Roc Mateu trusts in the flexibility of Avid S6L for 'La cage de las locas' and 'Carmina Burana'

In addition to being two of the musicals that are triumphing on the stages of Spain, Both productions have something else in common: They use the Avid Venue S6L live system by sound designer Roc Mateu, who analyzes it in this article by Ignacio Fossati.

Reference in the sound environment in Spain, Roc Mateu has been, from 1995 until today, responsible for sound design for multiple artists, theater directors and stage spaces. He has provided services to the Vienna Symphony, the Spanish Theater, the National Theater of Catalonia (TNC), the National Dramatic Center and the Lliure Theater.

on television, Mateu has worked for TV3, Antenna 3 and Telecinco in programs such as Martian Chronicles, ¡Now I fall!, Operation Triumph 2017 y dancing with the stars. He has also been responsible for sound at festivals such as Primavera Sound and Sónar, and has collaborated with great musicians such as Albert Pla and Manu Guix.

Throughout his career he has obtained three Butaca Awards for best sound design for The Knight of Olmedo (Lluís Easter); Much ado about nothing (Angel Lazarus), e In Memory (Luis Pasqual), and three Gran Vía Musical Theater Awards for Sweeney Todd (Mario Gas); Mar and Cel (Dagoll Dagom), y Scaramouche (Joan Lluís Bozzo).

Raised in a showbiz family, his father, James Mateu, better known as Tortell Poltrona, He is the most recognized circus artist in Catalonia and an international icon in the world of clowning., so much for creating his own circus –Circus Jack, reference of several generations-, as for having been co-founder of Clowns without Borders.

With this inheritance, It is not surprising that as a child Roc spent countless hours in a van going from gig to gig, and that he accompanied his family to more than sixty Clowns Without Borders expeditions. Besides, since the 12 to the 18 years old studied drums, percussion and rhythmic music theory, and played in several groups. “As a child, “The world of sound and music became one of my passions”, remember.

A long relationship

Roc Mateu's relationship with Avid goes back to the years 90: “My first contact with the brand was in 1995, at the Montseny Studios, con Pro Tools III, which for several years I used as my reference recording program. Regarding the world of live, I worked for the first time with the Digidesign Venue D-Show in the musical Ascensiony dropof the ciudad of Mahagony. Since then I have used it in a large number of shows., both medium and large format”.

At the moment, Roc finds himself immersed in the live sound of The crazy cagey Carmina Burana. The first, directed by Àngel Llàcer and Manu Guixen at the Teatro Tívoli in Barcelona, It is one of the most popular musicals on Broadway.

It has twenty-eight artists on stage, including musicians, actors and dancers, and thirteen live musical performances. For this production, Roc works with an S6L with two Stages and more than a hundred live channels, between wireless and live musicians, and with a schedule of more than three hundred Snapshots.

For your part, Carmina Burana, by the German composer Carl Orff,It's a spectacleThe Fura dels Bauswith live music,currently on tour in Spain after having traveled three continents. It is an amplified opera with twelve musicians and eighteen singers., con 64 live channels and 24 Departures, all from the same Stage.

As Roc explains: “We decided to use the S6L for these productions because of the sound quality and the flexibility of the control surface, what makes, depending on your needs, you can configure and schedule a show. The truth is that the two productions have a similar configuration: From the same control table we make PAs and monitors; “This causes us to use a large number of buses and console auxiliaries and a lot of programming.”

Besides, add this sound designer, "in The crazy cagewe have at the input level 52 orchestra channels, further 24 wireless and 16 QLab channels, and eight stereo effects returns. On departures, 16 MyMix channels, 20 by PA, y 12 of monitors. In Carmina Burana, 64 input channels and 24 Departures, all from the same Stage”.

All this work results in an “extremely positive experience.”, since the tables are very stable and we are very happy with the sound quality they offer us -Rox points out-.In addition, In both productions we use Pro Tools to record the shows and we use Virtual Check a lot”.

This is not the first time, far from it, that Roc uses the S6L. “We have already worked with her on several theatrical shows at the Lliure Theater in Barcelona, as well as at events, concerts and in the edition of OT 2017. From the first day, The feeling is good and we especially like its configuration flexibility and the large number of input and output signals it has compared to the previous model”.

Features and added value

But, What are the most outstanding features of the console for Roc?? Your answer is clear and precise: “There are several that I like.”, but Events and the possibility of configuring Snapshot information are, definitely, my favorites. Besides, the hardware is practical and easy to handle. It is a pleasure to work with the feeling that you have plenty of channels and outputs, and at the DSP level you don't have to worry about the table holding up.”

Added to this is also the flexibility that the S6L provides when moving channels., create layouts, organize scenes,… “It is one of the biggest differences over other consoles on the market, and that make it a fast table and at the same time provide confidence in handling. At the ergonomic level, offers several ways to do operations, and the touch screen provides great speed in execution”.

Regarding plug-ins, Roc is clear: “ReVibe II is one of my favorites, since it allows you to have nice reverb very easily. “Pro Multiband Dynamics is also a very useful and practical tool when it comes to managing bus control.”.

Finally, This sound expert does not hesitate to highlight “the speed with which Avid has solved, through updates, the normal errors of a new table with these characteristics.”, as well as the speed of technical service and support from your distributor, SeaSound. All this gives great peace of mind when working with these consoles and trusting them”.