Author: ContentAdmin

Ryogoku Kokugikan stands as the sole dedicated edifice to the revered art of Sumo, Japan’s national sport, steeped in historical significance. The origins of Sumo trace back some 2000 years, with its current form crystallizing around 300 years ago.

This cherished national sport has been passed down through the generations and firmly rooted in Japanese culture. Thus, the name Ryogoku Kokugikan is renowned, resonating with every Japanese, as Sumo wrestlers diligently train here, each harboring dreams of hoisting the prestigious gift cup. Being the very emblem of Japan’s national identity, the revered His Majesty the Emperor himself occasionally graces the arena with his presence, with a special seat reserved for his honor.

Apart from the traditional Sumo tournaments, Ryogoku Kokugikan serves as a versatile venue, hosting a plethora of events, from professional wrestling bouts to musical concerts and corporate gatherings.

Here’s the insight shared by Mr. Akashio regarding the audio system:

“Sumo necessitates an audio system capable of faithfully reproducing a wide range of sounds, from the subtle to the thunderous, resonating within the wrestling ring. Ensuring that even those seated in the farthest reaches of the second floor can distinctly discern the faintest sounds, we aimed to craft an immersive experience. This was no small feat, but we were determined to overcome this challenge.”

Through a meticulous system update, we rigorously experimented with Display3 and discovered that a WPS-centered configuration presented an ideal setup, accommodating the diverse requirements of Kokugikan, including considerations for size, weight, clarity, SPL, and control performance. Additionally, we introduced the much-requested SXCF118 cardioid subwoofer to deliver deep bass notes. Moreover, the installation of TORUS directly above the ring allowed us to distribute sound effortlessly to areas that were hitherto challenged by poor acoustics, owing to the presence of the roof.

Our objective was to engineer a versatile system that could seamlessly cater to a wide array of event requirements.”

Here’s Ota’s perspective from Audio Brains, who executed the adjustments:

“Adapting the traditional Ryogoku Kokugikan arena was a unique experience for me. Instead of relying on measuring instruments, I collaborated closely with Mr. Akashio, relying on our sense of hearing. We strived to maintain sound clarity towards the rear while managing and mitigating any reflections. Surprisingly, we found solutions even in situations where the requirements seemed contradictory.”

After their memorable double header weekend—when they supplied premium Martin Audio PA rigs to both stages at Glastonbury and in support of Queens of the Stone Age at Cardiff Castle—rental partner SWG Events were back in the Castle grounds for shows with Wales’ national treasure, Sir Tom Jones.

The second of three shows saw support by another native son, Stereophonics front man Kelly Jones, this time leading his own spin-off band, Far From Saints.

Cardiff Castle has become a new venue for SWG Events, and so a meticulous design was undertaken for Sir Tom Jones where the optimisation of the system was of paramount importance, as SWG Head of Audio, Simon Purse explained. “The PA had to avoid the walls surrounding the Castle green to avoid any slapback. This was crucial and having DISPLAY [D3 software] really helped. Also since the Castle is in the middle of the City Centre, keeping noise pollution to a minimum was essential—and we had no reported issues offsite at all, as was also the case with Queens of the Stone Age.”

The stage is a permanent fixture at the Castle throughout the summer. “Previously we had left and right hang of 12 WPL and an outhang of 10 WPC on stage right to cover some of the audience and the disabled access platform, but we also deployed a similar outhang on stage left to add to the symmetry of the system.”

“EVERYTHING WORKED SEAMLESSLY AS WPC SOUNDS SO SIMILAR TO THE WPL, YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO A LOT TO IT SINCE IT IS VOICED THE SAME.”

So successful was the inaugural Iron Blossom Festival, in Richmond VA, that the organisers have already confirmed that it will be repeated next year.

Contributing to this success was the exemplary sound quality provided across the two stages by Soundworks of Virginia, and featuring Martin Audio’s market-leading Wavefront Precision optimised line arrays. This ensured a first-class experience for headliners, Hozier, Noah Kahan, and Lord Huron—and the rest of the artistes performing.

The Bon Secours Training Center provided the venue for the Festival, organised in a joint venture by Charlottesville’s Starr Hill Presents, Virginia Beach’s IMGoing and Richmond’s Haymaker Productions.

Working in conjunction with Haymaker Productions owner, Tom Beals Soundworks chose Martin Audio’s large-format WPL for main stage and WPC for the second stage—run in 2-box resolution from Martin Audio’s matched iKON multi-channel amplifiers. This design was perfected by the company’s Grant Howard and Bryan Hargrave in the belief that an event of this nature deserved the best system components available.

The exact deployment on main stage comprised 14 WPL elements per side, with 16 SXH218 subwoofers, in cardioid array, with four WPS frontfills and a pair of delay towers, each with eight WPC enclosures— flown at a trim height of 22ft, and each set at around 220ft from the stage. For the subsidiary stage they flew 12 of the smaller footprint WPC elements per side, with eight SXH218 in cardioid array, and four WPS as front fills.

“WE HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS OF ALL THREE OF OUR WP SYSTEMS”.

Steve Payne, CEO, Soundworks of Virginia

This provided even coverage for around 14,000 people (over the two days) spread across around 400ft x 400ft of open field, with unrestricted noise levels.

Lucca Summer Festival is one of Italy’s most highly anticipated live music events, which takes place annually in the city’s famous Piazza Napoleone.

This year Robbie Williams returned to the Bel Paese to light up one of the most historic cities in the Tuscan region. He performed to an audience of over 20,000 people on the Festival’s final evening, closing a season which again brought to the location major names in contemporary rock and pop, including Blur, The Chemical Brothers, Norah Jones, Placebo, KISS, Simply Red and Sigur Ros.

Martin Audio partner, Amandla Productions, has been a reference rental company for theLucca Summer Festivalfor many years, and again provided technical management, including a full audio and lighting package.

System engineer, Tommaso Bandecchi, and Amandla CEO, David Lapini, recognised the challenges in meeting the ever-changing requirements of different sound engineers.

For audio they again turned to the “never disappointing” experience of a Martin Audio flagship PA. Bandecchi reports that 28 MLA enclosures were used for the main hangs (14 per side), with 24 MLA Compact for the outfills (12 per side). Meanwhile, 28 MLX were used for the sub array, 24 WPS for the frontfill and 20 MLA for delays divided into two groups of ten.

The management of the signals in the two main areas was entrusted to Martin Audio’s dedicated Merlin digital matrix processors via AES, as well as remote control via the redundant VU-NET protocol.

“There are many surprising aspects of the MLA system,” Bandecchi observes. “The integration of the system with the WPS allowed control of the entire system via the VU-NET software. This allowed us to obtain great precision and control even using part of the MLA family optimisation system, and to have great flexibility and scalability even in the fills.”

Furthermore, he added, by virtue of the particular amplification and DSP management system, MLA guaranteed great flexibility in obtaining the required frequency response.

In conclusion, Amandla Productions can reflect on an excellent technical outcome—both for the calibration and configuration of the PA system. Robbie Williams’ sound engineer and tech team also reported their complete satisfaction with the set-up of the PA, pinpointing the perfect audio and excellent sound distribution across the site.