Soundcraft Vi6™ On Tour Down Under at New Zealand’s Hottest Summer Concerts

College Hill Productions, Ltd. a leading sound rental company based in Auckland, New Zealand, has recently selected a Soundcraft Vi6 digital console for its versatility and robust design, making it an ideal selection for mixing a diverse lineup of summer concerts and music festivals throughout New Zealand. The most recent tour, ‘Big Day Out 2009’ took place in Auckland, New Zealand and hosted a number of world-renowned artists including, Neil Young, My Morning Jacket and The Prodigy. Director of College Hill Productions Ltd. Chris Tate founded the company in 1996 and is responsible for introducing the first Soundcraft Vi6 to New Zealand.

The versatility of the Vi6 is demonstrated as the console has been consistently deployed by College Hill for its ability to operate at both FOH and monitor positions for large events such as Auckland’s Big Day Out Festival and the Parachute Music Festival. Large festivals in New Zealand, similar to festivals around the world, pose countless challenges and Chris Tate claims the Vi6 overcomes those challenges very well. “The console has been out on tour non-stop all summer and the engineers required a board that had a very fast turnaround time in between shows.” Tate continues, “The Soundcraft Vi6’s capabilities also helped us in a couple of other ways including a few instances where the console was almost a kilometer away in a broadcast compound and the fiber connection to the stage box was very effective.”

Chris Tate and the College Hill Productions engineers have taken full advantage of the digital console’s capabilities and Tate has streamlined his mixing abilities with the Vistonics™ interface. “Vistonics are simply an analog console shelved neatly away and ready to be mapped out exactly where you are touching,” comments Tate. “If you have been used to mixing with the controls right in front of you, a la analog consoles, then you are used to being able to do things without having to stop and consciously look through the manual. The Vi6 is actually faster than analog, which is something that I thought I would never say about digital,” Tate concludes.

The majority of College Hill’s work consists of American and British performances that tour only two or three shows in New Zealand before moving onto to different countries. This rapid transition of performances is difficult for the College Hill engineers, as they are required to set up and prepare for multiple native shows each week requiring a digital console that is capable of saving shows, and mixing for a wide range of genres.

For more information on College Hill Productions Ltd, please visit www.collegehill.co.nz or contact Chris Tate at cjtate@ihug.co.nz.