PSI Enters the World of Pro Audio with Adamson Systems

INTERVIEW

L-R: Audio Project Manager, John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh; PSI Director, Sean Pagel; Head of Audio, Adam Collins.

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PSI

PSI ENTERS THE WORLD OF PRO AUDIO WITH ADAMSON SYSTEMS

PSI - Production Services Ireland – has been at the forefront of Northern Irish and Irish production rental, service and training for the last 18 years, initially focussing its efforts on lighting, followed by rigging and then training. This year, the company took on pro audio in far more than the sub hire capacity it was able to provide previously. In just 8 months, it seems apparent why and how its latest venture is working…

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PSI Director, Sean Pagel; With son Zac Pagel who works in the company’s rigging department; Head of Training, Rainer Pagel.

There’s a well-known sentiment in this industry; that business deals are born out of relationships, and the tie-adjusting, bank-approaching conglomerate cash converter route never ends particularly well. Ironically, the numbers rarely add up. What does add up, however, is approachability, authenticity and passion (most likely dressed in a polo shirt and smile). This is the exact scene (combined with the office dog) that greeted TPi at Belfast International Airport upon arrival to meet PSI Director, Sean Pagel. There are two other PSI Directors - Founder, Brian Reilly and Ciaran Tallon, who runs the Dublin facility. The dog is still deciding on his title.

Pagel himself came from an audio background, moved into lighting, and took a detour to supply special effects to film, before going into production management for various events, venues and festivals. When he joined PSI 13 years ago, he became a Director, with a focus on rigging, the business development of which is still his personal priority.

A NEW FRONTIER PSI is an NRC (National Rigging Certificate) endorsing company, and Pagel is a member of NRAG (National Rigging Advisory Group), and an NRC Assessor. In effect, there’s a lot of expertise at PSI. Historically, the multiservice success that has become synonymous with the company is evident; not only does it service incoming touring acts to Ireland, its rigging, lighting, and training offering sees a large number of local, community events put

their faith in the name. So, from your global touring act to your village fete, you can reap the benefits of production excellence – and the industry clearly agrees.

Today, we‘re here to talk about the new audio department, originally set up to cover its own in-house requirements, but kicked into sudden action following the insolvency of a local audio rental house. Suddenly, PSI clients were in desperate need of a replacement sound contractor. Pagel began: “Someone needed to take on the audio needs in the area, but it wasn’t me, directly!” he laughed, as despite starting out in audio, he hadn’t sat behind a mixing console since 1998.

“Personally, PSI is the best in the country at what we do; we’re the most qualified, we’re safely trained and ethically operated, and we have a reputation within that. When it came to sound, we used to sub hire it in when we provided full production to an event. When the opportunity to better manage the standard of audio arose, we wanted to match the quality of lighting and rigging we were delivering.”

Yet it was a big task. “Lighting is different because new fixtures come out yearly, and LDs want new toys to create different effects for their shows all the time, but in audio, when a manufacturer makes a good product, it seems to have much, much more longevity. Therefore, you need to get the investment right...”

Enter PSI’s new faces: Head of Audio, Adam Lee Collins, and Audio Project Manager, John ‘Hesky’ Hesketh. Pagel continued: “Adam’s

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The PSI team offers lighting, rigging, training and now audio services throughout Northern Ireland, Ireland and beyond.

experience, background and history within touring [he worked for Clair Global & Sonalyst] and Hesky’s local knowledge of venues and engineers [he was at said dissolved company for 15 years], allowed us to truly build the PSI audio team with vital, key knowledge - in the same way we’d started the lighting department.”

Collins started in the Clair UK warehouse, became a monitor and PA tech before turning freelance, which involved trying his hand at automation, working with Queen + Adam Lambert.When he came off the road, a position as a local Production Manager of Belfast Waterfront Hall beckoned. “Adam has all his contacts in the touring field, and I have all the contacts locally, so that works great,” noted Hesky of his new colleague. “It’s very complimentary, like a Yin and Yang situation covering all bases,” he smiled.

Pagel agreed: “Everyone in the Irish audio world knows Hesky, and everyone outside it knows Adam, so it’s a perfect mix from a Company Director POV; I trust them to run PSI’s audio, and they’re doing it really well. Our ethos is that we have great relationships with everyone, so if you

“I love the fact that Adamson is owned by a bloke who makes speakers because he’s really passionate about sound, rather than some venture capitalist who just wants you to whip your chequebook out.”

Sean Pagel, PSI Director

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need it and we don’t stock it, we’ll find it for you, and this now extends into our sound department.”

