The Grand Ole Opry, the world's longest running live radio program and home to the best in country music, entertains millions of fans around the globe each week. This year, the audio for broadcasts from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville got a boost from a newly-installed 130-channel Euphonix System 5 all-digital audio mixing console.

Every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, the Grand Ole Opry features 20 artists a night. Engineer Steve Marcantonio now mixes the Opry's "Grand Ole Opry Live" television show on the System 5 while simultaneously recording 48 tracks to a Nuendo system. These tracks are then posted on the console each week for re-purposing the performances.

Marcantonio is delighted with the new board, saying, "We've been running with the System 5 since the Opry returned from winter performances at the historic Ryman Auditorium to the Grand Ole Opry House in March. It's much easier to stage the show now, thanks to the SnapShot Recall and the Euphonix Layout feature. The System 5 really makes a difference in a situation such as ours in which there are so many quick changes. The bottom line is that we have improved the sound, as I can concentrate more on the mix, letting the System 5 handle the complex routing and bussing requirements. The console can also be switched to posting the show during the week without losing all my live settings thanks again to the SnapShot Recall system."

The Opry moved from the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville to its current location at the 4,400 seat Grand Ole Opry House in 1974. A uniquely American experience for more than 78 years, the Opry can be heard on 650 WSM-AM, Stream 137 on Sirius Satellite Radio, and www.opry.com. The syndicated weekly program "America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend" airs on more than 200 country radio stations across the country and on the Armed Forces Radio Network, and "Grand Ole Opry Live" airs each weekend on GAC: Great American Country and CMT Canada.