The inaugural ocV!BE Guitar Fest will take place at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA, on Saturday, July 29. Honda Center is home to the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, and will serve as the anchor for ocV!BE, a $4 billion, sustainable, mixed-use, live entertainment district scheduled to break ground later this year.
This large-scale guitar event will feature major North American music merchants, retail stores, vintage dealers, boutique guitar, amp, and pedal builders, private collectors, and accessory makers – with unique opportunities to buy, sell, and trade gear.
The festival will also feature a live performance stage with well-known guitar icons rocking out, including Dave Amato (REO Speedwagon), Bruce Kulick (KISS, Grand Funk Railroad), Greg Bissonette (Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band), Matt Bissonette (Elton John) and Griff Hamlin (Single Barrel Blues Band). The stage will be powered by a 96kHz Allen & Heath Avantis mixing console, along with a GX4816 48-input stagebox and a 16-input DX168 expander. Avantis is well suited for mixing arena venues, with 64 channels of robust input processing, as well as 42 fully configurable busses.
The PA system will be provided by renowned speaker manufacturer BASSBOSS – featuring dual AT212 powered 2-way loudspeakers, and multiple SSP215 subwoofers. Both models provide clear and powerful output in a compact and lightweight form factor that is easy to transport and set up.
“The fact that Allen & Heath’s digital consoles are dominating the marketplace is evident and well-deserved,” noted Bruce Adolph, co-promoter of the festival. “I personally heard a demo of the BASSBOSS speakers and I was so impressed with their clarity and richness – the full sound spectrum. I couldn’t ask for more to have this combination sponsor our MainStage at the inaugural ocV!BE Guitar Festival. Our guest guitar, drumand bass artists are going to sound great!”
“We’re honored to have been selected to provide audio equipment for this event,” said Rob Impala, VP of Pro Audio for American Music and Sound. “With the impressive lineup of performances, the audience deserves to get the best possible sound. Allen & Heath and BASSBOSS make for a perfect combination.”
The BeachLife festival in Redondo Beach, CA celebrates California beach culture with multiple days of music performances across four stages. For the second consecutive year, live music streaming service Volume.com was onsite at the festival’s Speakeasy Stage – broadcasting audio and video online through their web platform.
“We have a video production rig running vMix,” explained Volume.com’s Ian Morse, who was part of the Volume.com team at the festival. “That computer takes all our camera inputs and adds graphics, and also pushes our RTMP stream.” For audio, the team employed an Allen & Heath Avantis console to capture and broadcast a high quality tailored mix for streaming. “We have a split on stage that feeds into both front of house and our GX4816 stagebox,” said Morse. “We then mix it down to two track and feed it into our stream rig to get married with the video feed.”
With multiple bands performing on the Speakeasy stage, Morse noted that he often had to make us of the Avantis’ drag-and drop strip assign function to adjust the fader bank layouts. “In a fast moving festival situation, you don’t necessarily get much time to prepare with input lists or stage plots in advance,” he explained. “Having fully configurable fader layers was huge, because I could just flip to a new fader layer and drag down exactly what I needed.”
Morse also employed some of the Avantis’ powerful DEEP processing capabilities for the stream mix, especially the builtin compressor emulations. “I really like the sound of the Opto compressor,” he noted. “I used that on the mix bus, as well as the VCA Bus compressor at times.” For individual channel processing, Morse made use of the DYN8 processor, which combines a sophisticated Dynamic EQ and Multiband Compressor into a single insert plugin. “I liked to use it as somewhat of a de-esser, and I use it in conjunction with a standard vocal compressor.”
Morse notes that his mixed audio background helps navigate live streamingscenarios for Volume.com. “I have studio experience and live experience, and I feel like mixing for a stream is a little more on the studio side. You have to think about translation a lot more, because people are watching these streams on a variety of devices. Thissometimes means adding compression, and also making sure you can get the bass to sit right in the mix.”
The BeachLife festival replay stream can be viewed on demand on Volume.com.
