NEW YORK – New York University's 860-seat Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, which opened in 2003, had been looking for a newer, digital alternative to the older analog console at front of house. The venue opted for a Yamaha PM5D digital audio console purchased from Scharff Weisberg.
"About once a month a client would have to rent a digital board, and it was almost always a Yamaha PM5D," said Ethan Bade, head audio engineer. "Our purchasing decision was made pretty clear after speaking with engineers who had brought in various consoles in the past, that a 5D would eliminate additional rental costs and save on set up time."
Both Bade and his associate engineer, Alan Busch, were very familiar with Yamaha digital boards and said the recall features are what sold the Skirball staff on a digital console, as there are several events that return on a monthly basis that have the exact same set up each time.
"In addition to engineer familiarity, the Yamaha PM5D was particularly attractive due to its ease of connectivity to the DME (Yamaha digital mixing engine) which was upgraded from a DME32 to a DME64. We also have a DSP5D on the deck cascaded to the PM5D via a DCU5D. Drive lines to the DME in the amp room under the house are sent over Audinate Dante cards. Our signal paths are now digital all the way from the stage to the amps."
Skirball handles about 120 in-house presentations and co-presentations each season and more than 100 events by other university departments and clients from the community. The venue hosts a variety of performances and events, including dance, popular and world music, corporate conferences, theatre, family entertainment, comedy, movie and live event viewings and television broadcasts.
"We are proud not only to have such a unique place in the cultural capital of the world, but to use it for a unique purpose-engaging young audiences, both within and outside the NYU community, in a wide variety of performing arts, including premieres of important and innovative new work from around the world," noted Michael Harrington, Skirball Center's senior director.
For more information, please visit www.yamahaca.com.
