BUENA PARK, Calif.—An ongoing issue with ref mics appears to have been resolved with the use of the new Rupert Neve Designed Portico 5045 Primary Source Enhancer developed for, and distributed by, Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. A case in point was the recent use of the unit by Jack Bowling of ATK AudioTek at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.
Bowling had the chance to demo the RND 5045 unit prior to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena to explore the possibilities for its use in resolving certain issues of this specific application. “Kevin Kimmel from Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, having worked with me in the past, knows I project manage and mix the UCLA football games and also mix the Tournament of Roses Game at the Rose Bowl,” states Bowling. “He initially introduced me to the RND 5045 suggesting it might help achieve more gain before feedback and provide more clarity on the referee microphone. I was curious to see what effect it would have, and after some patching and a further discussion of various parameters, we tried it out and I was impressed with the change the unit made.”
Bowling said the Rose Bowl PA is a distributed system with all speakers pointing toward the field, and because of this, a great portion of the reverberant energy works its way onto the field, making for a challenging situation. “It was only through experimentation that I was able to hear the effect and appreciate the change it made to the ref mic,” says Bowling. “The 5045 did an excellent job tightening up the ref’s voice by attenuating a great deal of that reverberant energy.”
Because of the success he had with the RND 5045 at the Rose Bowl, Bowling took the unit on the road to Indy for the Super Bowl where he used a Yamaha M7CL digital console at his mix position and two Sennheiser MKE-2 Platinum mics connected through a dual switch to two Shure Axient transmitters and receivers (only one element is used at a time, the additional system is used as a backup). “The RND 5045 was great! I had limited time to tune the ref mic and was very pleased with the result. I used the 5045 on an insert with a Cedar DNS-1500 and an XTA Parametric EQ and ended up with a ref mic that sounded very natural and had plenty of gain. I am always looking for a way to improve the clarity and squeeze just a bit more level out of the ref mic and this unit did both.”
For more information on ATK Audiotek, visit www.atkaudiotek.com.
For more information on the RND 5045, visit www.yamahaca.com.
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Photo ID: Jack Bowling, ATK at Yamaha M7CL digital console with RND 5045 in rack
About Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc.:
Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Inc. (YCAS) provides a full line of integrated professional audio products offering complete systems solutions for the broadcast, sound reinforcement/installed sound, touring, commercial recording, and post production markets. With the addition of NEXO to the product line, the company remains the official U.S. and Canadian distributor for all NEXO speaker models. YCAS offers comprehensive in-house and field product training for its customers, a dedicated dealer network, and 24/7 technical support.
