PARIS – Sound designers Steve Kennedy and John Shivers specified Aviom gear for the 10-piece orchestra that accompanies the production of The Lion King at the 1,600-seat Theatre Mogador. The production is being co-produced by Stage Entertainment and Disney Theatrical.
The Aviom-based monitoring system was specified to simplify the audio setup and workflow. The audio setup, provided by Dispatch, consists of a Yamaha M7CL digital mixing console with a 16-channel Pro16 A-Net Interface card installed.
The A-Net card is connected to three A-16D Pro A-Net Distributors and 19 Aviom A-16II Personal Mixers to provide 16 channels of monitor mix content to the orchestra's 10 musicians. It also provides a monitor feed to the main audio desk. The production uses headphones for most of the musicians and Genelec monitors for the string, flute and horn sections.
"At Stage Entertainment we run several shows simultaneously, so to simplify things I try to use the same brand of gear whenever possible," said Bertrand Billon, audio manager at Stage Entertainment and backup to the main sound mixer on the production. "This way, I'm really familiar with the equipment and can also switch it out from show to show if needed. I've used Aviom on several projects because it's easy to use and gives musicians their own customized monitor mix."
Billon also credited other benefits of the Aviom products as well. For instance, while most of the orchestra's musicians for The Lion King are located in the orchestra pit, the plug-and-play setup and Cat-5 wiring also lets musicians perform from various remote locations throughout the theater as required when space is limited in the pit due to the size of the orchestra. The low latency of the A-Net based monitor system helps keep timing tight among the performers.
Billon also said the system's expansion capabilities prove helpful when a second- or third-seat musician needs to be situated by the main mixing desk, as it enables them to learn the score and see how the production flows during an actual performance, while at the same time getting a real-time feel for being a member the orchestra because they're listening to the same cues and monitor feeds. The only thing required for an additional monitor mix position is a spare personal mixer and a Cat-5 cable.
The small footprint of the Aviom system is another advantage, requiring only one expansion slot in a digital desk. Another benefit of the Aviom monitoring system is the simplicity of the wiring. Because it runs on Cat-5, there is very little cable clutter underneath the main desk or in the orchestra pit.
For more information, please visit www.aviom.com.
