Michael Abbott
LOS ANGELES—What console provides the most cost effective audio I/O for the smallest physical footprint? That would be the Yamaha DM-2000, based on actual experience.
I provide audio engineering for several television shows, as well as the annual Grammy and CMA music awards broadcasts, and have mixed audio for several critical American presidential debate broadcasts.
NEEDED HIGH-CAPACITY CONSOLE
I have been working with "The X Factor" for several months. One of my challenges was to find the right audio system. for the show. This job required a large number of input/output resources in a small physical footprint.
Typical production involves 14 RF microphones, six musical instruments, and multiple audio track playbacks. The destination feeds for recording devices consist of two Tascam X48 recorders and 11 Sony XD 1500 video recorders fed via MADI/AES. Additional courtesy feeds are distributed with four fiber streams, via a RME that converts AES to analog audio throughout the arena for producer stations, the front-of-house mix, network/VIP viewing areas, and other locations needing analog audio.
A Yamaha DM2000 console was selected for the broadcast mix of the production's audition phase, which is staged at several different venues across several states. This decision was made after a thorough vetting of various options in console control surfaces and the associated signal distribution required for audio acquisition and archiving for the show.
We used six MADI slot cards feeding into a Euphonix Studio Hub with distribution to nine MADI streams, which were converted to AES audio.
The Yamaha DM2000 console's GUI provided control of four AD8HR preamps, which accommodated 32 external mic preamp channels in addition to the onboard 24 mic inputs. Additional preamps were used to feed directly into the AES/MADI convertors, providing mapping to multiple console faders.
PATCH LIBRARY IS USEFUL FEATURE
Additionally, the DM2000 input/output patch library provided us with a variety of I/O mapping presets that we needed during the various stages of the show's production schedule, reflecting the input source scalability happening during the six weeks it was in production. Another useful feature provided by the Yamaha console was in connection with its group control function, which allowed us to set things up so that faders located on the lower four layers of the console surface could be controlled from the top layer.
All in all, this was a very demanding production, especially in the area of audio. I'm proud to say that our choice of the Yamaha DM2000 made life easier for everyone and helped ensure that everything went as planned. And yes, the DM2000 really does provide the most cost-effective audio I/O for the smallest physical footprint.
Michael Abbott has been a broadcast audio engineer for more than 20 years and is the owner of All Ears, Inc. He may be contacted at michaelsound@earthlink.net.
For additional information, contact Yamaha at 714-522-9011 or visit www.yamahaca.com.
