Category: Martin Audio

No fewer than 260 Martin Audio loudspeakers were on duty for a series of concerts at the Puskas Arena in Budapest recently. Spread across three weekends, with three sets of artists, BG Event staged one of their biggest productions ever in the 67,000-cap multi-purpose stadium.

The first weekend saw 22-year-old singer songwriter Azahriah, the latest Hungarian sensation, playing three shows, such was the demand for tickets, to a total of 120,000 people. This was followed by long-serving band Hungaria with their 1950s rock and roll style, and the final band was Halott Penz (Dead Money), celebrating their 20th anniversary with this show.

It was the first time the production company had worked at this venue. Closed from 2002-2019 for a complete rebuild, according to BG Event’s Gabor ‘Mazsi’ Bacskay, “The team of architects failed to take into account the acoustic requirements of a concert and focused solely on sports events.” He described the new manifestation as being “like a large chimney with loads of reverb and echoes. We experienced a 6-8-second reverb at any position, and no curtains or any attenuation were built in.”

Faced with such a large box count, BG Event turned to their alliance partners Solotech, with whom they have worked many times at the predominant Sziget Festival main stage. “But as an independent company these [latest] shows were the largest full-service audio jobs we have done.”

The planning phase began back in November 2023, and the demands were quickly defined. Mazsi was determined to use Martin Audio “rather than just any gear that was available”. Knowing they would need to be deployed for between four to five weeks they needed to make hard decisions, not only about sourcing further MLA enclosures “but also not many production companies would have 50m chain length for hoists or looms for 70-plus metres.”

Fortunately, earlier in the year they had boosted their MLA stock in readiness for the season. “Therefore we almost possessed everything we needed. However we rented a few MLA Compact cabinets for the ring delays from our long-term partner Szatyi Stage Team. For the rest we had a large number of Merlin processors and distros so that we could prepare the complete optical chain in our warehouse, enabling just a quick setup at the venue.”

Nevertheless, on site BG’s tech team needed to work closely with the light designers and the next challenge was identifying hang positions without interfering with the LED screens and lighting trusses. “Finally, there were obvious acoustic disadvantages due to the basic properties of the building and we had to do our best to counterbalance them and provide the audience with the best coverage possible.“

The main PA hangs comprised 17 MLA (plus an MLD Downfill) on each wing and an identical configuration for the outhangs. The MLX subs were unable to be flown due to the design structure and so were arranged in 14 stacks—three MLX per stack, with the bottom one reversed—and this cardioid principle produced a successful result.

At the rear of the stadium they rigged four delay towers, comprising 12 MLA (and MLD Downfill) on the outers (LL-RR), 11+1 MLA/MLD on the inners (L-R).

They also fielded eight ring delays to cover the third tier. “Although the house has installed a lot of speakers since the direction of those cannot be changed, we preferred to have four delay hangs of eight MLA-C MLA each, and another four delays with 10 MLA-C, giving a total of 72 boxes.

A further 24 MLA-Cs were used for front fills across the stage lip, depending on show set up. A large auxiliary (17mx17m) ‘B’ stage formed part of the week one design (removed for later shows).

Mazsi admits that the B stage performance had provided a challenge for Azahriah’s sound engineer due to the artist’s quiet vocal. “But we were able to assist with the main hang zones—making a second zone from the last four boxes, and preparing a separate EQ to kill any feedback.”

Overall, he was delighted with the sound containment. “Having the subs in cardioid stacks worked well, and we achieved good response at the rear seating as well. With DISPLAY 3 [software] it is easy to calculate the delay times. We didn’t need to use Hard Avoid, but everyone was surprised how consistent the coverage was throughout the whole arena.”

BG Event provided full FOH system support. First week for Azahriah, Zoltan Osztheimer was at FOH, second week for Hungaria, Daniel Toth and Zsolt Gyulai were on duty, and the final week Zalan Osz was at FOH. They report that all visiting sound engineers really enjoyed working with the PA, remarking on its consistent coverage and straightforward transfer.

At pre-config stage BG also consulted with Marci Mezei, as often in the past, and for the professional set-up the entire BG tech team can be applauded. This was all coordinated by Gabor ‘Mazsi’ Bácskay himself.

Finally, Mazsi credits BG Event owner Gergely Szentivanyi for his foresight in investing further in the MLA fleet. “The company actually owns more than 120 MLA—an outstanding quantity in a region of this size!”

