LETHBRIDGE, Alberta, Canada – The University of Lethbridge recently upgraded the audio system in its 500-seat University Theatre with a Yamaha M7CL-32 digital audio console and SB168-ES Stage Box. Wavetech Sound & Lighting assisted with the installation.
The University Theatre seats 500 and is a multi-use venue hosting lectures, road shows, theatrical performances for young audiences, concerts, operas and about four major productions by the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts.
"Our existing console was due for replacement and an upcoming production of Hair required more than the available 40 inputs," said Kelly Roberts, head of sound for the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts. The University of Lethbridge instituted a mandate that, as an instructional theatre, the sound operators be students, so the decision was made to install a digital console to simplify the operation during performances. Roberts had researched consoles fairly extensively and kept coming back to the price/performance advantage of the Yamaha M7CL. "I had designed and mixed several shows for the New West Theatre across town at the Yates Memorial Center and really enjoyed using their new 32-input M7CL," said Roberts. Previously, the Theatre had been using a pair of Yamaha O3Ds for years. However, the new console is light years ahead in sound, control, and ease of use."
"We made the decision to go with the Yamaha M7CL but the approval to purchase it came late and left only two days for installation prior to the soundcheck for the biggest show of the season," said Roberts, crediting Ashley Clarke at Yamaha Commercial Audio in Canada for assistance.
Because budget constraints prevented the technical staff at the theatre from providing a wireless mic for every cast member of Hair, the assortment of lavalier and headset mics had to move from performer to performer during the course of the show requiring several gain and EQ adjustments.
"The quick, intuitive access of the Yamaha M7CL to channel settings (monitor mixes, EQ, dynamics, etc) meant that I had the luxury of playing guitar in the pit leaving student operator Katie Tesarowski to make mix adjustments during technical rehearsals and performances," Roberts added.
Roberts noted that access to output delays, EQ and dynamic control for every in and out was a very appealing feature of the M7CL. "I was particularly attracted to a digital, ‘full recall' console because we could utilize presets stored on a USB thumb drive to quickly recall setups optimized for recurring events and virtually eliminate the need for the aging patchbay."
A Yamaha SB 168-ES Stage Box is used to augment the existing distributed mic lines. Any setup requiring more than the six mic lines available on the proscenium wall boxes required running cables 40 feet upstage to the four mic jacks on the rear wall of the stage or to the six lines in the orchestra pit. The SB 168-ES bumps the total available mono inputs up to 48 on 32 faders.
"For Hair, Roberts continues, ‘we often used the console's soft patch feature to swap channel inputs between the console and stage box inputs which is very handy. An MY8-AT 8-channel ADAT interface card is installed in the console for recording performances to Pro Tools and interfaces with a MOTU 896MkIII for running SFX cueing software."
The speaker system is a proprietary Wavetech design consisting of a JBL 2426 HF driver and 2344 lenses mounted under Wavetech-designed boxes loaded with two JBL 2206 12s and a pair of single JBL 2242 loaded subs.
Yamaha P1600 amplifiers power EV Sentry 100 booth monitors, rear fill, stage wedges, and HF mains, and Yamaha P4500 power the mids and subs. dbx Driverack 260 processing is used for the LCR, and Wavetech- designed surround boxes are used for the two pairs of rear fill that are set in the fifth front of house catwalk. The rear fills usually run indirectly, bouncing off the rear wall to maximize the sweet spot for 5.1 or quad configurations. 

"As it turned out, the installation was pretty pain-free, notes Roberts. The CAT5e cable is still a temporary run at this point, and we'll likely get a double run from the booth to stage later in the year when we get some down time. Overall, the system sounds fabulous; even when set to ‘stun', there isn't a hint of noise."
For more information, please visit www.yamahaca.com.
