
A double first for Adam Rhodes as he experiences the wonder of L ISA with Angus and Julia Stone at the Royal Albert Hall posted: 30/08/2018
ulia Stone sound checks before the show.
Adam Rhodes has been folk/rock duo Angus and Julia Stone's Front of House engineer for the past ten years. He is also a long time L Acoustics user, favouring the French manufacturer's K Series systems for his general touring rig. This June, UK and European production supplier for the Stones, Britannia Row Productions, gave Rhodes the opportunity to expand his audio horizons by trying out L ISA Hyperreal Sound technology. Not only was he to take on this new experience with little time to learn the L ISA system, he was to do it at the notoriously challenging Royal Albert Hall, a venue he had never worked in before. It was, he says, a revelation .
I was offered the chance a few months before the show, says Rhodes. Brit Row's Lez Dwight told me that there would be an L-ISA system in place for the Classic Brits at the RAH and, if I wanted to use the system, he knew that with my experience with multiple stem mixing-I have done a lot of mixing for film, the clarity of which I try and present with Angus and Julia-this would be a perfect gig for it and he thought I'd enjoy it, so I agreed to give it a go.
Angus and Julia Stone performing at their sell out show at the RAH.
Although Rhodes was excited to use L ISA, he also felt a certain amount of trepidation. Only knowing little about the system and trying for the first time at the notoriously tricky Royal Albert Hall was a daunting prospect.
I had heard tell of how challenging the RAH can be; with its extended reverb times it can be a struggle to get clarity across the whole venue, explains Rhodes. But I trust Lez and thought, let's do it, let's find out!
Angus, Julia and the band take a bow at the end of an outstanding night with L-ISA
Before the show, Brit Row invited Rhodes to spend a day getting to know L ISA in one of its production suites, where they set up a small mock rig, enabling him to program his Avid S6L console, do a mock set up and play with the system. He found this preparation session incredibly useful. Even though it was an office suite, getting the patching done and understanding how it all works was great. In hindsight, it was very easy as the entire system is so intuitive, if a little time-consuming setting it up for the first time. That time was really valuable and stepping into the Hall itself, I felt very comfortable with what I was about to do. Once that was up and running, it was a breeze.
The L-ISA system, which comprised a frontal 15 system with additional Kara side hangs, X8 and SB18 as front fill, and X8 as fill for the stalls,worked fantastically' for FOH engineer, Adam Rhodes.
The L-ISA system, which was also used for the Classic Brits later that same week, comprised five arrays of 15 Kara each positioned above the stage as a frontal system, with additional side hangs of two arrays of ten Kara. Six X8 and four SB18 provided front fill, with a further six X8 providing additional fill for the stalls. The entire system was driven by a total of 27 LA12X Amplified Controllers.
This was new ground for Rhodes and he went into the show keeping his own expectations in check. L-Acoustics' Sylvain Biguet was with me on the day, Rhodes remarks. As we were a month into a tour and I'd never used L-ISA before, my main goal in the production suite was to have a show that was similar to the one I already had, so that I didn't feel I was going backwards.
FOH engineer Adam Rhodes in the studio
Adam is a great engineer and has a tried and trusted methodology for his mixing, adds Biguet. Our main aim is always to help engineers get the most out of our technology, without becoming intrusive. With just a little help, he was able to experiment with L-ISA and work out how to translate his existing approach to the L-ISA workflow.
Rhodes regularly works with multiple groups and parallel compression, utilizing those groups for multiple streams of drum kits and other instruments to place them in the physical space, working in a similar fashion to how he would with multichannel soundtracks. His main concern about using L-ISA was gain before feedback and being able to get enough gain out of the PA on the vocal, as Angus sings quite quietly.
With L ISA, I didn't need to worry. I had way more gain before feedback than I usually do as I was able to bring things forward in the L-ISA Controller interface, literally forward in the sound stage without actually turning up the volume, he smiles. So I could pull whatever I wanted to the front of the mix and utilise the physical space, which meant it didn't seem louder, just more forward. To me, it felt like in does in Bluegrass, where the vocalists all stand round one mic and someone simply steps up to the mic to perform their solo. That's a game changer and something that I'll always want from this point on. I wish I could do it daily.
Although Rhodes had no reference point for the venue, he didn't find reverb times an issue, experiencing a natural amount of reverb in the room and not feeling like he was fighting the room.
It worked fantastically, he enthuses. I loved having the phantom centres of hangs two and four and being able to use the centre hang to cut through the phantom like a blade was fantastic. It wasn't until a week or so after the gig that the enjoyment of using L ISA had really sunk in and I think we achieved much more than my original goal.
