For he remembers when Pope Benedict XVI visited Germany in 2006, a large deployment of Optocore devices was used to feed signals to around 100 loudspeaker towers distributed across the location.
By 2010 he was using the German fiber manufacturer's DD4ME MADI devices during a Pet Shop Boys tour-mainly because at the time DiGiCo SD8 consoles didn't have built-in Optocore connectivity. At the same time, the use of MADI connections, converted to Optical MADI over a multicore distance, wasn't always 100% reliable, and so we had to look at a better solution and the use of DD4's ticked all boxes, he said.
Holger Schwark had originally set out as a musician at young age, before gradually moving into sound engineering, undertaking a broad range of Tonmeister duties over the years, covering many different musical genres, before making Pet Shop Boys his own 18 years ago-two years before the Pope's visit.
With so many tours of duty with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe now under his belt, how did he constantly manage to keep the sound so fresh. And how did he approach the latest Greatest Hits tour?
The answer is that he merges tried and trusted effects with new platforms. Like anyone long in the business, I keep the tricks-the processing and effects that have proven to be effective-but we do update the tools and technical platforms slightly. And this included a move up to Optocore's powerful M12 MADI switch along the way.
He explains, We have used a mostly digital signal flow on stage for a long time, but now we use MADI as a signal transport even more than before, as with the M12's it is totally fine to have multiple MADI sources, some carrying many and some only a few channels of audio, he explains. This gives him so much more flexibility.
The set-up is an interesting one to put it mildly, with seven computers in use on stage for generating the live audio signals. Keyboardist Chris Lowe and three additional band members each use a Mac, with virtual electronic instruments and sample engines, plus a playback computer for additional tracks, and then some redundant backup machines. They are all equipped with RME MADI interfaces.
One M12 is used at stage left to collect all these MADI signals and compose a 104ch MADI stream that is seen by our DiGiCo Quantum 338 consoles as a DD2/DD4 signal, with one 64ch and one 40ch unit. Another M12 is used at FOH to interface with an Avid ProTools HDX system and a DiGiCo UB MADI interface, using a total of 128ch across three MADI ports.
At this end, it could have been done using the console's MADI ports, but thinking redundancy, we feel you should never tour with only one of a kind with any mission-critical equipment, and having the second M12 sitting in the ProTools rack in normal conditions reduces the amount of cables that need to get plugged and unplugged during the tour to just one more HMA cable, rather than multiple MADI lines again improving reliability.
The M12s are supplied by the band's long-term vendors (and Optocore partner) Capital Sound, now part of the Solotech Group-who own sufficient M12s to meet production's requirements.
In addition, their d&b KSL PA system, also provided by Capital Sound, is driven via a second Optocore loop (independent of the DiGiCo/M12 loop). This is built around three X6R interfaces-one at FOH and one each at the stage right and stage left amp racks.
Optocore, says Holger, have supported him at every stage on his journey. It is a great company, full of skilled and lovely people, and I have always felt well supported, with any real world' questions that may have been brought to the table.
And their solutions have proven to be rock solid-just so long as all fibre connections are properly seated, he says. Since the more fragile and dust-sensitive ST or SC connectors aren't normally unplugged during a tour, the amount of maintenance required is really minimal.
Finally, top of his Optocore wish list, that he hopes the Munich-based network pioneers will adopt in the future, would be the mixed use of 48 and 96 kHz sample rates within a single system. Switchable 48/96 SRC per port would be fantastic, as using 96k is more and more becoming common in live sound environments, mainly for the lower monitoring latency, but many computer-based solutions like virtual instrument plug-ins are still far from being stable in 96k. Being able to connect those 48k sources to a 96k system would make the audio world even better!
Europe Stories
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
19 Dec 2025
VEON's Mobilink Microfinance Bank Launches Islamic Banking Oper...
19/12/2025
The six-part drama, set in a close-knit Welsh town fractured by an unspeakable c...
19/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz drives the future of mobility at CES 2026 At the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rohde & Schwarz will present a powerful lineup o...
19/12/2025
RT is proud to return to the RDS to support the 2026 Stripe Young Scientist & T...
18/12/2025
Canada's largest indoor arena has transformed its live production capabilities with a full ST 2110 infrastructure and Calrec's compact Argo S console. S...
18/12/2025
Long-term agreement includes the SES SCORE platform and hybrid distribution worldwide to deliver more than 5,000 hours of golf tournaments annually featuring th...
18/12/2025
18 Dec 2025
VEON Upgraded to Nasdaq Global Select Market, Enhancing Investor Visibility Dubai, December 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital o...
18/12/2025
Thursday 18 December 2025
Sky Sports remains the exclusive home of the Masters ...
18/12/2025
Using the additive process of 3D printing, layer after layer gets printed until an object is as close to the final shape needed as possible. Historically, machi...
18/12/2025
In 2025, RT proudly supported 185 arts and cultural events across the island of Ireland, reflecting significant growth since the scheme was re-launched in 2014...
18/12/2025
RT Sports Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
18/12/2025
RT lyric fm presents a very special Winter Solstice edition of Ambient Orbit, l...
18/12/2025
At 7.45pm on 1st January 1926, the precursor to RT , then 2RN, delivered the fledgling new Irish state's first public radio transmission. From those first c...
18/12/2025
December 18 2025, 05:30 (PST) The Movie Experience SLO Becomes First U.S. Exhib...
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Wuppertal December 17, 2025
Riedel Builds Global Communication and Commentary ...
17/12/2025
December 17 2025, 17:00 (PST) Dolby and LG Unveil a New Era of Home Audio With ...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Cape Town, November 13, 2025 - SES and International artist and humanitarian, Fo...
15/12/2025
Luxembourg, December 15, 2025 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Abra Group launched fast and reliable multi-orbit inflight connectivity service on t...
15/12/2025
15 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan Delivers First Starlink Direct to Cel...
15/12/2025
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor finds himself the topic of year's cracker jokes
Oasis, David Harbour, Celebrity Traitors and Angela Rayner all feature in this y...
15/12/2025
Comscore Expands Cross-Platform Campaign Measurement to Include Audio and Social New capabilities strengthen cross-platform campaign reporting suite; CCR rebran...
15/12/2025
RT .ie has reached one billion page views this year and is on track to finish 2025 2% ahead of last year. Average time spent on the site is up 3% on 2024, with ...
12/12/2025
Last month, Spotify announced a new collaboration with the ATP Tour, the global governing body of men's professional tennis, aimed at bringing the next gene...
12/12/2025
Friday 12 December 2025
Ted is back! Seth MacFarlane's live-action comedic ...
12/12/2025
Uachtar n na h ireann, Catherine Connolly visited RT Raidi na Gaeltachta's...
12/12/2025
Ireland AM host Eric Roberts has been revealed as the sixth contestant taking to...
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
For he remembers when Pope Benedict XVI visited Germany in 2006, a large deployment of Optocore devices was used to feed signals to around 100 loudspeaker towers distributed across the location.
