Immersive KLANG Monitoring delivers clarity and control for The World of Hans Zimmer

The show connects audiences with Hans Zimmer’s music in a uniquely intimate way, thanks to the theatre settings, the size of the orchestra and the accompanying visual effects. Stroehlein uses a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and manages four groups with 12 immersive in-ear mixes for the band. There are also 10 stereo mixes for the orchestra, delivered directly. With so many soloists, it is not possible to simply duplicate mixes, so the KLANG system proved indispensable, offering a consistent listening environment for the band, and individualized mixes for soloists and vocalists. 

“Once we started working out the input list, we knew sound checks would need to be fast and efficient,” he continues. “With a high number of soloists, rehearsal time is tight. They don’t have space in their schedule for long sound checks. Usually, we’ll get the main orchestra, who are using a separate stereo system happy first, then move on to the soloists. But with KLANG everyone was happy quickly, making the whole experience much smoother. Our process is much more like a theatre show, it’s a much more organic experience.”

The World of Hans Zimmer, An immersive symphony. The Theatre Experience is a brand-new show that presents Zimmer’s iconic scores in a fully orchestrated format in a much more connected and intimate format, it has been a huge success. Stroehlein had used KLANG before and welcomed the chance to work with it again, as his previous experiences made him familiar with the benefits KLANG offers.  He encourages engineers to really immerse themselves in KLANG and take time to explore all its benefits.

“I had read case studies and reviews about KLANG,” Stroehlein recalls. “People said you could hear everything more clearly, but I didn’t truly get it until I loaded a multi-track recording and played around, that’s when I really understood the difference. Take a track you know well and listen.  You won’t only hear the instruments more clearly but also understand lyrics better. That helps explaining the benefits to musicians.”

A surprising benefit of KLANG’s immersive mixes compared to a stereo mix, is how they affect instrument processing. Each source responds differently, often needing less EQ and gain adjustment. Stroehlein has noticed this across the board, but the improvement is most dramatic with drums and percussion.

“Shifting positions of the individual parts of the kit in a mix, improves clarity and presence, but you lose the harshness,” Stroehlein explains. “Placing the kick drum behind the player’s head makes it clearly audible, but less punchy, this worked really well for the bassist. It blended naturally into the mix while retaining its natural impact, meaning that you also gain space for other drums, without changing levels or EQ. I noticed that if there is EQ or compression on the kit in a stereo mix, you won’t need that in a KLANG mix.”

Stroehlein’s musical background helps him understand the score and create time-saving base-mixes for his artists. It is a system that works well with the DMI-KLANG integration offered with a DiGiCo console, and another important factor when sound-checks are condensed into a tight timeframe.

I love the tactile feel of working with faders,” he concludes. “It’s easy to implement KLANG because so many German musicians have used KLANG before and are happy with it. For this show, the mixes have settled in very quickly, we set them once and never touch them again. With a show this intimate yet cinematic, that is a very big tick from me!