April 2023 was a busy month for Allen & Heath and their US distribution partner American Music & Sound. Starting with The NAMM Show in Anaheim, the brand presented its wide range of products in a sprawling booth in the convention center’s Pro Audio hall. The popular booth featured opportunities for hands-on mixing with everything Allen & Heath has to offer — from small format analog ZED consoles to powerful 128-channel 96kHz digital dLive systems. The booth also featured a dedicated section for the brand’s expanding AHM series of installation processors and peripherals.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the convention center, Allen & Heath Live Sound and Touring Manager Michael Bangs offered multiple jam-packed live sound training courses to NAMM attendees. Those who could make their way into the crowded training room had the opportunity to learn about a range of subjects, including dynamics and frequency control, mixing high channel counts on a compact console, quick festival mixing changeovers, house of worship mixing, and modern workflows.
Astute visitors to the NAMM show may have also caught several Allen & Heath consoles in use at the various performance stages — including a dLive S5000 surface at front of house and an Avantis console at monitors for the show’s outdoor Arena Plaza stage operated by sound company Avante Audio. Another pair of dLive systems could be found in use at the Hilton stage (provided by DJE Production Services), as well as an SQ-5 for the lobby stage at the Sheraton hotel. At the Pre-NAMM Hang sponsored by Worship Musician, another Allen & Heath SQ-5 was in use supporting a special performance by guitar legend Doyle Dykes.
The A&H team did not leave NAMM empty handed, as the company’s versatile 64-channel Avantis console earned the brand a fifth consecutive Dealer’s Choice Award from Musical Merchandise Review for its feature-packed V1.2 update. The awards for Avantis V1.2 didn’t stop there, as the new console firmware also captured the Parnelli Award for Indispensable Audio Technology. “The Parnelli Award win for Avantis was certainly a highlight of the NAMM Show for us,” noted Allen & Heath USA Marketing Director Jeff Hawley. “Often referred to as being the Oscar of the live event industry, the Parnelli is a tremendous honor and a moment that we’ll all remember from NAMM 2023. We’ve been amazed at the continued success with Avantis and we plan to keep updates like those seen in V1.2 coming in the future.”
The Allen & Heath USA team also presented their annual sales meeting at the show, awarding top performing sales rep firms and individuals for their outstanding 2022-2023 activities. The company awarded the coveted ‘Bulldog’ awards to a special pack of tenacious and highly effective sales professionals. This year’s recipients included Zak Rickard (Geer Tech), Gilbert Perales (Brownestone), Jaylon Shane (Pro Tech Marketing), Dan Ankney (Online Marketing), Shawn McLoughlin (Audio Biz), Wes Pitzer (Highway Marketing), Chad Rigler (HWPco), Brooks Platts (HWPco), and Craig Kutteroff (Mainline Marketing). The Outstanding Sales Support award was presented to Julie Boatright of Audio Biz. Dennie Edwards (Highway Marketing) was awarded the Marketing Excellence award. Outstanding Performance awards (based on overall territory sales performance) were awarded to Audio Biz, Brownestone, Cadon Technical Sales, Excellence Marketing, Highway Marketing, HWPco, Mainline Marketing, Online Marketing, Pro Tech Marketing, and Richard Dean Associates. The Rep of the Year award went to Audio Biz.
“Congratulations to Audio Biz for their outstanding year and the Rep of the Year award win,” said Pat McConnell, National Sales Manager for Allen & Heath USA. “All of the Bulldogs, Julie, and Dennie also deserve a special thank you for all of their work in the last year. Combined with the sheer number of Outstanding Performance awards, these results point to the fact that we’ve got one of the greatest sales and support teams in the industry. We’re set to level up once again and I look forward to seeing who gets to stand on the awards stage in 2024.”
Immediately following The NAMM Show, the Allen & Heath team made its way over to the Las Vegas Convention Center to host its largest ever booth at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show. The Allen & Heath booth at NAB once again featured products from each of the brand’s diverse product series, and was visited by a variety of attendees, ranging from longtime fans to curious newcomers. “It was really rewarding to see Qu consoles in use ‘organically’ across the NAB Show for training areas and breakout rooms,” adds Rob Impala, VP of Pro Audio for American Music and Sound . “We had a chance to catch up with broadcasters, church technicians, installers, consultants and engineers who rely on Allen & Heath to tackle a wide range of audio applications. As always, we were all ears when it comes to product feedback and requests from the field and we’re certainly energized and ready to get to work on releasing the next round of new and exciting software and hardware updates soon.”