The whole concept of immersive audio is fun and exciting. We've had massive advancements in lighting technology over the last 10-15 years. It's so good to see a new step forward in audio presentation. I don't listen to a stereo anymore at home, I lis
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
(L-R) Stephanie Suganami, Tatanka Means, John Malkovich, Ayo Edebiri, and Juliette Lewis attend the premiere of Opus at Eccles Theatre in Park City. (Photo by...
13/03/2025
Spotify took center stage at the London Book Fair this week, reaffirming our commitment to the audiobook market and showcasing our impact on the publishing indu...
13/03/2025
At Spotify, we work every day to lift up new voices, giving creators the opportunity to live off their art. Through Spotify Audiobooks, our in-house publishing ...
13/03/2025
Every time airborne law enforcement (ALE) teams fly, they expect their equipment to perform. Whether airborne units are conducting support for ground teams, bor...
13/03/2025
Sunday February 9 saw the annual return of the US' biggest television event, the Super Bowl LIX. Jamie McCombs, Fox Sports Audio Consultant / Sr. Audio capt...
13/03/2025
On Sunday March 2, stars across the film industry gathered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 97th Academy Awards. Production Sound Mixer Paul Sandweis...
13/03/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications will feature its new StageLink family of smart edge devices, Smart Audio and Mixing Engine (SAME) and Virtual Smart Pan...
13/03/2025
TAG Video Systems and Harmonic Partner to Deliver Enhanced Real-Time Monitoring ...
13/03/2025
DigitalGlue Invites NAB Visitors to Experience New Features in Managed Storage P...
13/03/2025
FOR-A America Theme - Connecting the Present, Building the Future - Comes to Lif...
13/03/2025
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC Chairman Aji Pai as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1. He replaces Mere...
13/03/2025
he National Association of Broadcasters is urging the FCC to end its investigation of that controversial CBS interview with Kamala Harris stating there is no ...
13/03/2025
MIAMI CBS News & Stations continues to expand its use of augmented and virtual reality technologies with the planned launch of an augmented reality/virtual real...
13/03/2025
Srividhya Srinivasan, co-founder and chief customer success & innovation Officer at Amagi, tells TVBEurope how staying ahead of the latest trends is essential f...
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
13/03/2025
Roku Debuts NWSL Zone' Within Roku Sports to Spotlight Live Games, Content Feature marks Rokus first women's league-branded zone within service By Bra...
13/03/2025
Pixels, Images, Video, AI - and Us: A Perspective on AI from NDI Inventor Andrew...
13/03/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lighting Design Group's Steve Brill, Dennis Size ...
13/03/2025
IOC, Comcast NBCU Ink $3B Media-Rights Extension for Olympic Games Through 2036;...
13/03/2025
NCAA March Madness Live Returns with Expanded Availability of MultiView Vertical...
13/03/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Cosm's Devin Poolman on What It Takes To Deliver the Immersive...
13/03/2025
Sky Business, Sky's B2B division, providing connectivity and content to busi...
13/03/2025
Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S NRP140TWG(N) thermal power sensor: A new benchmark ...
13/03/2025
We asked the questions, analysed the answers and now we're excited to share the results of the fifth edition of the ICG Marketing Survey.
Our 2025 survey p...
13/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 13, 2025 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced a breakthrough in video streaming innovation with the launch of new origin capabilitie...
13/03/2025
Haivision Showcases Mission-Critical Video Solutions at SOF Week 2025
Haivision's video wall systems, ISR technology, and DoDIN APL-certified video distri...
13/03/2025
Company Leads the Way with New Software-Based Production Platform, 12G Switcher,...
13/03/2025
A new Apple Immersive concert experience, Metallica, is coming to Apple Vision Pro this Friday, March 14. Filmed in Mexico City during the sold-out second-year ...
13/03/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
Shake your Shamrocks, Patrick Kielty will be...
13/03/2025
This St. Patrick's weekend, RT invites you to celebrate all things Irish, showcasing the very best of Irish sport, entertainment and live coverage from the...
13/03/2025
What's next in AI is at GTC 2025. Not only the technology, but the people and ideas that are pushing AI forward - creating new opportunities, novel solution...
13/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
By combining T-Mobile's robust network, Thal...
13/03/2025
Bundle up - GeForce NOW is bringing a flurry of Blizzard titles to its ever-expanding library.
Prepare to weather epic gameplay in the cloud, tackling the genr...
13/03/2025
AI is leveling up the world's most beloved games, as the latest advancements...
13/03/2025
PC game modding is massive, with over 5 billion mods downloaded annually. Mods p...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...