Founded in 2000, the Razzmatazz concert center is synonymous with Barcelona's musical history. It's one of the city's top venues for culture and entertainment and its five concert halls have featured some of the biggest names in the business, including the likes of Coldplay, Kanye West, Blur, The Strokes, and Arctic Monkeys.
But, like many other industries, the live music world doesn't stand still. It's constantly evolving, which means Razzmatazz has to do the same. Investment in new equipment has to be an ongoing process, particularly in the modern environment with new technologies coming to the fore. Today's artists have increasingly high technical demands and productions are becoming more challenging in terms of audio quality and installation complexity.
These were the key drivers for Razzmatazz as it set about upgrading its production console and audio equipment, with the aim of delivering the best possible sound experience to artists and audiences alike.
A world-class console for world-class artists
The process started when Razzmatazz recognized that it needed to replace its Avid VENUE | Profile—that had been in use for over a decade—to meet the increasing and variable technical needs of their artists.
"The main premise was to get a new console for the main hall that would be widely accepted by live sound engineers," explains Jaume Fernandez, audio manager at Razzmatazz. "First, we had to choose the brand, then the model. Sound quality, flexibility, adaptability, reliability, compatibility, and even expandability were just some of the elements that we had to consider. Of course, the economic aspect was also important."
Working with Avid's Spanish partner SeeSound, Razzmatazz selected the Avid VENUE | S6L-32D live sound system, which offers the mixing efficiency, creativity, and flexibility needed to meet the demands of any production. Featuring 32 faders for maximum tactile control without banking and four touchscreens that deliver comprehensive visual feedback, Razzmatazz is now able to offer visiting engineers a best-in-class console with which to mix their artists.
"Avid products—especially all varieties of the S6L console—offer me a reliable, comfortable platform with an excellent sound, allowing me to provide musicians with the quality they demand," adds Fernandez. "And perhaps most importantly, it delivers the best quality audio to the public."
A console for all performances
Razzmatazz opted for an E6L-144 processing engine for the system, which offers 144 input channels that can easily cover all of the venue's concerts and corporate events, while its excellent sound quality and unrivaled processing capabilities provide transparent and clear mixing for performances of all sizes.
"I love the flexibility that the surface offers," notes Fernandez. "I can run the console in whatever way I deem appropriate and design the sound depending on the specific show. In my opinion, there's no surface as versatile and easy to adapt as the S6L."
The sweet sound of success
Thanks to Avid live sound solutions, Razzmatazz is able to create bigger and better productions that meet the constantly shifting demands of artists and delight audiences in equal measure. The performance, flexibility and compatibility benefits of the Avid VENUE | S6L-32D console combined with the valuable support from SeeSound have enabled the concert center to take its shows to a new level.
But the partnership hasn't stopped there. Razzmatazz and SeeSound have also joined forces to run a series of monthly seminars on the S6L console, giving attendees the opportunity to expand their technical knowledge and share ideas with recognized sound engineers.