Yamaha Declares Marshall Law

When the company needed a high quality PA system for its demo / rehearsal facility, it required something that was capable of reproducing subtle dynamics as well as being turned up to 11.

The answer was Yamaha.

Such has been the dedication of Marshall to the rock cause that the company’s artist roster is literally an A to Z of the business - and the infamous ‘Marshall stack’ is an all-but essential backdrop for any self-respecting, guitar-toting rocker.

The company’s Bletchley headquarters includes a dedicated demonstration theatre, which doubles as a rehearsal facility for its endorsees. Wanting to upgrade this to a full pre-production rehearsal space, Marshall needed a high quality PA system to complement the stage’s backline.

“We needed a system that would truly complement our amplifiers and speaker cabinets,” says Luke Green, Marshall’s new product co-ordinator. “Not only in terms of volume, but also in clearly reproducing the subtler dynamics of vocals, drums and so on, as well as handling some serious bass frequencies!”

After looking at a range of options, Luke chose a Yamaha Installation Series system, comprising four IF2115/64 mid-highs with two IS1218 dual 18” subs, plus an IS1215 dual 15” sub beneath the stage. Stage monitoring comes from four IF2115AS, while system power is by two T5n and two PC9501n power amplifiers and an SP2060 speaker processor. Completing the Yamaha line-up is an M7CL-48ES mixing console and two SB168-ES stage boxes.

“The first artist to use the system wanted to bring in his own mixing console,” says Luke. “When he arrived we found it was an M7CL, so we immediately knew that we were on the right track!

“Since then we’ve used the system with a range of artists and the comments have been universally positive. It doesn’t dominate the room, but the sound blends seamlessly with that of the backline, giving our endorsees and clients the ideal audio experience. In addition, visiting engineers are almost all familiar with Yamaha mixing consoles, so they can get working immediately.”