A new Soundcraft Vi6 digital live sound console has been installed at The Barns at Wolf Trap in time for the winter concert season, which runs annually from early October through May. The audio system at the 382-seat indoor venue, located close to Washington D.C., at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, was revamped in 2005 with a JBL VerTec line array system, Crown amplifiers, BSS Audio Omnidrive processing and AKG microphones.
“The Vi6 was the next logical move for us; it’s part of our ongoing effort to remain current,” explains Bob Grimes, production manager at The Barns, a jewel box theater created inside two 18th-century barns relocated from upstate New York. “It’s all old wood beams, and the sound is fantastic. The Vi6 complements the acoustics of the room perfectly.”
Grimes, who has been in the audio business for 30 years, 25 of them at Wolf Trap, is enjoying the new discoveries that he’s making in the transition to his first digital console. “We’re running the AES outputs of the Vi6 to our Omnidrive FDS-366T. You cannot tell the system is on until sound falls out of it. It’s shocking!”
The annual winter season schedule at The Barns at Wolf Trap features entertainment in a variety of genres, from jazz, bluegrass and chamber music to folk, blues, roots-rock, comedy, cabaret and country. Performances scheduled over the next few months include Bettye LaVette, Al Di Meola World Sinfonia, Livingston Taylor, Edwin McCain, Buckwheat Zydeco and Maureen McGovern.
For more information, visit www.soundcraft.com. For additional SR news, visit The Briefing Room.
