Biggest Ever Alpha For NCP Truck
Pennsylvania based New Century Productions (NCP) have purchased the world's biggest Alpha 100 console for NCP VII, a brand new HD truck.
The 226 channel console is configured as 96 stereo and 24 mono channels, and has a 72 fader control surface with a 24 fader sidecar. Based at NCP's New Hampshire field shop the truck will be used live on almost every broadcast.
"The Alpha represents the current state-of-the-art in a live, digital mixing desk," says Mike Mundt, Senior Vice President for Engineering, New Century Productions.
"This is our first digital mixing desk and the possibilites intrigued us. We are particularly excited about the idea of adding an expansion chassis to the standard control surface. We have learned that it just isn't possible to have enough faders on some of the really big shows we are faced with. Since our floor plan allowed us to put an expanding wall on the audio booth we had room for a larger console so we decided to take advantage of it. Calrec worked very closely with us to design and build a customize a very large mixing desk that could be easily taken apart for transport when we fold up the trailer.
"The desk will be used for all manner of sports events, of course, although we do just about anything that comes down the road…entertainment shows, politics (when in season), news coverage...anything and everything.
"We will also be offering the unit to ESPN for use on their Sunday Night Baseball show and I would imagine they will find other uses for it!"
NCP operate nation-wide, running a fleet of seven production trucks, six of which are 53' digital expandos and three of which are HD. The Alpha 100 is NCP's third Calrec console (the company already uses two 60 channel Q2's), but it is the first digital board NCP has installed.
"The Alpha has the horsepower we need for the biggest possible events and is backed by the proven history of reliability and serviceability that comes with owning a Calrec mixing desk," says Mike.
"But the greatest benefit of digital over analog is operational rather than technical. Large recurring events such as ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball are enormously complex for the Audio Operator. Often, they find themselves managing (literally) hundreds of audio sources all of which must be routed and grouped through the console for processing and control so that any given source can be available on a moment's notice as required by the progress of the event.
"Setting up the mixing desk to manage all this, week after week, show after show, is a time-consuming, laboriously detailed process.
"The great benefit a digital console brings to such an event is the ability to store all the intricate details of the console set-up so the operator can recall it even when the truck has been used for a different event in the meanwhile.
"Technical Directors running video switchers have long been able to store their complex panel set-ups and automate their transitions but this ability has always been outside the reach of audio operators running analog mixing desks.
"The Calrec Alpha brings a superb level of control to the audio environment; finally equalling that available to TDs with their video switchers."
New Century Productions is a small, family-owned company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. For more information visit the NCP website at www.NCPVideo.com, or email Mike directly a Mundt@NCPVideo.com.
