CENTURION, South Africa — Award-winning South African
front of house engineer, Marius Marais, has long been a fan of HARMAN’s Studer
and Soundcraft mixing consoles. Recently, he has increased his inventory
considerably, adding a Studer Vista 5 SR, a Soundcraft Vi1 and Si Compact (with
optical card)—all supplied by HARMAN Professional’s South African distributor,
Wild & Marr.
Marais’ CV boasts many accolades for which precision
audio engineering excellence was a prerequisite, including “SA Idols”—and he
has also been associated with the South African Music Awards (SAMA), the 2010 FIFA World Cup and other high-profile
events. The Vista 5 SR solution had been proposed by Wild & Marr and
debuted on a “Starlight Classics” show.
“When the Vista 5 SR first arrived in South Africa Wild
& Marr immediately contacted me, knowing that the console would fit right
in with the jobs I needed to do,” Marais said. “It was a no-brainer. After that
I added the Vi1 and Si Compact 32 to my inventory.”
Soundcraft and Studer flagship consoles have supercharged
Marius’ evolving large-scale productions. “An orchestra plays as one unit, so
if you have a good microphone, preamp and PA system, you should not have to
change the sound with lots of EQ. That’s what the Soundcraft and Studer
consoles give me—warm uncoloured sound. The Vistonics™ on the Vista and the
preamps are, in my opinion, what makes the console so unique.”
The sound engineer’s induction to the Soundcraft family
took place way back, with the launch of the Spirit Live 4, when the Freestate
Performing Arts Council bought one to use on a township outreach arts
programme. When Marais joined audio rental company Sound Stylists in 1997, he
worked on a Soundcraft SM12 (“still one of my favourite analogue consoles”) and
later a Soundcraft Series 5 and Series 5M. “They were groundbreaking consoles,
especially the 5M,” Marais remembered. “The one thing that has always stood out
about the Soundcraft products for me was how easy they are to operate. They are
quick, functional and very well laid out.”
Marius joined Matrix Sound in 2004, which became the
first South African company to invest in a Soundcraft Vi6. “I fell in love with
the Vi6 on the first gig,” he said. “The smooth, warm sounding preamps were
what first drew my attention—the features are unparalleled. From there it was
my desk of choice for all the shows that required a large format console.”
By 2009, Marais had formed his own company, Audio
Logic, with Wild & Marr providing an Si3 which he used as a sidecar
(alongside the Vi6) for big orchestra shows involving the giant Afrikaans music
production, “Skouspel” (which
translates to “Spectacular”). This
included a 64-piece orchestra, a 6-piece rhythm section, a guest band of
various sizes and huge numbers of vocalists.
“That was the main reason for acquiring the new Vista
5 SR,” said Marais. “With a correctly set-up PA, the desks sound just amazing. With
a Vi6 as a sub mix for the orchestra, I used a total of 184 channels on the
Studer. With the snapshot and cue function, even a large-scale production like
this was not as difficult as it used to be. The open platform provides the
perfect environment to design and execute any size production.”
Summing up, the Audio Logic man said he is delighted
with the investments made in the Soundcraft and Studer platforms. “With the
brilliant service I receive from Wild & Marr, I can only see a growing
relationship. As far as my clients are concerned, they just want good audio,
and with the right tools, half the job is done.”
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