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The 25^th MOBO Awards was not only a milestone event for the Organisation, but also for SWG Events, who won the contract to provide sound reinforcement for the first time.

It was the production company’s first ever event at the OVO Arena Wembleyand gave them the opportunity to field the new flagship Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPL line array.

“This was a big win for us and a major milestone in the company’s history,” said SWG Head of Audio, Simon Purse. “It was to break into new markets like this that we purchased WPL. The new system coupled with our technical expertise is really driving SWG events into new territory.”

It was thanks to a long-standing relationship with MOBO’s production director, Marvellous Inc’s Rob Smalldon, that enabled them to step up, and Purse managed to assemble a crack team despite being on duty providing sound at a remote holiday village. This included Martin Audio ambassador Simon Honywill, who supervised at FOH and mixed acts who were unaccompanied by their own personal mix engineer.

Once Simon Purse had conducted a site meeting at the 12,500-cap OVO Arena, and received CAD diagrams of the venue, he was able to plot the rig without the need for additional measurements. The SWG man was also able to create the amp files offline, building all the DSP and IP addresses so that they could quickly and easily be transferred on site. “This meant we were up and running very quickly.”

Of course multi-act shows where television requirements take precedence rarely make things easy for the PA company, and this was no exception. Sightlines had to be cleared, loudspeakers discreet and positioned to avoid interference with camera tracking.

Based in Des Moines, Iowa, Conference Technologies Inc (CTI) recently completed a sound system integration at the nearby Grace Church—replacing the former PA, which had serviced their requirements for two decades, with the constant curvature technology of Martin Audio’s TORUS array.

This is the latest of a progressive series of AVL upgrades at the church undertaken by CTI over the past 10 years, and meets the high demands of a Southern Baptist church, whose lively worship ministry is based around bands, choirs and orchestras.

Led and overseen by worship pastor, Michael Hoskinson, the old PA, which had been in situ since the church opened, was providing inconsistent coverage across the 1200-seat fan-shaped auditorium and was clearly ready to be retired. “What we were looking for instead was a line array that would provide even coverage everywhere,” said the pastor. The previous system’s subs were also set upfront on the ground, and had been visually obtrusive. “And so we were looking for a system that would enable the subs to be flown, and at the same time provide better coverage.”

CTI’s VP Systems Integration, Tim Wright, who masterminded the integration, took over. “The frequency response from front to back and side to side was not good, and it had never been tuned to the room. As technology has advanced, and our needs have become more critical with regard to frequency response, so our expectations have changed.”

“Sonically I have always been impressed with the vocal quality of Martin Audio and TORUS”.

He made a wish list and discussed his requirements with Martin Audio North America. “We had a couple of runs with their design engineers and felt the coverage maps could still be improved. Then expectations leaned towards TORUS, and I knew that solution was spot on. I had heard the system at a trade show and knew exactly what it was capable of.

“Sonically I have always been impressed with the vocal quality of Martin Audio and TORUS is a level beyond that. I tested it with a CD and the clarity was fantastic; for the price point Martin Audio hits, this is second to none.”

Michael Hoskinson agrees. “From the other integrator options I was given we could have spent double the money for the same result.” In fact Wright himself had presented four different options, meeting different price points. “When I was asked which one I would recommend it was a no brainer,” he said. And having seen some sample videos of TORUS online Michael Hoskinson wasted no time in rubber stamping the decision.

One of the highlights of New York’s holiday season is the unveiling of the seasonal windows at the City’s premier department store, Bloomingdale’s.

Providing the sound for the opening show which marks the occasion, and sees crowds thronging the streets on the corner of 59th Street andLexington Avenue in midtown Manhattan,is Frost Productions. The service company’s association with Bloomingdale’s extends back to 2013, but this year the store upped the ante, featuring Billy Porter and a full five-piece band, spread across a 32ft stage set in front of the feature windows.

