An Allen & Heath iLive system was recently used to manage front-of-house and monitor sound for the Jekyll & Hyde musical, staged for two nights in Budapest’s 3,000-capacity, open-air theater, the Margitsziget.
The iLive system—comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface—was responsible for FOH sound and monitor mixes for the 19-piece orchestra and 26 onstage performers.
“During the technical planning of the show, we specified a mixer that would be easy to use, reliable and capable of handling the open-air environment. Besides this, at least 100 meters needed to be bridged
between the stage, the mixer and the speaker boxes. This could not be
solved without quality loss using a traditional multi-core snake, but it
was no problem for iLive where the audio is run via EtherSound over Cat-5 cable,” explains sound engineer Tamas “Toma” Baranya.
The iLive system was introduced during the rehearsal stages, held in a large auditorium in the city, where Baranya configured the system and saved the settings as the allocated load-in time to the theater site was
limited.
“iLive’s control surface is extremely user-friendly, quick when making adjustments and easy to get accustomed to. The soundcheck was very quick since the previously saved settings needed minimal changes,” he adds. “iLive’s design approach is a ‘conventional’ mixing console in a modern outfit. The built-in effects are very good, and the algorithms are in line with my taste and would more than satisfy any live sound engineer. One of the key benefits of the system is that every parameter can be saved, updated and recalled, even from a USB stick. iLive was a perfect choice for a high-quality production, where the focus is on outstanding sound quality, reliability and flexibility instead of automation.”
For additional information on the board, visit www.allen-heath.com.
