Artists playing live at Sound Control's new flagship venue - situated in the basement of the Virgin Megastore in London's Oxford Street - will be able to monitor their sound through Nexo floor wedges. At the same time a Nexo PA system will broadcast top concert performances to audiences congregated at the rear of what is expected to be Europe's first all-encompassing music megastore.
The famous Live Stage in the Oxford Street Virgin Megastore has played host to some of the biggest acts around over the years. In the new exclusive partnership, this will now form a key feature of the Sound Control London experience, with some huge bands planned for gigs each week. And if the clarity of sound is anything like that produced for Dido's showcase appearance at the store on September 29, to launch her second album Life For Rent, then they have a treat in store.
Sound Control has a long relationship with Nexo's UK distributors, Fuzion plc, whose regional sales manager Mick Butler formerly worked for the retail chain. "Nexo has worked well for Sound Control and was an obvious choice for the live stage," said Butler. "We are delighted that the general consensus was that the sound quality for Dido appears to have been excellent."
Butler designed the Nexo system in conjunction with Sound Control based around four flown PS15s (two per side), with a pair of LS1200 subs ground-stacked under the stage. A pair of PS10s (for stage monitoring) was later added to the order. The system is tuned using dedicated PS10TD and PS15TD system controllers. Fuzion also provided the main FOH power engine in the form of a Crown MA5002VZ amplifier (for the subs) and two MZ3600VZ units for the mid-tops.
Sound is mixed by a fully-featured Soundcraft MH4 multifunction desk. Soundcraft UK Sales Manager (North), James Baker, has long enjoyed a close relationship with the Scottish-based music chain and was quick off the mark when he learned about the ambitious plan to develop the Megastore's famous Live Stage. Sensing that some huge bands were lined up to play weekly gigs, he immediately proposed installing Sound Control's flagship store with a flagship mixing console.
He said: "I looked closely at the type of desks other bands had been bringing in - some didn't have all the the busses and VCAs. We could easily have provided a Series Two but decided to go for overkill."
The 48-channel board includes eight matrixes and 16 output busses. The MH4 has been designed to be used for FOH, stage monitors, or monitors from FOH, with a brand new bussing system that gives maximum flexibility.
Soundcraft also provided a highly-specified BSS external processing rack - giving customers an idea of some of the products they should be aspiring to. This includes a pair of FCS-966 graphic equalisers, two DPR-504 quad noise gates, a DPR-404 quad compressor and a DPR-402 dual compressor.
Baker believes this will be a great opportunity for upselling. "With the BSS brand getting good profile in the house rack, this will hopefully help Sound Control to sell higher-end processing devices," he said.
The Dido show was the first of several showcases planned by Sound Control to inaugurate the partnership between the two music retail giants, and to launch a flagship operation made possible by a new injection of capital into the company.
With its first store in the South East, the Scottish-based company now boasts 12 modern superstores from Dundee to London, making Sound Control the first and only UK-wide national chain of music stores. It sees the alliance with Virgin Megastores bearing fruit well outside London as the remodelling exercise continues.
In addition to featuring some of the world's greatest bands, the new superstore, which will be open seven days a week, will also contain the largest guitar wall in the country and massive range of stock from all of the major brands. A Costa Coffee cafe is also situated within the basement area.
fuzion.co.uk
soundcraft.com