Bloomingdale’s theme for its flagship store this year was ‘Best Holiday Ever’ and Frost Productions’ Audio Lead, Mike Alvarez, had no hesitation in specifying a Martin Audio MLA Mini in four hangs for the 20-minute show, knowing they could get the sound exactly where they wanted for the flamboyant stage performer and actor.

The low profile of MLA Mini enabled him to ground stack two MLA Mini rigs, underpinned with WS218X 2×18 subwoofers in the centre, without obscuring sightlines. At the same time, two outer hangs of four MLA Miniwere pole-mounted to an MSX 1×15 sub, while their much-deployed Martin Audio CDD-LIVE 8’s provided additional satellite fills and FOH near fields.

As back-up, the sound designer also provided three of his favoured Martin Audio XE300 wedges—two downstage centre for a stereo mix and one as a cue wedge for the monitor engineer. “The monitor wedges are among my favourites,” he said. “The fact the XE300 is coaxial is so great for pattern control, and with my choice of mics it delivered a lot of gain before feedback.”

“The coverage and response across the listening area was truly optimal”

The other benefit of using Martin Audio’s ground-breaking MLA technology was its unique controllability. Alvarez, who designed the system and also optimised the PA, turned immediately to the ‘Hard Avoid’ function. “This feature allowed me to provide coverage for guests across the street without having the PA hit the surrounding walls and windows of the buildings and cause slapback.

“The coverage and response across the listening area was truly optimal, without the annoyance of unwanted audio being where I didn’t want it: great results for our guests and the neighbours as well.

“You would never have known a concert was taking place a couple of blocks away, and a friend of mine—also a few blocks away—didn’t even realise there was a free show that evening! There were no complaints from NYPD and no stoppages for soundcheck during the day … just happy reactions from everyone who was able to check out the performance.” Foremost among these was a VIP area at the front.

There were no complaints from NYPD and no stoppages for soundcheck during the day … just happy reactions from everyone who was able to check out the performance.” Foremost among these was a VIP area at the front.

Mike Alvarez was also delighted that Porter’s production team had invested full confidence in Frost Productions, entrusting them with the choice of Martin Audio PA and DiGiCo consoles, as well as provision of all personnel. Working with the systems designer was FOH engineer Chris Lapke—stationed at the stage left control position—Carl Lund on monitors, Matthew Duane (PA tech) and Ethan Jose and Johnn Fedor (stage techs).

The fact that Frost Productions have been working with MLA Mini for the past six years made it a logical choice for this one, following in [Martin Audio Product Support Engineer] Joe Lima’s footsteps. “Joe was the first to use this technology at Bloomingdale’s, and ever since, we’ve been growing this system to incorporate more Martin Audio products every year. The XE300 was the missing puzzle piece this year,” continued Alvarez.

“For us Martin Audio isn’t just another brand,” he concluded. “There are gems in the entire catalogue—from the line arrays to the point sources, to the monitor wedges. As we are a niche company, specialising in events in places where there aren’t normally shows—such as zoos, museums, pop-ups etc—Martin Audio is perfect because it’s a lot about focusing the sound where I want it; having a compact speaker design is great for hitting the listening area without the fear of unwanted spill or reflections.

“I’m driving Martin Audio from a design perspective, and I’d prefer creating a better listening experience by focusing sound at the audience rather than throwing as far as I can.”

Photo personnel –

Front row Left to Right: Ethan Jose, Mike Alvarez, Johnn Fedor, Matthew Duane, Chris Lapke

Back row second from Left: Carl Lund

Portugal’s ever-popular Porto Drum Show recently relocated to the impressive Alfândega do Porto for its fourth edition.

Having successfully supported the event previously, Martin Audio’s Portuguese distributor, Sons Do Marques were back in action, featuring a state-of-the-art Wavefront Precision (WPS) PA for the main demonstration space.

