Gear Heads

HOF MLT²

HOF co-CEO, Dennis Klostermann details the evolution of the company’s latest moving light truss.

Where does MLT² fit within the live entertainment market? “The MLT² is the further development of the Moving Light Truss 1. We wanted to develop a pre rig truss that would even better respond to evolving customer needs. Therefore, we developed the MLT² closely with our key customers and implemented more than 90% of our customers’ needs and ideas. The goal of the MLT² is to offer professionals the most efficient pre rig truss possible in order to make the setup and dismantling at the venue as easy and efficient as possible.”

How has MLT² been tailored to support touring professionals? “Setup and dismantling times have drastically decreased compared to the pre COVID-19. Also, crews have become much smaller. The MLT² makes handling very easy as it can be done with one person only. The telescopic legs of the dolly make the connection to the truss fast and secure and very smooth. MLT² saves a lot of space at the venue as up to 10 dollies without truss can be stacked on top of one another. The only limiting factor here is the height of the user, not the dolly itself. Setup and dismantling times can be drastically decreased as the moving lights remain in the MLT² during transportation; shock absorbing wheels from the German manufacturer Blickle also help to protect them.”

What features will end users benefit from? “We constantly develop new features for the MLT² to respond to evolving customer needs. The most recent feature is the lowering set – an extra tube that can be placed a bit lower in the MLT² to avoid interfering with smaller lamps with the main tube, and which can be placed in four different heights. Another feature is the forklift adapter to make handling as fast and easy as possible. The rain cover protects the sensitive lamps from rain during the show when it is pulled over the lamps. The cover can also be pulled below the lamps in order to protect the lamps during transportation. The rain cover remains on the truss during the show even when it is not needed and the sun is shining – so no extra handling is required.”

How crucial is the versatility of MLT²? “Every show is different and has different needs. Every venue is different, too, and has different specifications and limitations. It was important to us to develop a pre rig truss that is as versatile as possible. For example, with the MLT², curved truss systems can be created without extra components. To do this, the forks are screwed out of the trusses by up to 70mm (in total 140mm) in order to create vertical or horizontal circles with different diameters. A static calculation for these applications is also available free of charge.”

Where are we likely to see MLT² on the road? “The MLT² is already on many shows. You will be able to see it at Judas Priest, 50 Cent, Michel Kiwanuka, Karpe, David Gray, Dermot Kennedy, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Duran Duran, Lewis Capaldi, and Chemical Brothers shows as well as Boomtown Festival’s Grand Central Stage, to name a few.”

www.h-of.de

AV STUMPFL PIXERA FOUR RS

Following its launch at Frankfurt’s Prolight + Sound 2022, Hans Stucken lifts the lid on AV Stumpfl’s latest voyage into the rental and staging market…

What was the goal behind PIXERA four RS? “We wanted to offer our customers a pre-configured version of our new, powerful PIXERA four media server, that would be perfect for cross rental scenarios. When renting or buying additional media servers for larger projects, it is important for many of our customers in the live event industry to be able to easily specify servers, without having to worry about whether they include some necessary basic components or not. The PIXERA four is a direct result of in-depth conversations with some of our key customers in the rental and staging market.”

Which features will end users benefit from? “We are a true real-time system that offers a complete live preview of the whole show setup. In terms of the software, a feature is what we call ‘live preview editing’. It lets users edit timelines in the preview window while the output shows content from a different section of the timeline. This allows changes to running shows to be previewed by the operator and then blended into the output on the fly. Our Unreal Engine and Notch integration are additional factors that make using the PIXERA four RS attractive as part of productions that want to use real-time graphics tools.”

How has PIXERA four RS been constructed to cope with the demand for versatility? “PIXERA four RS has been optimised for using our powerful render engine, perfect for realtime graphics applications and uncompressed 4K or 8K playout. In terms of the hardware, Framelock and Genlock, 12G-SDI Input/Output or four 3G-SDI, as well as a Dante virtual soundcard are just some of the components included in the PIXERA four RS. Some of the hardware highlights include: 16TB NVMe-SSD Storage; one GbE Quad Network Card; 25GbE Dual Network Card; 12G-SDI Input/Output or four 3G-SD; HDMI 2.0 Input; 10 GbE Dual network onboard; Framelock and Genlock and Dante Virtual Sound Card.”

Why is now the right time to launch a solution for the rental and staging market? “Since our operator base has grown significantly over the past two years, it was important for us to diversify our portfolio and to offer more hardware choices at the ultra high end of the spectrum as well, especially for the rental and staging market. With PIXERA mini, PIXERA one, PIXERA two and PIXERA four, we are now offering hardware solutions of different sizes and with different capabilities for different budgets. Another factor was of course the resurgence of live events after the mass vaccination programmes worldwide.”

