Avid VENUE | S6L Rocks at Sing meinen Song – Das Schweizer Tauschkonzert
Widmer-Sound stages demanding live concerts for popular TV show using professional VENUE live sound systems, relying on the new VENUE | E6LX-256 engine to deliver 90 stage inputs and 32 individual in-ear mixes.
When it comes to demanding music productions, Sing meinen Song – Das Schweizer Tauschkonzert is one of the more outstanding formats on Swiss TV. This year's live production once again brought together numerous renowned artists to reinterpret their colleagues' songs in an intimate club atmosphere—live in front of an audience, which makes the acoustic implementation of this show complex, and the musical demands high. Widmer-Sound was responsible for the entire audio production, from front-of-house and monitoring to system integration. The event service provider from Brüttisellen once again relied on a proven tool for this project: the professional VENUE | S6L live sound system from Avid.
The event took place on April 10 and 11, 2025, at THE HALL near Zurich. Widmer-Sound not only supplied all the audio equipment but also handled the technical execution for FOH and monitor sound. From the outset, it was clear to those responsible that only a system offering maximum flexibility, comprehensive expandability, and fast operation would meet the show's high requirements.
Maximum flexibility in a minimal time frame
"Our productions are often extremely time-critical—especially with shows like this," explains Andy Widmer, CEO of Widmer-Sound and responsible for the FOH mix at Sing meinen Song. "We had around 30 minutes per artist to do the sound check and rehearse two to three songs. Every move has to be perfect."
At the same time, it was necessary to process changing setups of a total of approximately 90 stage inputs distributed across different acts and band constellations. In addition, there were 32 individual in-ear mixes, which made the project a more complex challenge in terms of the channels and audio buses required.
Two S6L systems and full integration
Two Avid VENUE | S6L-32D consoles were used for the show: one for FOH sound and the other for the monitor position. At the FOH position, a VENUE | E6L-144 engine, expanded with Waves, MADI, and MILAN, provided the necessary processing power. At the monitor position, an E6LX-256 engine with three MADI cards, Waves integration, and a MILAN interface was installed. Both systems were operated in a gain-sharing network. The setup was supplemented by two Stage 64 I/O racks for the stage signals and a Stage 32 I/O rack, which was used at the FOH position for playback and communication signals.
For the immersive in-ear mixes, the system was expanded with two Klang:Konductor units, which were integrated directly into the S6L via MADI. A total of 24 Shure AD-PSM and 16 Shure AD systems were also used for wireless signal transmission.
"S6L is our standard for all shows with more than 16 channels. We currently have six consoles in our inventory, and for good reason," says Andy Widmer. The main reason is the exceptional flexibility and speed with which the system can respond to different requirements. Michael Nöth, monitor engineer at Widmer-Sound, adds: "At the monitor desk, we were increasingly reaching the I/O limits, especially on productions with many musicians or additional technical feeds. The new E6LX engine with 256 channels gives us the necessary leeway here."
What made VENUE | S6L special for Widmer-Sound is the combination of flexible workflow, intelligent automation, and modular expandability. This is particularly evident in daily use in productions where different artists, setups, and requirements follow each other seamlessly within a very short time—as is the case with Sing meinen Song.
A key factor in the decision to use the system was the flexible snapshot system, which allows complex scene changes and sound designs to be precisely prepared and automated for each song and artist combination. This is complemented by the event functionality, which was used in the current production to switch communication channels and link cue processes to immersive sound monitoring, among other things.
The AutoMix function made things considerably easier. Whereas external systems such as a Dugan rack were previously required for this, the automatic mixing algorithm can now be activated directly in the console—a major advantage for the setup required with talkback situations and presentation.
In addition, the S6L's bus-to-bus routing offered a concept that worked quickly and reliably even in complex setups and opened up new possibilities for creative sound design and parallel processing—especially at the FOH, where effect buses and subgroups were used. Thanks to Automatic Delay Compensation (ADC), everything remained phase-stable without any complicated configuration.
Another indispensable feature was intuitive gain sharing within the AVB ring. True Gain technology allows multiple Avid VENUE | S6L systems to access the same microphone preamp simultaneously without having to coordinate manual gain adjustments. This greatly improves usability in a gain-sharing network because each system automatically receives an optimized, consistent signal level, regardless of the settings on other systems.
The modular expandability of the system via extensions such as Waves, MADI, and MILAN also played an important role. Waves plugins are an important part of live productions today, and Widmer-Sound is no exception. MADI is used to integrate external systems such as the L-ISA processor or Klang:Konductor.
VENUE | S6L also impressed with its seamless Pro Tools integration, which allowed a recording or virtual soundcheck environment to be set up in no time. In other projects with VENUE | S6L, Widmer-Sound frequently used pre-prepared sessions with multiple playlists and was able to trigger clicks, timecode, and backing tracks from Pro Tools, which proved to be a decisive advantage, especially for tightly scheduled show formats.
Last but not least, Widmer-Sound developed its own control integration between VENUE | S6L and Klang:Konductor. This allows the immersive mix to be remotely controlled from the S6L in sends-on-fader mode. "That was a game changer for our workflow at the monitor desk," says Michael Nöth.
All in all, the S6L system offered all the technical and creative possibilities required by today's music productions in a workflow that could be quickly and efficiently scaled and adapted to any new challenge.
Enthusiastic reactions and a setup for the future
The feedback after the show was overwhelmingly positive, both from the production team and the artists. "Despite the tight schedule, everything went smoothly. Our customers expect this speed and flexibility from us, and with the S6L, we can deliver it," Widmer summed up.
Looking ahead to upcoming projects, it's clear that investing in the expanded S6L infrastructure has paid off. Widmer-Sound is now perfectly positioned not only for productions such as Sing meinen Song, but also for the growing touring sector with new bands and ever-increasing demands on sound design and signal routing.
Systems used:
- 2 x Avid VENUE | S6L-32D (FOH & monitor)
- 1 x VENUE | E6L-144 engine (Waves, 2x MADI, MILAN)
- 1 x VENUE | E6LX-256 engine (Waves, 3x MADI, MILAN)
- 2 x Stage 64
- 1 x Stage 32
- 2 x Klang:Konductor
- 24 x Shure AD-PSM
- 16 x Shure Axient-D
This case study was conducted by our official Live Sound systems distributor in Germany, S.E.A. https://www.sea-distribution.com/en/live