New BBC OB makes debut at Glastonbury Festival

A new Outside Broadcast (OB) vehicle, commissioned by BBC Radio Resources on behalf of BBC Radio & Music, will make its debut appearance at the Glastonbury Festival at the end of June.
Last year, the BBC installed a 72-channel SL 9000 J Series console in its Golders Green Hippodrome and the choice of the same console for the new OB vehicle will provide the necessary familiarity for operational staff who work at both venues. For live music applications, it was also felt that Solid State Logic's (SSL) ergonomic control surface provided the most satisfactory solution.
Dubbed Sound 1, the new truck is equipped to cover the largest live music events, from rock and pop festivals to classical concerts, and is fitted with a 48-channel SL 9000 J Series SuperAnalogue console. Specifications for the coach-building and technical fit-out were prepared by a team from BBC Technology Professional Solutions, who also managed the overall project. Testing and commissioning was undertaken by the sound engineering staff at the Kendal Avenue, OB base.
The new OB vehicle is a 14mx2.5m trailer, divided into three compartments: an apparatus area for power supplies; a mixing area housing two consoles; and a recording area for multi-tracks, DATs, CD-Rs and communications equipment.
The mixing area is equipped with the SL 9048 J Series console fitted with eight-channel surround monitoring, together with a 32-channel submixer that will be used at large venues. In the mixing area, main monitoring is via PMC MB2-S active loudspeakers, with Excel 201s used for nearfield and surround monitoring.
Recording to stereo is to DAT machines and the vehicle is wired for duplicate 96-track recording, although it is envisaged that most multi-track work will be done on a single Sony 3348 machine, with a pair of Tascam MX2424 hard-disk recorders used to cover reel changes. The 32x32 audio matrix is provided to rapidly route stereo sources and destinations, although a sizeable Bantam patch is also provided in the recording area.
Sound 1, which will also be available for external hire, is fully air-conditioned and has UPS backup for several minutes - essential as power loss is a characteristic risk at OB venues.
BBC, www.bbc.co.uk
Solid State Logic, www.solid-state-logic.com
(GMcG)