Allen & Heath Qu-16s used for New Zealand Folk Festival
Published: ASIA
NEW ZEALAND: Four Allen & Heath Qu-16 digital rack mount mixers were used recently for the New Zealand Folk Festival in Auckland. Running for 40 years, the event annually attracts a line-up of international touring artists, with the concert this year opting to use Qu-16s for the first time.
‘There are certain considerations when mixing folk bands,’ said Davyd Hodge. ‘Firstly there are many unusual instruments - including bouzoukis, dulcimers, seven string acoustic guitars, harps, and accordions with built in mics. Musicians unexpectedly come back on stage to perform with other bands, the crowd like a mix where you can hear a pin drop but at a “festival” level, and vocals must always be on top of the mix. That’s why I need a dedicated surface area to manage this event.’
Previously, Mr Hodge has used a 40-channel analogue GL2800 from Allen & Heath but opted to use the manufacturer’s new Qu-16 digital mixers, arranged as sub mixers feeding a central main mixer, for this year’s event. He configured the Qu-16s so that the sub mixers fed into the stereo inputs on the main Qu-16 console to mix the main PA L/R while a fourth console was used to provide the centre fills and the subs through their own GEQs.
‘This is the first large show where I had used a digital console, and it went off without any brain fry,’ he comment. ‘The four band PEQ and GEQ all worked great, the channel EQ worked brilliantly and I didn’t need channel insert points!’