The event brings together a collection of world class drummers for one evening, including Dave Weckl (Chick Corea, Mike Stern, Dave Weckl Band), Gergo Borlai (Al di Meola, Frank Gambale, Bob Mintzer), Derrick Mackenzie (Jamiroquai), Miguel Lamas (Dany Martin, Carlos Rivera) and Mike Terrana (Axel Rudie Pell, Tony Macalpine, Ywngie Malmsteen). All featured in the drum clinic on the demo stage throughout the course of the evening.

The show itself is split across three spaces of equal size: one for demonstrating drum brands, one for artist drummers’ shows, and one exclusively for Portuguese artists.

“We have always been able to place so much trust in Martin Audio equipment, that we have remained really relaxed about that.”

InterBEE 2022, Japan’s largest trade forum for broadcast media and entertainment, attracted many of the leading audio manufacturers and distributers.

Held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba over three days, it would be the first time in three years that Martin Audio Japan was able to show off its leading systems, following the COVID-19 pandemic. Many visitors gathered, filled with the confidence that business is now in recovery again.

Martin Audio Japan (MAJ) joined forces with prominent sound sales/distribution company, Audio Brains, and displayed hot products like TORUS and WPS, as well as wedge monitors and installation speakers—all of which attracted non-stop visitors to their stand.

“FOLLOWING THE DEMONSTRATION, WE RECEIVED MANY COMPLIMENTS FROM VISITORS WHO ATTENDED. I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TROUBLE TO COME AND LISTEN”.

Speaking Spirit Ministries of Richmond, VA is a non-denominational Christian ministry, which in the space of nine years has expanded to three campuses, offering over 100,000 sq. ft of worship space.

Known as Glen Allen Campus, the Ministry’s latest facility opened recently, and again RTW Media were brought in by pastors, Fred and Inger Wyatt to provide a complete AVL technology infrastructure. Incorporating projection and control, the PA this time was based around a central hang of Martin Audio’s premium Wavefront Precision line array.

“We were fortunate to be able to start with a clean slate,” stated RTW operations manager, Zack Guida. “We knew what they had in their other facilities, so we wanted to match that end user experience, but with a little latitude to design the speaker we wanted. Our engineering team had the flexibility to design the ideal integrated system for the room.”

And he knew instinctively what that speaker would be, having previously experienced a WPS demo, courtesy of Martin Audio’s Northeast Regional Sales Manager, Martha Callaghan. “The demo consisted of a nine box hang with cardioid subs and it just sounded great. I was so impressed with how warm the boxes sounded. Everyone can produce a loud line array, but it was the warmth of the vocals here that really impressed.”

“The requirement here was to handle everything from the midweek bible studies and vocal presentation to high impact worship, with church bands.”

The client went with the recommendation of RTW who designed the system as a single mono central hang of five WPS elements, with an SX118 subwoofer set behind, and two further SX118 at stage level. The enclosures are finished in white to maintain the visual aesthetic of the new building.

Zack Guida explained the thinking. “The roof is an A-frame, so we have set the array as high as possible. The flexibility to have one sub in the air, to ensure even coverage, and then a further two to provide high impact from the stage where necessary is fantastic.

Further economies are achieved by being able to power the system from a single Martin Audio iKON iK42 4-channel process-controlled amplifier, configured in 2-box resolution.

Guida says as far as the client is concerned the system “checks all the boxes.” He explained, “The pastor was there with his audio lead when we tuned the system, and they were particularly impressed that a single array would provide the worship experience they were looking for.”

As for that tuning, they set up using SMAART and measurement mics and then did an EASE visualisation. “We let the software tell us what we needed, where—and the installation matched the model exactly.” Further tweaking was carried out in Martin Audio’s advanced DISPLAY optimisation and control software.

RTW Media has accomplished four impressive installations with Martin Audio systems in the past 12 months alone, specifying both their WPS and CDD series. Zack Guida is particularly delighted with this latest implementation. “The [listening] experience in the front row is exactly the same as in the back,” he exclaims. “It was very important to Pastor Fred for members in every seat of the audience to have the same worship experience. This was accomplished to precision with the WPS from Martin Audio.”