A BLANK PAGE Collins joined the conversation: “When you’re starting part of a company from scratch, you’ve got a blank page to play with, and you can make all the decisions carefully. We’ve been able to set it up properly, professionally and efficiently, to offer a standard that any visiting crew would expect to find in a major city.

“I asked a few people what they thought of the Adamson system, including my old man [Rob Collins] and Paul ‘Pab’ Boothroyd [both live mixing legends] and they both gave it great reviews, which was very encouraging. As Sean mentioned, I used to work for Clair, which uses Lab.gruppen amplifiers, as do Adamson, so that in itself was another selling point. We were very open to suggestion when we were deciding on a PA, but the product’s reputation, ease of use, and its lightweight advantage meant everything just seemed to fit,” he added.

PSI

The Adamson purchase was announced during Prolight + Sound 2018, where PSI opted to buy 24 boxes of the S10, a 2-way, full range line array cabinet, along with 12 S Series S119 subwoofers. The Adamson team also helped to sell the brand, a notion Pagel related to: “We’ve always worked with companies where we can deal with real people. In Frankfurt, we had a chat with the Warehouse team [Adamson’s UK distributor] and then we attended the famous Adamson Dinner. I love the fact that Adamson is owned by a bloke [Brock Adamson, for your records] who makes speakers because he’s really passionate about sound, rather than some venture capitalist who simply wants you to whip your chequebook out. It’s very comforting to work with people who hold those standards.”

The PSI audio team has also invested in Shure and Sennheiser RF, Midas & Allen & Heath consoles, as well as VDC Stage Boxes. When probed, Collins also revealed: “When touring, I was a DiGiCo user myself and their service is incredible - second to none - so we’re now looking at investing in them too. It’s the industry standard mixing desk, and when tours are carrying their own control, it’s what we see, the majority of the time.”

SOUND SUCCESS Speaking of the visiting acts, who has made use of the Adamson system thus far? Well, Scottish trio Biffy Clyro played the Helix in Dublin for a 2,000-capacity acoustic set with a ground-stacked system. Liam Gallagher’s Audio Tech, Richie Gough, hadn’t used Adamson and wanted an opportunity to try it during his visit with Biffy Clyro. Johnny Marr played at Belfast’s Ulster Hall and American metalers Avenged Sevenfold stormed the city’s SSE Arena with an Adamson system supplied by PSI.

One of PSI’s first outings with the Adamson system was a demo for a sound company in Limerick. Hesky said: “We were at Limerick Castle with the system, and the client would usually have used a much bigger box. I was sceptical myself, but it was so impressive that the client is now looking into purchasing their own PA.”

Then there was the St. Patrick’s Day gig at Belfast Custom House Square, when the heavens opened. Hesky explained: “It’s modular, and the dispersion of the box is very good - it was throwing up to 70m during a gale! We were literally being hit with rain and hailstone, but it just worked - it was so easy to transport, and rig - it was perfectstraight out of the box. I hadn’t been impressed with something like that since I first heard the L-Acoustics V-Dosc.”

Collins agreed: “The market’s saturated with a couple of boxes, so to have the chance to make a different choice is very exciting; there’s no baggage from previous investments lingering over us that we have to adhere to.”

And, of course, Pagel was there, cheering them on, quite literally during the stormy weather: “I was the burrito boy that day…” he laughed. “All I could do was keep them fed and hold onto the gazebo!”

“The market’s saturated with a couple of boxes, so to have the chance to make a different choice is very exciting; there’s no baggage from previous investments lingering over us...”

Adam Collins, Head of Audio

Team spirit and comradery are rife at PSI, born from mutual respect and a clear vision that inevitably comes from the top down. Pagel’s father heads up training for local students, helping put globally recognised skills back into the local youth. This ethos is also embedded amongst the sound crew. Collins said: “Making sure our freelancers are up to scratch and well-trained is really important to us. For example, we’ve got training sessions on Lab. gruppen, Sennheiser and Shure coming up, because those fundamentals have to be there if you’re with us. We’re stocking up with the best products and our staff need to be the best-trained. The key is in our name, service.

We offer a service without any hassle.”

Pagel agreed: “We’re also pioneering the Adamson brand here. It could be the best sounding box in the world, but if you set it up wrong, you’re dead in the water. We don’t win contracts by being cheaper than everyone else and cutting corners; we win contracts by using products we believe in, and

having friendly, expert engineers working in their field.”

Has there been an audio SOS to speak of yet? “Well, there was a mix up with an American singer recently, where the client was told the tour carried their own racks and stacks, but when the load in came, there was no PA!” said Collins. “One phone call and 90 minutes later, the system was in the venue and flown. That’s the kind of service you’re buying from us.” TPi www.productionireland.com

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