existing analogue solution could no longer cope. So this year Maier Sound Design has switched to a new digital system from ASL Intercom.
"Every dance company and every band has different requirements regarding communication," says Maier Sound Design managing director, Andreas Maier. "In previous years, we had to provide a totally different comms set up every week or even every three days or so. Sometimes it was a success, other times there was a lot of noise and on occasion it simply was not possible to do it with an analogue system.
"In 2010, we had the opportunity to work with ASL's new Digital Intercom and decided to use a system comprising a DS 4000 matrix, a DS 1640 16-channel Speaker Station, 25 DS 290 Beltpacks, which we have found to be extremely rugged, and DS 73 Audio in/out Interface modules."
Maier and his team have found that this combination makes it very easy to set up a complex intercom system in a short space of time.
"The 16-channel Speaker Station is used by the stage manager to contact everyone directly before the show and ensure that all technical equipment is OK," continues Maier. "The Beltpacks are used for audio, light, video and production personnel. The first audio Interface is used to connect the wireless intercom to the ASL digital. The second audio interface is used to connect a Motorola wireless receiver to the DS 4000 for important cues to Front of House."
(Jim Evans)