UK: Although only a small, 220-cap venue, the Half Moon in Putney has hosted some of the biggest names in show business over the last 60-plus years. It was the venue for U2’s first ever sell-out show, the place where Kate Bush first performed publicly, hosted KD Lang’s debut, and has had the likes of Bo Diddley, The Who, and The Rolling Stones gracing its stage.

But its sound system had been installed almost a decade previously and was nearing end of life.

The venue’s head engineer James Beck has been working at the venue all of that time and more. It was when Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason came through back in 2018 carrying Martin Audio’s MLA Mini loudspeaker array that the vast improvement in sound quality arrested his attention.

“I was well aware of the Martin Audio brand, and when I heard this I was super-impressed. It had already been in our mind to upgrade, as I’d never been completely happy with the old system, and I felt this iconic venue deserved a proper system.” So he started looking seriously at Martin Audio.

THE NEW SYSTEM HAS BEEN LIKE NIGHT AND DAY.

“The first thing we bought was four LE200 wedge monitors—and that blew everyone away compared with what we had. So then we started talking to Martin Audio about upgrading FOH.”

Enter one of the manufacturer’s partner companies, Solotech. Their project manager Louis Williams was happy specifying the brand knowing that “around 60% of our venues” have been equipped with Martin Audio. “We removed an old flare rig and put in a pair of FlexPoint FP15s, left and right of the stage, and a pair of SX218 double 18” subs.

“We’re also using FP8 for the sidefill to give the door area a bit more coverage.” A further three more FP8 can be found outside “to give the smokers some nice sound as well”.

The main system is powered by a pair of Martin Audio VIA5002 amplifiers with all signal routing and EQ managed via a dedicated Martin Audio DX4.0 processor.

Williams is convinced that this was the correct specification. “FlexPoint loudspeakers are a perfect match for the venue,” he says. “They are the right size and at a great price point. It’s a massive improvement to what they had before.”

James Beck agrees. “The new system has been like night and day. Bands have noticed the improvement, customers and engineers have been super happy. The headroom in the system, the size of the boxes and clarity are all absolutely amazing.

“With acts starting out, touring acts, and the odd superstar like Ronnie Wood rolling in it was important for us to have a really good sound system. It also needed something that was durable because we have acts seven nights a week. When people come to a venue that’s been going for 60 years, they expect a good time which is why we needed something that would fulfil that, sound wise.

“FlexPoint sounded great straight out of the box, and fulfils all the criteria.”

Watch full video here:https://youtu.be/kfP8WRnpHMs

UK: Having worked in professional audio for a while and attended a variety of festivals, gigs, and raves, I thought I had seen most things. However, stepping onto the grounds of Glastonbury for the first time was an experience like no other. I had the privilege of being there as part of the Martin Audio team, invited by our partners at RG Jones to capture behind the scenes moments and insights. The sheer size of the festival was intimidating – it was a sprawling city of music, art, and people, all buzzing with excitement and anticipation. There was an energy there that wasn’t quite explainable, something that resonated deep within you and added to the magic of the place.

Arriving on site Monday afternoon, I was amazed by the progress at the Pyramid Stage. The crew had already flown 10 of the 11 delay hangs showcasing a pace and efficiency that belied the challenges of working in an undulating field . By Tuesday, the main hangs were up, and Wednesday was dedicated to fine-tuning and adjustments before the propagation process. Over at West Holts, a similar story unfolded: load-in took place on Wednesday, with everything ready to go to trim for propagation by Thursday morning. The stages at IICON followed in a similar manner. My magic carpet failed me in getting to all the stages for load-in, but I understand for SWG Events’ stages; The Park, Woodsies, and BBC Introducing, set up was equally efficient.

Come Friday and amidst the hustle and bustle with Glastonbury festival now in full swing, I received word from the Production team that the Sugababes were scheduled to perform at the West Holts Stage, and it was anticipated to draw an insanely large crowd. Recognising this as a perfect chance to capture photos and videos for social media, I made my way there early to secure a prime vantage point at front of house. As someone who typically listens to drum and bass and techno, I wasn’t sure what to expect from their set. In my mind, I was there for the content.

As the Sugababes took the stage, I found myself smiling ear to ear. I wasn’t a sudden convert to their repertoire but it was the palpable joy and energy radiating from the crowd. Seeing how happy everyone was gave me goosebumps and made me realise just how lucky I was to work in the industry that could help bring such joy and magical moments.