For the fifth consecutive year, Allen & Heath has earned the Dealer’s Choice Product of the Year award from Musical Merchandise Review magazine. This time, for the company’s 64-channel Avantis mixing console, which recently received a major feature update to version 1.2.
Avantis features 64 channels of 96kHz FPGA processing, 42 fully configurable busses, 12 dedicated FX racks, two large full-HD touchscreens, and a strong but lightweight metal chassis.
Avantis is currently on tour with major artists such as Celtic rock group The Red Hot Chili Pipers, The Oak Ridge Boys, and LA Opera; and is also being implemented for unique broadcast needs like those of streaming platform Volume.com. Avantis has additionally been installed in several large houses of worship such as Calvary Chapel High Desert in Hesperia, CA, as well as many rental houses, dealers, and installations of all sizes in the last year.
The V1.2 update adds to the console’s already powerful capabilities – which now include a next-generation RTA that can be overlaid on the parametric EQ, integration with Sennheiser wireless microphone systems, and improvements to the console’s wireless control applications.
Consoles with the additional dPack processing package also now have access to even more sophisticated processing tools; such as a dedicated Bus Compressor, Source Expander, and a Dual Threshold Expander. All dPack plugins incorporate powerful tools from Allen & Heath’s flagship dLive series mixers.
This year’s award extends Allen & Heath’s domination in the category, with the company’s SQ and Avantis series consoles taking the honor every year since 2018.
“I believe the initial MMR Product of the Year win for SQ was a first in the history of the award for a mixing console,” noted Jeff Hawley, Marketing Director for Allen & Heath USA. “We were certainly feeling the ‘it is an honor just to be nominated’ vibe that year with the long odds for a win — right up until the results of an actual win came in. But we’ve seen amazing support from the dealer and rental and touring community, from engineers working in just about every genre out there that year and every year since. I’m sure the product team in Cornwall and the various service and support and distribution teams around the world will keep on doing our collective best to continue the trend of new products and product enhancements in 2023 and beyond. Thank you!”
Cornwall, UK based audio mixer company presents nearly two dozen live sessions and continues winning streak
Allen & Heath stepped up and went big for the 2021 NAMM Believe in Music Week virtual trade event, hosting engaging interactive events, sponsoring key sessions and extending their award-winning streak. Taking place the week of January 18th, Believe in Music Week was a new online event and global gathering to unify and support people who bring music to the world. With the goal of providing a bit of something for everyone, Allen & Heath was highly visible throughout the week through their mix of product-focused demo sessions, ‘behind the scenes’ development stories, sponsored musical events and content premieres.
Highlights within the calendar of twenty different live-streamed video events included sessions with veteran FOH and monitor engineer Michael Bangs (Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, et al.) discussing how to successfully transition to broadcast mixing, a special Signal to Noise podcast episode with NAMM President & CEO Joe Lamond, ‘Dante in Worship’ case studies co-presented with Audinate, and Spanish language sessions showcasing the full Allen & Heath product range as well as a deep dive into its popular Avantis digital mixing console. Company representatives were also on hand during the show delivering tailored video chats and private product demos.
“We were frankly blown away by the interest and the number of live viewers we saw throughout the week,” notes Allen & Heath USA marketing director Jeff Hawley. “Every session we hosted had many times the attendance we’d traditionally see for similar events held during in-person shows. Overall, we clocked well over ten thousand highly engaged live video views in our virtual booth alone — and many more beyond that when you count our sponsored events like Worship Musician Chapel TV with guest artist Lincoln Brewster. And of course this platform let us have fun with 1-on-1 video product demos to anyone who reached out for one, too. Totally cool.”