What has the response been like since its exclusive launch at PL+S? “We have received a large number of orders from some of Europe’s leading rental and staging companies, since the product launch in late April 2022. Customers in the US have also begun to adopt the PIXERA four RS. We showed the PIXERA four RS at the InfoComm Show for the first time in the US. We recently received news of a number of tours of internationally known artists that will employ PIXERA four RS this autumn.”

www.pixera.one

DPA 4055 KICK DRUM MICROPHONE

DPA Microphones Product Management Director, Helga Volha Somava previews the company’s long-anticipated professional solution, which captures the ‘true sound’ of a drum – from inside and out.

What was the idea behind the creation of the 4055 Kick Drum Microphone? “The ambition with this product was to create the best solution possible for this application, where the kick drum would sound exactly like the drum the artist has chosen, independently of the played genre. Acoustically, we decided to challenge the industry standard and deliver the absolutely flat frequency response, both on- and off axis, and this has generated a lot of excitement among the sound engineers.

“With 4055, they have the freedom to be creative instead of spending effort on fighting against the given characteristics of a microphone. From a design point of view, we have introduced an asymmetric design of the microphone body, which allows the user to effortlessly place the microphone both inside and outside of the kick drum, even if it has a small hole. The design addresses both the perceived need of a larger microphone as well as the extra wind damping needed to ensure the best sound from the kick drum.”

Can 4055 be used for other applications? “The microphone can also be used on other instruments as it exhibits the same qualities as all DPA directional mics with flat on-axis and very controlled linear off-axis response. We have tested the 4055 with excellent results on the electric guitar amp cabinet, electric bass amp cabinet and horns. We have even used it as a podcast mic, though in this situation it should be fitted with an external windscreen to protect against the plosives from our voices. The 4055 has been longer under way than we would have liked, as the development process has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, with travel restrictions and delays in the supply chain.

“End-users will be amazed to hear the real sound of their kick drum on the recordings. The end-users often spend a lot of effort on choosing just the right instrument that sounds exactly right for them, and with 4055 it is now possible to convey this sound to the listeners.”

What were the main challenges you had to contend with during the creation of this versatile microphone? “One of the biggest tasks was to keep the renowned flat DPA off-axis response of the microphone while maintaining the high SPL handling with low distortion. The physical design including the weight and the balance was not a challenge, but it was an area of focus. We spent time on fine-tuning the mechanics, as we wanted to delight the user not only with the sound, but also with a design that performs seamlessly and securely during live performances. We have already received a number of very positive reviews, where people mention in general a great-sounding mic, the punchy and round sound, minimal cutting, no low-end feedback.”

www.dpamicrophones.com

DAS AUDIO LARA

Premiering at Frankfurt’s Prolight + Sound 2022, DAS Audio Global Marketing Director, Álvaro Fontanals highlights the company’s new LARA line array system.

What was the idea behind the launch of the LARA line array system? “LARA is the result of years of research, design, and evolution. We have learned a lot from our previous line arrays and the needs of new event productions. Nowadays, technology grows exponentially, and when we introduce a new product, we have to be aware that a stateof-the-art solution launched today may be obsolete in a year. When we design a product like LARA, we oversized its amplification and processing capacity to offer our customers the capacity to simply update the system firmware and enjoy future technologies without the need for them to reinvest.”

What benefits does the LARA line array system bring to the live events market? “LARA is a self-powered cardioid system. The cardioid technology applied to subs and tops generates a very noticeable difference in the noise generated on stage, and it significantly reduces the noise pollution caused in the surroundings of any live event. Self-powering minimises the number of cables needed to power the system and increases the control FOH engineers and technicians have over each box. In addition, thanks to the three-point rigging, the reduction in cables, and the selfpositioning technology, the assembly time of a LARA PA is minimal.”

Which particular features will FOH engineers, sound technicians, distributors and customers benefit from? “LARA is a very ambitious project since, in addition to the development of the system, we have also presented our new ALMA software. In both projects, the participation of sound engineers and technicians has been key to identifying areas for improvement. Our obsession has been to design an intuitive and powerful solution to meet our users’ needs and even surprise them. It is a system with an SPL of 146dB, measured under linear conditions with no distortion, and a great dynamic range; besides outstanding sound quality and power performance, it is also extremely efficient in energy consumption, thanks to Powersoft’s PFC technology.”

What has the response been like? “The response has been spectacular, and it has exceeded our expectations. The first weekend after launching LARA at Prolight + Sound 2022, the system was playing at the same time at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, at the VyStar in Jacksonville, at the Forum in Barcelona, and the Recinto Hipico in Cáceres. It is part of two tours in Spain and has been included in the riders of very relevant artists. The feedback from the engineers and technicians has been fundamental in the design of LARA, from rigging hardware to software.”

How has LARA been integrated into the design of upcoming projects? In March 2022, we held a pre-presentation event in Miami attended by more than 150 technicians, FOH engineers, rentals, distributors, and customers. The feedback we received at that event, and what the sound engineers who have already been able to use it tell us, makes us dream of huge possibilities. Still, we are well aware that there is much work to be done; being accepted by the riders of international tours is not only the responsibility of the sound system, if not that support, training, and technical service are key. We are working very hard to get where we want to be. So far, we’ve gained access to live events with sound engineers on riders that we didn’t expect to get into so quickly.”

www.dasaudio.com