That feeling was further imbued during Coldplay’s headline slot. The overwhelming energy of the crowd created a magical atmosphere that reminded me why live music is so powerful and why we should do everything we can to ensure it continues, especially from a grass roots level. I know that some industry veterans, whether they are rental companies or press, have already realised this, but it took a festival such as Glastonbury to really bring this to the forefront of my mind. The impact of this experience will influence the rest of my career in ways that I can’t put into words.

Reflecting on my first Glastonbury, I am filled with a sense of pride. It reinforced why I love what I do and how important it is to bring exceptional audio experiences to life. While I went to Glastonbury expecting to be immersed in music of all kinds, it was experiencing the joy that the Sugababes and Coldplay’s performances gave to the crowds that truly became my festival highlight.

US: One of the premier roots festivals in the US, DelFest has steadily evolved the technical infrastructure at its Allegany County Fairgrounds site in Cumberland, MD, since the event was originally established 17 years ago.

Supporting the multi-stage event with sound reinforcement from the very beginning has been Martin Audio partner Southard Audio. This year they fielded three Wavefront Precision systems—a WPL rig and two WPS hangs.

“We only switched to WPL and other Martin Audio systems at DelFest post-Covid (from 2022) and it really shines for these applications,” notes Southard managing partner, Jason Misterka.

Their three-stage Martin Audio deployment was headed by the large-format WPL line array. The Grandstand system used 24 WPL for main PA (12 a-side) with eight WPL outfill stage right (to cover the grandstands), four XD15 frontfills, two CDD15 for outfills at the VIP tents, SXH218 subs, iK42 amps, THS sidefills, LE200 wedges and Linea Research monitor amps.

The large, covered Grandstand, set at an odd angle along one side of the 750ft flat field, provided the real challenge. According to Misterka, “We need to rig to a tall stage in order to cover the field, and when we do, the Martin Audio rig really does an amazing job. We also use an 8-box outfill array to cover the Grandstand, hung on our Applied LA12-25 towers. That also does a surprisingly excellent job, sounding like nearfield monitors in a space 500-plus feet away and at an angle!”

Meanwhile, the Potomac stage was populated with 16 WPS (for main PA), four SXH218 subs, iK42 amps and a pair of CDD15 frontfills. This stage, in particular, has developed over the years into a full music stage (from little more than a band competition stage).

I’VE NEVER HEARD A PA SOUND AS FULL AT THE BACK OF THE LISTENING AREA.

Unlike the other two stages, The Music Hall was set indoors, featuring a main PA comprising 16 WPS (eight per side) on lifts, with eight SXC118 subwoofers, four Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 as frontfills, driven by Martin Audio iK42 amps.

Being a roots festival, focused on Old Time, bluegrass and string band music, the McCoury family are one of the main partners. The Del McCoury Band themselves are led by the bluegrass legend, reappearing, and as the Travelin’ McCourys (along with guest musicians).

The quest for supreme sound control and optimisation took high priority. Southard Audio’s Matt Hudson spent considerable time on the prediction for the large field as well as the outfill prediction for the Grandstand itself. “When dealing with an audience area as large as that, part of the magic is making it sound great at 500ft, and not like an AM radio,” observes Misterka.

The ‘Hard Avoid’ function was used on the stages of all three venues to keep it as quiet as possible for the string bands, while the SXH218 at the Grandstand stage was used in a in a L/R cardioid configuration.

In the Music Hall, the tech team again activated ‘Hard Avoid’ for the stage but also put more emphasis on avoiding ‘Non-Audience’ areas and focusing the PA away from the back wall of the room given the reflection concerns. “We also used SXC118 and really enjoyed their inherent cardioid characteristics at Music Hall,” reported Jason Misterka.

But above all, it was about respecting the authenticity of the music. “Our company has had a long history with acoustic music,” he said, emphasising their credentials. “Mixing bluegrass and Old Time music in the traditional style typically involves a number of hot microphones used to amplify mostly fairly quiet acoustic instruments. The less bleed there is from the main PA system, the cleaner the microphones sound and the more gain-before-feedback you have to work with.

“It takes more experience and skill than most people understand to mix acoustic music without the instruments utilising pickup systems. We are still seen as one of the premier provider of production services for acoustic music festivals on the Eastern side of the US.”

