One of the systems consists of five handheld U2/Beta58 mics including a spare, and two U4D dual receivers with passive splitter and active remote antennas, while the second consists of six U1 beltpack transmitters with Sennheiser MKE2 mics and three U4D dual receivers with active splitter and active remote antennas. Each set of receivers is fitted into an SKB 6U suspended flightcase fitted with a Furman PL-PLUS-E mains conditioner/distribution unit, and a 10m 6-way multicore was supplied with each system.
"We're pleased to make this sale to the BRIT School following a long association, and look forward to continuing working with them in the future," says Autograph Sales director Graham Paddon. "We were also very pleased to be able to supply both systems five days after receiving the order."
In addition to a grant from the Department for Education & Skills, the BRIT School is funded by the British Record Industry Trust - the charitable arm of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) - to provide the best quality training available for both performers and technicians. "We use industry standard equipment so that our students can gain experience that will enable them to go into the industry with confidence," says Andrew Smith, the BRIT School's technical manager. "The trust has enabled us to greatly improve the sound equipment in our main performance area, the Obie Theatre, named in memory of music industry legend and former BRIT School governor Maurice Oberstein."
The School chose the radio mics to cope with a wide range of performances ranging from all types of popular music through fully staged musical theatre productions to outdoor performances and tours to other venues. "We wanted to increase the number of handheld and lapel mics we had, and needed mics which would give us professional quality sound and be flexible enough to be used for music concerts, musical theatre and straight theatre performance while being robust enough to survive in a school," continues Smith. "The Shure U2 58b handheld mics and six U1 transmitter beltpacks fitted the bill admirably. We can now mic a full chorus for large musical theatre productions as well as allowing actors and musicians to work with professional, industry standard equipment. We bought the mics through Autograph because of their combination of sensible prices with excellent customer service. The business relationship between Autograph and the BRIT School has been going for some time, and looks set to flourish in the coming years."
(Lee Baldock)
