Famed Jazz Musician cherry picks VUE al- and h-Class Loudspeakers for German Tour
Internationally acclaimed Jazz trumpeter and pianist Sebastian Studnitzky, who recently won Germany’s prestigious Echo Jazz 2015 Award in the National Brass Instruments category, chose VUE Audiotechnik loudspeakers to deliver audiophile-quality sound for his recent tour through Germany. Studnitzky and his varying size groups, ranging from the full Memento Orchestral Experience to the smaller Studnitzky Trio — and featuring the Berliner Camerata String Quartet — performed in 150- to 1,100-seat venues with VUE as its exclusive loudspeaker of choice.
Established as one of Germany’s premier internationally-acclaimed jazz musicians, Studnitzky’s scope of music extends far beyond traditional, incorporating elements of acoustic and electric jazz with classical, EDM and pop. The diverse nature of his musical performances demands a PA system capable of reproducing the subtleties and dynamics generated on stage from a wide variety of acoustic and electronic instruments. To account for the eclectic sound, Studnitzky and his team relied on VUE Audiotechnik’s al-Class and h-Class components in a stereo configuration, with two arrays of four al-4 subcompact acoustic elements, along with two h-Class hs-20 dual 10-inch ACM™ subwoofers per side. A pair of h-8 high definition, full range systems were used on stage for electronic instruments.
Studnitzky first heard VUE Audiotechnik loudspeakers in December 2014 when he was performing warm-up shows with Memento at the Neue Heimat, a hipster Cultural Center in Berlin. “I was impressed with the extreme linearity of the high-frequency reproduction as well as the system’s light weight and compact size,” he says. “VUE Audiotechnik was able to deliver the wide dynamic range necessary for my string section and grand piano, as well as the punch I needed for my laptop beats. What’s more, VUE helped us achieve the highest sound quality possible, whether we were in smaller venues or in large philharmonic halls. The superb sound quality had been noted on several times by both artists and audiences throughout the tour.”
All loudspeakers in the VUE h-Class range are active with onboard amplification, thus eliminating the need to carry additional amp racks, removing guesswork from system processing, and greatly reducing setup time. The beauty of the a-Class al-4 line array elements is that only one VSeries V4 amp is required to drive both arrays of four two-way active boxes. The al-4 and the h-8 both feature one-inch exit compression drivers with Truextent® beryllium diaphragms, providing high-frequency extension and linearity that cannot be obtained through use of traditional aluminum or titanium driver designs.
“If you break down the musical style of what Sebastian does, it is very unique,” explains Holger Kuno de Buhr, Managing Director, VUE Europa. “You have Sebastian playing piano and trumpet, Paul Kleber playing acoustic bass, a classical influence of the Berliner Camerata String Quartet is then mixed in with modern EDM-style beats. This music demands the best possible quality in terms of the high-frequency response and system linearity with a punchy dynamic low-end.”
Studnitzky’s performance at the 1,100-seat Berlin Kammermusiksaal (chamber music hall) employed his main touring system augmented with additional VUE Audiotechnik line array components. “We had a larger audience area with an almost 360-degree seating to cover for this performance.” says Kuno de Buhr. “So, we added two more arrays of four al-4’s, plus hs-25 Dual 15-inch ACM™ Subwoofers.” The hs-25 features VUE Audiotechnik’s patent pending Active Compliance Management technology combining band-pass and vented alignments into a single enclosure taking frequency response down to 32Hz.
“Sebastian has a great understanding of how his music should sound in live context,” adds Kuno de Buhr, “and this is why he trusts VUE Audiotechnik.”
High Resolution Images:
Image 1 Witten, Sebastian Studnitzky on Trumpet
Image 2 Harzburg, Germany
Image 3 Berlin Kammermusiksaal
Image 4 Witten, Germany
All images © Sevi Tsoni