Italy - Blues fans stream into the normally quiet Tuscan town of Pistoia each year for its annual Blues Festival, considered to be one of the most important in the country, with names such as B.B. King, Robert Plant and Van Morrison all having graced the stage in previous years. With Aztec chosen as the FOH console by rental company, Nicola Procopio, this year's festival had all the makings to deliver unrivalled sound quality.

For the last 24 years, concerts have taken place in the shadow of the great Duomo where audiences have seen great performances whilst either standing or sitting on the historical stones in the medieval square surrounded by breathtaking Romanesque and Gothic architechture. With a further 1500 seats in the gallery, the town's accommodation tends to be booked up for months in advance.

Owners of the first Aztec in Italy, Nicola Procopio were hired this year to provide the PA system for Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, Steve Winwood, John Mayall, Joe Satriani, Buddy Guy amongst others. Visitors could hardly be disappointed with performances. "The sound provided the perfect backdrop for the warm summer evenings," confirmed Marco Alterini of Audio Sales, distributor of the Audient range.

The Aztec Live Performance console is Audient's first Live Console and can be used both on the road or in a fixed installation. Features of the desk include separate L, C, and R buses with individual trims on each of the output faders, eight audio sub group outputs with balanced inserts, two additional stereo line inputs and a stereo ambience mic input, 4-band EQ with parametric mids, sweep HF and LF with switched Bell/Shelf curves plus Sweep Hi-Pass filter and Optional full stereo input modules.

(Lee Baldock)


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