Manchester-based audio specialist Tube UK is not only the first UK production company to take delivery of Yamaha’s Rivage PM7 console, but it has also become the first to use it on a UK show.

Following Yamaha’s hands-on Rivage system demo day at London’s Abbey Road Studios, Tube and Yamaha presented a similar hands-on workshop session at Manchester’s Albert Hall, where Tube is the resident audio systems provider. However, the PM7 system was used on a live show the previous night.

Singer Mali Hayes and her band were supporting Britain’s Got Talent winner Tokio Myers and her front of house engineer Johnny Wharton had the opportunity to mix the first UK show on a PM7.

“Rivage PM7 has many excellent features, the inclusion of the Rupert Neve Designs transformer circuitry and SILK processing through Yamaha’s Virtual Circuit Modelling shows that there is no compromise in quality,” said Tube UK managing director Melvyn Coote.

“The extensive i/o count also means it is properly multi-purpose and will fit a wide range of audio scenarios. All-in-all it is a great quality system at a good price and, of course, it is underlined by Yamaha’s rock solid reputation for reliability.”

“I have been a Yamaha digital console user from the beginning of my career and the Rivage PM7 felt how I’ve always wanted a Yamaha console to feel,” said Wharton.

“The familiar workflow means you can get straight into mixing with minimal set up time, but now with a lot of added bonuses. The ability to stack up a seemingly endless array of onboard plug-ins is backed up by the high power DSP, while the Neve Silk processing really made channels jump to the forefront of the mix when required while, all the time, keeping a true and natural sound. To have that option on every input is something special. I also used the Portico 5045 primary source enhancer on Mali’s vocal – a tool that I’m not sure how I’ll live without when going back to other consoles.”

The hands-on workshop was also successful, with Yamaha’s Tom Rundle, Tim Bamber, Chris Angell and Chris Irvine showing the Tube UK staff and freelance pool over the Rivage PM7 system, who were suitably impressed.

“All the feedback from both this and the Abbey Road session was extremely positive, so we know it’s a case of right product, right time and right place,” said Melvyn.

“We always said that when a PM5D replacement hit the market, we would buy into it because that product is legendary and we continue to enjoy great results from all the other Yamaha products that we have purchased over the years. The incredible reliability of the brand is essential for any busy rental and live-sound operation like us. The PM5D was absolutely bullet proof, so we’re expecting the same of RIVAGE PM7. We believe that it will prove itself as an equally awesome product.”