This was endorsed by Key Chang, who mixed the Del McCoury Band and the Travelin’ McCourysamong others, “At DelFest we cater to lots of acoustic / string bands as well as large scale rock bands. Mixing a string band, throughmultiple large diaphragm condenser mics, at concert level, can be a daunting task; but the extremely focused WPL made this almost effortless and handled it all with ease.”

“I’ve never heard a PA sound as full at the back of the listening area (200+ feet).The low-mids in particular were very impressive.This frequency range can be especially challenging with miked string bands, and often needs to be cut out due to stage bleed. My main EQ was hardly touched.”

The event’s production manager, William Kesler, agreed that DelFest is a challenging setup for audio reinforcement, with music ranging from traditional bluegrass around a single condenser mic to full bands. “This year, with Martin Audio rigs deployed on all stages, I was impressed with the smooth and even coverage across the entire site.I received several positive reviews from touring engineers who had never mixed on the WPL system before.I look forward to using Southard and Martin Audio for this and other projects in the future.”

Southard Audio’s crew included Matthew Hudson, Chad Wyatt, Tim Reckley, David Pelikan, Bob McNichols, Phil Speiss, Michael Stover, Sven Giersmann, Tim Turner, Eric Shy, and Slim Prescott.

UK: Tunes in the Dunesis the apt name given to an annual three-day festival on Perranporth Beach in Cornwall.

The festival has been running on the golden sands for 11 years, having sprung up from the live music events at the beachside Watering Hole—which is actually the UK’s only bar on a beach.

Based nearby in Plymouth, Martin Audio partner Nub Sound this year provided the technical infrastructure, deploying their Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC), eight elements a side, which ensured headliners McFly (Friday), Craig David (Saturday) and Ocean Colour Scene (Sunday) could be heard to the max by crowds assembling on the beach as their music drifted out towards the Atlantic Ocean.

On duty was Nub Sound Director of Operations and sound engineer Josh Small. He explained that in addition to the eight WPC per side, a cardioid sub array of eight SXH218 in a castellated format, ensured rear rejection and stage spillage. Three WPS enclosures provided nearfill coverage, with the main hangs driven in 2-box resolution from Martin Audio iKON multi-channel process-control amplifiers, and the front fills individually amplified.

Small explained the challenges. “We were in a very long arena, not particularly wide and needing to get consistent audience coverage from in front of the pit to right out to 55-60 metres behind the FOH position. That’s something we can achieve really well with the Wavefront series.”

He also spoke of the environmental requirements, which his sound team were able to meet thanks to the close control offered by Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY software.

“We were aware that we were in in a really residential area. Although Perranporth is only a small town, there are a number of high-quality hotels and residences on the cliff-top which we were pointing towards, and our neighbours naturally have concerns about being disturbed by events happening on this site.

“Therefore, we have to be really considerate about our offsite noise and we have to be really thoughtful about how we are going to impact the local populous.”

His solution was to use the strict Hard Avoid setting in DISPLAY at the back of the arena …”really pushing the priority in the optimisations to get as much offsite noise control as possible,” he said. “We specifically aimed the PA acoustically to avoid sending anything offsite.”

Finally, Josh Small also spoke of the logistics of getting the tech down to the beach from the cliff top. “It was a case of getting everything to the nearest hard standing car park, forking it off a lorry onto tractor trailers, bringing it to stage and then forking it off again.”

In this instance the tractor trailers took on more the role of dune buggies, while the event itself gave a whole new meaning to building sand castellations!

Watch the #RigsAtGigs video here.

FRANCE: The latest edition of ibis RockCorps returned recently with a major gig at Paris’s Accor Arena, featuring the triple bill of Macklemore, Franglish and Rosinia.

The concept of the event is unique in that anyone giving four hours of their time as a civic project volunteer in the French capital is eligible for tickets to this free concert.

Martin Audio partner, experienced production company 22live, tendered and won the contract, having worked for the show’s producers CC-Lab in the past.

However, 22live director Paul Timmins was aware that to service a gig economically within the Eurozone would require a marriage of careful logistics and high-octane sound—knowing that working in Europe post-Brexit poses a bureaucratic nightmare of Kafkaesque proportions.

He rationalised that by flying Martin Audio’s large format Wavefront Precision WPL line array in 20-box hangs either side of the stage, with a further 16 WPL as outfills on each flank, he could project some 90 metres to the rear of the auditorium without the need for delays—thus enabling the inventory to be confined to a two-truck haul.

