Live in New York: Digico and L-Acoustics Take Center Stage for SNL50
In the whirlwind world of television, a 50th anniversary is a scarcely achieved milestone. So, when Saturday Night Live (SNL) prepared to celebrate its golden anniversary, nothing less than perfection was acceptable. The diamond in the crown of SNL's multi-event commemoration was SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, as well as select IMAX Theaters at Regal Cinemas, on February 14. The star-studded performances were powered by L-Acoustics and DiGiCo.
SNL, as much recognized for its musical performances as for its comedy, has seen performances by icons of every era, as well as a launchpad for new voices. Artists returning to recreate the magic for this singular event included Bonnie Raitt, Cher, Dave Grohl, David Byrne, Jack White, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, and Ms. Lauryn Hill. Appearances by SNL comedy alumni counted John Mulaney, Dave Chappelle, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Robert De Niro, with the ensemble hosted by one-time cast member Jimmy Fallon, who performed The Blues Brothers' hit, "Soul Man."
Mark Dittmar, VP of sales for Firehouse Productions, which handled the live-sound reinforcement for the three-hour event, put it bluntly, "For my career and for that of everyone who worked on that show, we knew we were not going to be around for SNL's 100th anniversary. So it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work on a show that has absolutely crazy amounts of music, and at the same time huge amounts of sketch comedy, musical comedy, and dialog. Every note, every lyric, every word of every bit had to sound great and be totally intelligible to everyone in the house. And it was." This sonic nirvana was a result of a combination of DiGiCo consoles at front of house and monitors, and an L-Acoustics concert sound system specially designed for the event.
[The Backstage Buzz]
Firehouse Productions brought in some serious heft for the show: two each DiGiCo Quantum3 consoles for monitors and Quantum7 consoles for front of house, backed up by a dozen SD-Racks. These juggernauts handled a mind-boggling total of seven 56-channel splitters between house and broadcast sound.
The event's L-Acoustics loudspeaker system was no less impressive, comprising two hangs of 14 K2 each, one hang of 16 Kara II for the center channel, two hangs of nine KS28 subs each, twin stacks of three KS28 for ground subs, 16 Kiva for front-fills, and four ARCS II for out-fills. The system, designed using L-Acoustics Soundvision software and managed by LA Network Manager on a Milan-AVB network, accommodated a turntable stage that enabled one artist to perform as the next one was setting up, with interstitial comedy and sketch performances taking place on a third performance area downstage left.
[The Soundscape of the New Era]
The pairs of Quantum7 and Quantum3 desks were split between each half of the turntable, with the third stage sharing their worksurfaces. The DiGiCo consoles' flexible workflows gave the mixers - FOH engineers Jason Crystal, Jamie Pollock, and Dan Gerhart, with Mike Bove and César Benítez mixing monitors - what they needed to mix a diverse range of music genres and performances on the fly.
"DiGiCo is the industry standard for a lot of performers, and the power of these desks is enormous," said Dittmar. "The Quantum7 is unparalleled with the number of inputs and outputs it can handle. We had a total of seven 56-channel splitters feeding all of the I/O SD-Racks for this, so there was a huge amount of inputs and outputs that were being shared among these desks and at monitors, feeding over 40 in-ear mixes and 30 monitor wedge mixes, plus three sets of stereo side-fills. It was a huge amount of equipment and it takes a very big desk to accomplish that. Our engineers who were mixing the show are all intimately familiar with the DiGiCo line, specifically the Quantum desks, and they're very fast on them. That power is what allows them to work so fast."
Crucially, said Dittmar, the DiGiCo consoles' onboard processing contributed greatly to the production's efficiency. "That's what keeps us from having to patch in a lot of extra hardware, which slows the programming," he explained. "The more you have outboard, the slower everything goes. The more stuff that you can keep in the desk, the faster they can patch and make changes and do what they need to do."
While data on Lawo's role in the SNL 50 concert is limited, Lawo is known for its high-quality mixing consoles, such as the mc² series, which are often used in live events for their reliability and precision. The L-Acoustics loudspeaker system, given the challenge of filling an iconic space like Radio City Music Hall and ensuring clarity and intelligibility for both dialog and music, performed admirably. Overall, the combination of DiGiCo and Lawo consoles, along with likely contributions from L-Acoustics for sound reinforcement, ensured a high-quality audio experience for the anniversary concert.
In the acclaimed world of entertainment, the SNL 50: Homecoming Concert showcased a commendable fusion of events, features, and technology, with music being a significant aspect. The star-studded concert, held at Radio City Music Hall and select IMAX Theaters, brought together legendary artists and new voices, many of whom revisited their musical roots for the special event.
Among the notable characters, DiGiCo consoles and L-Acoustics sound systems played a crucial role in delivering an unparalleled audio experience for the three-hour concert. The combination of these technological wonders helped ensure that every sound, whether it was a lyric, a note, or a dialogue, was clear and intelligible to the audience.
