Ringo Starr Takes Sonnet Fusion R400Q on Tour

Sonnet Technologies, Inc. announced that Ringo Starr and his 10th All-Starr band used two Fusion R400Q rackmount storage systems to capture concert audio for their 31-date summer tour, which concluded Aug. 2 at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. The Fusion R400Q yielded unwavering performance over the course of the tour, and its rugged, compact design provided valuable space and weight savings as the show moved from venue to venue across North America. Audio Analysts, a Colorado-based provider of concert touring audio systems, selected and provided the Sonnet Fusion R400Q to the tour.

"The R400Q lived up to its reputation as a solid storage solution well-suited to the rigors of tour recording and travel," said Brian Bavido, Front of House engineer for the All-Starr tour. "We covered a lot of ground in the United States and Canada and made our way over many bad roads, and not once did I need to reseat a drive or cable. The system was very transparent on tour, performing without a hitch throughout each show, and its 1U design proved convenient in use while occupying very little rack and transportation space."

The Fusion R400Q systems provided 2TB of mirrored storage for the 64 tracks of audio recorded to a Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel during each All-Starr concert and enabled sound engineers to use Digidesign Virtual Soundcheck workflow to refine live performance console settings by using a multitrack Pro Tools® session rather than actual band members. Along with the former Beatle, the 10th All-Starr ensemble included Colin Hay, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, and Gregg Bissonette.

Audio Analysts recommended the Fusion R400Q for the 10th All-Starr tour, having used the system successfully in previous tours for some of the entertainment industry’s best-known talent. In addition to protecting valuable concert audio from the troupe of legendary performers on the All-Starr roster, the Sonnet system recorded sound checks and jam sessions and served as a backup to the main audio truck brought in for the live recording at the Greek Theater. Audio recorded to the Fusion R400Qs will be preserved for archival purposes and also serve as a resource for CDs, DVDs, and Web releases.

The Fusion R400Q rackmount storage system offers up to 4TB of storage in four swappable SATA drive modules, supplying speed, versatility, and reliability in a variety of workflows. A high-performance SATA II port multiplier manages the enclosed drives, so Bavido was able to connect each enclosure to the SATA host controller card in his Power Mac G5 system using just a single locking data cable. Because the swappable drive modules are compatible across the Fusion line, and additional modules may be purchased separately, Bavido simply handed the drives over to the band manager at the end of the tour.