> LIVE SOUND US TOURING “
The American market for
tour sound gear is actually very conservative.
David Schierman Peavey
in 1995, after seeing an increased convergence between digital video and audio. Its entry into the tour sound market came as recently as 2005, when it launched, under the now defunct Digidesign brand, the Venue live sound digital mixing console. By this time, Digidesign’s Pro Tools DAW had long been a recording industry standard and, by giving engineers the ability to use the software on the road as well as in the studio, the Venue console became an instant hit. Recently, the Venue D-Show console has been used to mix the Black Eyed Peas on their Energy Never Dies tour, which began in the US early in 2010. Audio services for the US leg of the tour were handled by Clair Brothers, which supplied a sound reinforcement system comprising numerous US brands including Crown and QSC amplifiers and proprietary Clair arrays. Front of house engineer Dave Haines was an early Venuephile and it is speculated that he may have racked up more hours on the console than any other engineer. The Profile model of the console could also be found on monitors, manned by Ryan Cecil, who makes extensive use of the board’s native plugins. “While the tour pays for the Antares, Waves and Crane Song plugins, I prefer to manage as few authorisations as possible,” Cecil says. “I find most of the plugins included with the Venue are very high quality.”
David Gibbons, vice president of live systems at Avid, thinks that the calibre of both touring acts and production companies in the States is a great asset to Avid. “Some of the largest touring acts in the entertainment business are based in the US, and it just so happens that some of the largest production and sound companies are based here, as well. In any business, you are likely to make better products if you can design them in close collaboration with your customers.” >
avid.com
JBL
54 I-Tech HD power amps hooked up for a Bruce Springsteen gig, courtesy of Audio Analysts
Another Harman-owned brand, JBL, like Crown, has a rich history of manufacturing in the US. Unlike Crown, however, the company began making its current product type, loudspeakers, from the outset and has worked on advancing the manufacture of them for over 60 years. Upgraded versions similar to one of its very first models, the D130 15-inch transducer, are still in production to this day. JBL’s principal tour sound product is the Vertec line array series, which combines the company’s latest generation of high- powered Differential Drive transducers, featuring dual voice coils and magnetic gaps, with proprietary line array technology. Vertec was designed directly in response to feedback from the rental sound industry, which called for a reduction in touring system size and complexity without loss of performance. Vertec line arrays recently took to the road alongside American comic Conan O’Brien and his band on the Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television tour, handled by Audio Analysts, for audiences of several thousand. The 30-city tour began in Oregon in April and finished in Atlanta in June.
The main PA system consisted of 24 JBL VT4889 full-size line array loudspeakers flown in left and right columns, 12 ground- stacked JBL VT4880 full-size, arrayable subwoofers and four JBL VT4887 compact line array elements placed as front fills. Crown I-Tech amplifiers and Harman’s HiQnet system architect software were also employed. “The reliable performance of the Vertec line arrays enabled us
to pre-design Conan’s touring system with confidence,” said Mario Leccese, VP of operations for Audio Analysts. The system is easy to set up and configure in different types of venues, which makes traveling across the nation and setting up each show a much easier task.”
David Scheirman of JBL Professional’s tour sound division highlights differences between American and international touring markets and the effect it has on JBL’s approach: “In the USA there are probably both more live performance venues that can support mid-sized to large audiences, with more major population centres having both a strong appetite for contemporary entertainment and the discretionary income to indulge in same, than any other single country in the world. “The American market for touring sound gear is actually very conservative as regards purchases and adopting new gear. Rental sound companies establish their infrastructure and then tend to stick with what works well for them over time. Some other nations seem to have professional users that change their gear more like clothing fashions, turning things over sooner and seeking to have and use ‘what’s new’ in a shorter timeframe.” >
jblpro.com
MEYER SOUND
Meyer Sound was established in 1979 by John and Helen Meyer, who saw a need to enhance the reliability and fidelity of loudspeakers, in line with the increases in power that they had seen throughout the 70s. Today, Meyer Sound has more than 200 employees at its headquarters in Berkley, California. This includes one of the largest engineering staffs, relative to company size, in the audio industry, which allows it to manufacture entirely in the US, employing hand craftwork to a considerable extent. Meyer Sound’s M series is widely considered to be an industry standard for touring production companies. M series products are hybrid systems that build upon classical principles of straight-line and curved-line sources to provide both very high power and fidelity in the full range of reinforcement applications, including large-scale long-throw outdoor events. Recent large-scale events involving the M series have included Britney Spears’ Circus Tour, on which a 360-degree system incorporated 64 Milo line array cabinets in four hangs of 16, along with two arrays of 16 Mica line array elements. Four more hangs of 12 M'elodie line array and four MSL-4
18 audioPRO December/January 2010/11
www.audioprointernational.com
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