Impressive Gear Line Up at Montreal Jazz Festival

Yamaha Commercial Audio and Solotech Support Music Festival

With large crowds of delighted fans and a passionate program, the 38th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal presented by the TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto had an impressive line up of audio production gear provided by both Solotech (Montreal) and Yamaha Professional Audio. Solotech provided the digital consoles and Yamaha provided three NEXO loudspeaker systems. Over 2,000 artists appeared during the festival period; from Arturo Sandoval, Bob Dylan, The Barr Brothers to Ravi Coltrane (son of the late John Coltrane), John Pizzarelli, and Walk Off the Earth, just to name a few.

Two Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 Digital Audio Consoles were used at the main TD Stage, and a third was used at Maison Symphonique for front of house along with a CL5 at monitors. “The Montreal Jazz Festival was the first time I put my hands on the RIVAGE,” states Matt “Captain” Sevigny, monitor engineer at the main TD Stage, mixing for The Brooks as well as Betty Bonifassi, Brad Cheeman, and Souljazz Orchestra. “I've worked on pretty much all of the Yamaha digital consoles. After a day or two, I started using the SILK texture feature on many of my inputs that made me use less EQ on the strip and provided the sound I was looking for. Working on the PM10 just made my workflow so much easier and faster. Plus, the console gave me consistent, solid mixes every night. It’s almost funny how the first thing I would hear right after the artist left the stage was ‘fantastic stage sound’ and I even received hugs!!!”

FOH engineer for the TD Stage, Monk McClements, really liked the PM10 as well. “It was a real pleasure to have the PM10s at the TD Stage, he says. Having access to 144 preamps on one scene made our job at front of house much easier, and changeovers without any interruptions came very natural. Everything on the board is right at your fingertips. The layout of the PM10 is quite phenomenal. Knowing Yamaha boards, having been on a few, it was very easy to use. Guest sound guys at the stage needed very little tutoring. Shortcuts were so quick, we never, ever had any confusion with the operational aspect of the board.”

Yamaha provided NEXO systems for three stages. The Metropolis Stage PA consisted of 12 NEXO STM-M28 with 6 STM B112 per side, flown side by side. 3 STM S118s and 3 RS18 Ray Subs were used per side with 3 STM-M28s used for front fills. Monitors consisted of 8 45-N12 wedges, 6 PS15 R2 speakers, and 2 LS18s used as drum subs. Stage fills consisted of 2 STM M46 boxes over 1 STMB112 over one STM S118 per side. Two Yamaha CL5 digital consoles were also used at the Metropolis Stage.

Vladimir Coulibre is the engineer for the band Caravan Palace who performed at the Metropolis during the Festival. “As it is for most of our tour dates, we loaded in day of show, and more specifically in North America, we arrive at venues around 3:00 pm, so our time is precious,” states Coulibre. “Generally, I divide my time in three steps. First step is to tune the main PA to adjust to Caravan Palace’s music, the second step is on stage to check the wedges’ polarity (both low and high section), EQ by voice and line check, and the last step is a very quick sound check with the musicians. At the Metropolis, Mark Rush from Yamaha worked with me to try several different set ups of the NEXO M28 + B112 flown and subs on the floor. We work on both the Dolby Lake and NEXO Nemo software; Dolby for time alignment and EQ, and Nemo for presets.

Caravan Palace is a combination of dynamic electro swing music with a mix between acoustic instruments and electronic beat sequences. Sometimes with the PA, it's hard to keep the best level and best impact. But at the Montreal Jazz Festival, I was happy to find both parameters. I had used the M46 in France and appreciate the high frequency signature in NEXO speakers. There are two different listening areas at the Metropolis, and the M28 system adapted very well to the venue.” Coulibre said during the show, there was plenty of headroom, and the ability to stabilize even if they played at different levels. “Tones were accurate, and all dimensions created, worked correctly. The new NEXO STM set up has clearly been designed for a new generation with quality expectations for artists, sound engineers, and the audience.”

The Cinquième Salle Stage PA consisted of 6 GEO M10 line array speakers and 3 flown MSUB15s per side, 1 LS18 subwoofers on the ground per side, and 4 ID24 speakers were used for front fills. Monitors consisted of 4 45-N12 wedges, 2 PS15 R2 speakers, and 4 PS10 R2 speakers.

Frederic Salter, engineer for the theatre mixed using the NEXO rig. “Having worked in the past with NEXO monitors I expected no less than what I received when the good people at Yamaha were kind enough to rig up a NEXO M10 system in our venue. The 6 speakers per side forming the line array were strategically placed to fill the "u" shaped seating arrangement of the venue, which is no easy task. As I walked around, I noticed the sound was uniform, even at the extremes of the hall, a great dispersion indeed. The 3 rigged 15-inch subs per side added a very punchy and well-damped low end. The addition of double 18" subs on the floor benefitted a few of the acts from their presence. The whole rig, powered by a NUAR amplification rack made for a system that I hope to see again soon.”

At the Savoy Stage in the Metropolis, Yamaha provided 3 GEO M620, 1 LS18 per side, and 4 PS10 R2s for monitors.

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