A System for the MTV Generation
Upgrading capability with new audio tools at Belmont University's Massey Concert Hall
|
|
 |
Completed in 1968 and renovated in 1997, the 1,000-seat Massey
Concert Hall on the campus of Belmont University serves as a performance
venue for the Nashville, Tennessee institution’s renowned School
of Music. In addition, the busy room hosts a range of concerts,
productions and special events, ranging from podium microphone presentations
to festival-style multi-artist performances, |
“Every music school student has to do a senior project,” he explains. With the university based in Nashville Tennessee, a locale well known for its commercial as in rock ‘n’ roll and country music, it’s not surprising that projects typically involve full bands rather than a large orchestra.
|
|
|
“Every junior and senior wants to be downstage center with all
the lights and all the sound,” adds Baird, who says he and his crew
handled 80 events in the hall during the past semester. “On any
given Friday it’s a festival day. We have one drum kit, one bass
amp, a couple of guitar amps, and every hour, on the hour, we’ve
got another band on stage. Sometimes there’s an hour set in there
and we give them two hours change over time and a little time to
rehearse, but it’s a festival. One band could be bluegrass, then
somebody could be doing a three-piece jazz trio.” Part of the course requirement is for multimedia presentations, he notes. “Students are bringing in computers and screens and background singers. These kids are dreaming this stuff up. It’s the MTV generation. And, lucky me, I get to do it all!” |
Baird doesn’t work alone, of course. “The crew consists of 27 students
this year, the biggest crew ever. They’re not all engineer types. We even
have a biology major. I look for work ethic and openness. This gives the
student who may not have all the skills to be an engineer an opportunity
to learn. Some of them will not go on to a career in the music business,
but they will come away with a better understanding of what it takes to
produce live music. It really builds confidence. When the student crew
is busy with tests and papers I bring in professionals.”
FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
The recent audio upgrade reflects the university’s commitment to supporting
both the technical needs of its students as well as quality production
values. In a nutshell, Baird specified a system that includes one of the
first implementations of the Lake Technology Contour digital signal processing,
as well as a Clair Brothers Systems (CAT) Curved Array Technology system,
Yamaha PM1D digital consoles, and Sennheiser wireless microphone systems.
|
|
|
He is quick to credit the School of Music with the opportunity to assemble high-end professional caliber components, making the difficult task of he and his crew a little easier. “I started with a custom Clair Brothers mic workbox, then added a pair of Clair caddies for cable cases one for audio, one for lighting.” The demanding production schedule was best served with consoles incorporating recall functionality. “The Yamaha PM1D was fresh on the market, and we jumped in with both feet. |
There is one at FOH and one at monitors. The only thing at FOH besides
the control surface is a CD player. The monitor position has just the
control surface,” Baird explains
The hall must also handle musical theatre, opera, and show choirs, leading
Baird to specify a Sennheiser RF microphone package. “We have 16 Sennheiser
3000 Series receivers with a choice between 16 3000 Series belt packs
and DPA lavaliers or 16 5000 Series handheld transmitters. The fidelity
is superb. We’ve even done wireless bluegrass. The upright bass got a
belt pack with the lav. All the other instruments were miked with the
handhelds.”
|
|
|
The final step for audio was the addition of the Clair CAT PA system. “There are a total of nine CAT cabinets, three each for a left, center, right configuration. The definition and clarity is excellent. We are very pleased.” Following conversations with Bruce Jackson, vice president of research for Lake Technology, and Barry Clair, it was decided to also add Contour DSP. LEANING TOWARDS FLAT |
(For more on the Lake Contour, see March 2003 issue of Live Sound.)
Previously driven by the pre-existing processor system, the Clair CAT
speaker system was noticeably improved by the addition of the Lake Contour,
observes Baird. “There’s a lot that the Contour can do. You can get in
there and do some serious tweaking.” Lake Contour is a two-input, six-output
device that provides digital equalization, crossovers, dynamics and delays.
Contour synthesizes filters, providing the precise and flexible equalization
for optimizing loudspeaker systems and supporting a virtually unlimited
number of EQ curves.
“The things that we were able to adjust in there make it real handy,”
says Baird. Following final installation, the system required little tweaking.
“We’ve got the PM1D and the CATs and the Contour. When you start with
that quality, you’re really leaning towards flat. But we made a couple
of little bumps.”
Of particular use, he says, is the Contour’s unique Mesa filter. The filter
allows users to create an EQ curve in which the two sides may be adjusted
independently to produce asymmetrical functions. The Mesa filter can be
used to quickly optimize high and low frequency roll-off without introducing
out-of-band frequency emphasis. On this project, for example, at the suggestion
of Justin Baird, a bump down was incorporated at 50 and 60 cycles, sloping
off going towards 60, but at 50, it was “lopped off.”
|
|
|
“We didn’t want to amplify anything below 50 cycles, so we set
the curve at 49 and boom!” Baird notes, adding that in essence,
this process focused the power of the amplifiers more productively,
“What we’re doing is putting the power of that amplifier right where
we need it, rather than having it on a big, wide bell curve. That
was cool to be able to do that.” “I’m getting ready to purchase a tablet so I can make this thing wireless,” he concludes. “I spent the money getting into it, and now that we’ve had it for nearly a year I’m going to be putting it onto a tablet and running it wireless Ethernet.” |
Steve Harvey is a regular contributor to Live Sound, covering all aspects of the audio business. He can be reached at sharvey@livesoundint.com
October 2003 Live Sound International