In addition to events for the general NAMM audience, Allen & Heath USA hosted their annual sales and marketing virtual awards ceremony which kicked off the 2021 theme, ‘REIMAGINE’. This year’s Rep of the Year distinction was bestowed upon Lawrenceville, Georgia-based HWPco. Outstanding Performance Awards went to firms which exceeded 2020 sales goals, including Brownestone, Excellence Marketing, Highway Marketing, HWPco, John B. Anthony Company (JBA), Mainline Marketing, Online Marketing, Richard Dean & Associates, and Samuel K. Macdonald (SKMac). Recipients of the Sales Bulldogs Award included Kevin Duthu (HWPco), Dennie Edwards (Highway Marketing), Joe Kokal (Excellence Marketing), Marco Marroquin (Mainline Marketing), Shawn McLoughlin (AudioBiz), Gilbert Perales (Brownestone), Zak Rickard (AudioGeer), Enrico Ruotolo (JBA), and Willy Seltzer (Image Marketing West). Enrico Ruotolo (JBA) was also honored with the 2020 Marketing Excellence Award. Sales Support Awards went to Sean Estrella (Richard Dean & Associates) and Julie Boatright (AudioBiz).
Allen & Heath was among the technical achievement winners at the 36th Annual NAMM TEC Awards, which celebrates the best in professional audio and sound production. The Avantis 96kHz 64 channel / 42 configurable bus console nabbed the top honors in Small Format Console Technology, netting a win for the third year in a row for Allen & Heath in the highly competitive category. Not to be left out, the company’s flagship dLive Digital Mixing System scored a big win in the SOS Awards as the ‘Best Live Sound Product’ of 2021, announced during Believe in Music Week and chosen by the readers of Sound on Sound magazine.
“We set out to look at the different format for NAMM Believe in Music Week as being an opportunity instead of a challenge,” adds Hawley. “This was a great chance for us to connect and share and support the industry we all love. We did our best to generate a lot of positive vibes and listen to our all-important sales partners, chat with the best fans on the planet, and get the Allen & Heath word out to more and more potential customers. Based on the numbers and the feedback I’m hearing, I think we can call Believe in Music Week a success!”
Allen & Heath was a proud sponsor of the Worship Musician Chapel TV livestream, featuring Lincoln Brewster.
Allen & Heath is diving into 2020 with a showing of its growing product line-up in booth #18219 that includes SQ, dLive, and the new Avantis. The company’s extensive array of I/O hardware will also be featured, including dedicated solutions for Dante integration.
A number of AES Academy live sound classes will be offered by the manufacturer at this year’s show as well, with veteran FOH and monitor engineer Michael Bangs (Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Katy Perry, et al.) hosting hands-on Masterclass training offering insight into mixing techniques for festival, house of worship, broadcast, and other live applications. A special ‘Modern Front of House Mixing’ Masterclass will be presented by Parnelli Front of House Engineer of the Year Nominee Drew Thornton, FOH engineer for six-time Grammy Award nominated pop phenom Billie Eilish. Daily dLive certification courses round out Allen & Heath’s extensive AES Academy training offerings, with those enrolled earning CTS International Renewal Unit (RU) credits.
Allen & Heath dLive, SQ and Avantis
For those anxious to hear an Allen & Heath system in action, a compact dLive Wings rig comprised of a C1500 control surface and DM48 MixRack has been selected as the console of choice for the NAMM Loudspeaker System Showcase, mixing loudspeakers from 14 different companies in the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. Participating companies will be featured in multiple demos per day, during show days on Thursday, January 16 through Saturday, January 18.
Allen & Heath begins 2020 following a successful year of awards and new product introductions last year. Custom Control—a cross-platform control app for dLive mixing systems—added to the company’s laurels with a New Product Award at WFX in September, while Avantis took home its first award win October at AES with a Best of Show nod. Parnell Awards voting opened in November with dLive named as an Indispensable Audio Technology nominee. The SQ Series received news in December of its selection as Product of the Year for the second year running among MMR’s 27th annual Dealers’ Choice Awards. TEC Award nominations for 2020 were announced last month as well, with the SQ getting a repeat nod in the Small Format Console category, and dLive named as a competitor in the Large Format Console group. Not to be left out, the new DT168 Dante Expander also received a Music & Sound Awards nomination for Console Hardware of the Year before 2019 ended.
Looking back on all the company has accomplished in the last 12 months, Allen & Heath USA Marketing Manager Jeff Hawley is ready to call it a wrap and prepare to ring in 2020 with appropriate aplomb. “We’ve had a great time celebrating our 50th anniversary throughout 2019,” Hawley remarked recently. “It’s been a notable year for us on many fronts. Here’s to everyone in our industry for a sensational run going forward. We’re looking forward to seeing you all in Anaheim!”
