Strange then that Richard Sharratt, the man charged with delivering this unlikely mix to the listeners should try out a new console on the very singular recommendation of a colleague. This is after all, a one-off live show, not a heavily rehearsed concert season, as Sharratt explained: "Yes, it was my first time using the PM1D but I’d heard a lot of good things about it, so when the broadcast sound supervisor Derrick Zieba suggested I give it a try, I thought this was the perfect opportunity."
A well-respected sound engineer in the classical music field, Sharratt took the informed route to this new technology: "I spent a day at Yamaha UK, Andy Cooper gave me an exhaustive run-down on desk operation. But the key for me was the software on CD: my thinking is if you can manage something on computer, then with a proper control surface, the desk, it will be easy." And how was the software? "It was fantastic, I was completely bowled over."
Sharratt did have one criticism: "It lacks the ability to make ‘through cues’ - to make, say, an EQ change to the lead violin, and then be able to apply that change to every channel in the string section." Needless to say, Yamaha are addressing this already.
As for the show, Sharratt did manage one full run-through so he had some practical experience before the big night. "I was already comfortable with operating the desk, though I’ve only just begun to explore its capabilities. The line array I was using in the Albert Hall required no EQ to speak of, so what I heard was relatively uncoloured; the desk sounded marvellous, I can’t wait to explore the dynamics and effects more fully."
Sharratt’s wish was soon to be fulfilled: just one week later he was engineer for the Jubilee Classical concert staged in the grounds of Buckingham Palace - full story in the August issue of L&SI.
(Lee Baldock)
