A raucous farewell to the Hackney Empire, as it closed for a total refit, was provided during a two-week production of The Wiz - based on the ‘70s funk version of The Wizard of Oz. Paul Gavin’s company Purple Sheep Lighting, who service a number of events at Hackney Empire, ensured that the giant ensemble were heard loud and clear - in front of a band positioned high up on enormous risers - by specifying Martin Audio enclosures throughout. These included a front-of-house system comprising four flown Blackline H2s and a pair of H3s, reinforcing the house system - run in conjunction with the proprietary DX1 management system - with F12s and F15s operating in stage monitor mode. The entire system was powered by Martin Audio’s new amplification series, consisting of MA4.2s and MA2.8s. Paul Gavin commented: "We opted for the F12 and F15 floor monitors because they were predominantly lightweight, while for the main auditorium sound reinforcement we needed a powerful directional system, because the cast were singing on head mics. I needed something that could cut - and the Blacklines really cut through. This is a loud show, and because we were delivering such a loud monitor sound we also needed a system that was bright, with lots of energy."To warm the system up on the vocals, Gavin also utilised a TLA-5050 valve channel. He says the show required 63 channels at front-of-house and provided 16 monitor mixes. Eleven channels were dedicated to Trantec wireless mics. "Because it was such an incredibly physical show," he continued, "we used Trantec S4000 transmitters and ADUs throughout. I have used Trantec lavaliers, fitted with MKE-2 Gold Dots on a lot of shows and always found them to be totally reliable."
The Trantec S4000 brings the latest UHF PLL synthesised tuning technology within reach of all radio microphone users. Incorporating advanced technology first used within the award-winning S5000, the S4000 is programmed with 16, intermodulation-free frequencies, contained within TV Channel 69 for operation in the UK, but can also be configured with up to 32 frequencies to increase its capacity for the worldwide market. Gavin also used a Trantec S4000IEM for fault-finding and understage system monitoring. He said: "Having wanted a Trantec radio system for ages, I eventually bought one earlier in the year. I have found it very good to work with - neatly designed and extremely durable."