He also realised that to make sense of the accounting this would need to do this with a four-man crew, so picked a senior team comprising crew chief Nick Jackson, monitor engineer Sam Cook, system tech Ryan Bass and Jack Davis.

With a 13,000-strong, highly charged, young demographic audience rushing in to grab the best seats, the 22live team knew they would need to deliver sound to a level close to the maximum threshold for American rapper Macklemore and the two huge French acts,Franglish and Rosinia.

Explained Timmins, “I knew we would require a big PA system, and when I picked up the spec, I was pleased to see Martin Audio on the rider—so it was an easy decision to quote WPL.

WPL IS A BIT OF A BEAST AND LIKE MLA IT TENDS TO BE ABLE TO HANDLE THESE BIG ARENAS WITHOUT DELAYS,

“WPL is a bit of a beast and like MLA it tends to be able to handle these big arenas without delays,” reflected Paul Timmins. “I believed that by going deeper with the system we could dispense with the delays, and it absolutely nailed it.”

Aside from the main and peripheral PA hangs, production had 18 Martin Audio SXHF218 subwoofers on the ground in a castellated split broadside configuration … split largely because there was a catwalk thrust down the middle.

The system was powered by a total of 42 iK42 DSP amplifiers in 1-box resolution—which afforded greater DSP power and ensured consistent coverage front to back.

Fills were required for the front rows and 22live turned to the trusty TORUS, deploying T1215s while for a VIP breakout room the sound was relayed via TORUS T1230s.

Aside from Timmins’ careful logistics the show’s success owed much to Ryan Bass’s adept system engineering—and his ability to suddenly pivot.

For having done his visualisation and calculations on the day of arrival, based on a full arena, he suddenly had to reoptimize on show day after discovering an area in the upper balcony had now been draped off.

But he was undeterred. “Reoptimising within DISPLAY allowedfor a quick and easy change of the coverage,” Bass confirmed. Changing the area at the back that was now draped off from ‘Audience’to ‘Non-Audience’ ensuredthere was no wasted energy directed at an empty space whilst also helping to reduce slapback from the back of the arena. With a traditionalsystem this would have required a full re-deployment of the PA.”

He, too, was confident the main PA would throw consistently across the 90m distance. “By adjusting the weighting of the prediction to prioritisethe audience over non-audience or ‘Hard Avoid’, this allocatedmore DSP power to ensure consistent SPL and frequency response from front to back.”

The use of ‘Hard Avoid’ at the back of the arena “helped massively”in calming the room, making the task easier for sound engineers in what is a notoriously challenging environment to mix in.

‘Hard Avoid’ was further deployed onstage to avoid unnecessary levels bleeding back. “Some of the audio crew working on stage expressed how impressed they were by the reductions compared to out front,” noted Bass. “Making use of the cardioid presets within VU-Net [software] further allowed for a good reduction on stage.”

Both Paul Timmins and Ryan Bass can look back on the show with pride—the former because with the right degree of planning it showed that an experienced UK production company can work competitively in Europe—even for one-off shows, with a quick turn-around, and despite the amount of carnet and manifest prep involved.

As for Ryan Bass he was delighted with the sound delivery. “The technology Martin Audio has developed in DISPLAY, with its optimisations, allowed for a quickand easy deployment as well as responding to sudden changes such as the late addition of drapes.

“Overall the system, and all the acts,sounded great with all guest engineers leaving the show happy. The audiencecertainly seemed to be enjoying it too!”

And Stephen Greene, CEO of RockCorps, added, “When you’re putting on a show for more than 13,000 people who’ve all volunteered four hours of their time to earn their ticket, you want to be sure that it’s the concert of a lifetime.

“The look and sound of the production are key and thanks to Paul and his crew at 22live, they always deliver.From pre-show planning and sourcing equipment to working with the creative team,ibis RockCorpswas always in safe hands.

“Dealing with three big name artists in one show has its technical challenges but the changeovers at the event were seamless, ensuring the crowd stayed in the vibe while keeping the artists confident and set to light up the stage … in this case, literally, with Macklemore’s crew clear to deliver off-the-scale pyrotechnics. Theibis RockCorpsproduction was next level, delivering a huge celebration that this crowd of volunteers justly deserved.And it just sounded great!”

Photography © Chang Martin, Laurent Attias and Roxane Montaron