Category: Martin Audio

Following significant upgrades to the Great Oak Stage in 2022, American Express presents BST Hyde Park relaxed comfortably into its new setting this year. The iconic stage dominates the Royal Park—now firmly established, after once being considered ‘unworkable’ as a concert site, surrounded as it is by the well-heeled residents of Mayfair and Knightsbridge.

Much of this is because Martin Audio’s tightly controllable MLA PA array—the result of its advanced DISPLAY optimisation software—has been ever-present since AEG Presents took over the Park lease in 2013, making offsite noise pollution largely a thing of the past.

With system engineering back in the capable hands of Toby Donovan, who aside from last year has worked every BST, the site sound provided its usual exemplary experience for audiences. This time the tech team presided over a 9-day festival that saw acts like Pink, Guns N’ Roses, Take That, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Billy Joel headlining. Other than slightly raising the main stage side hang to avoid it obscuring the screen, Solotech UK account manager, Martin Connolly, confirmed that “everything else was exactly the same as last year.”

Nonetheless, prior to the event another BST stalwart—freelance sound consultant (and former Martin Audio R&D Director)—Jason Baird was drafted in for propagation checks, particularly with regard to the 11 delays positions, which comprised many of Martin Audio’s larger format WPL. Working with acoustic consultants Vanguardia, he patrolled the field with a walkie-talkie, providing data to Donovan to ensure the delay levels were set correctly, and that Martin Audio’s DISPLAY optimisation and predictive software was accurate and ready for showtime.

“As a result,” said Baird, “all headliners enjoyed good gigs, and were able to achieve their levels. There were many compliments from visiting engineers, but the main thing was a reduction in complaints.” This despite offsite levels being set at a challenging 75dB (LAeq5).

Two such sound engineers who were voted to have produced memorable sound quality were Gary Bradshaw (Take That) and Simon Thomas (Sabrina Carpenter).

Occupying the stunning Tudor courtyard, the two-week Hampton Court Palace Music Festivalreturned recently with a top-grade line-up, performing in this spectacular Grade I royal palace setting, dating back to the early 16th century and once home to Henry VIII.

Working within constraints of heritage buildings, and tasked with creating a technical infrastructure for the event in recent years has been SWG Events.

A major investment in the manufacturer’s cutting-edge technology has enabled them to field an end-to-end solution (the latest acquisitions being further TORUS T1215 speakers and SXC118 single 18in cardioid subwoofers). This is in support of their flagship WPL Wavefront Precision line array which was deployed as the main PA hangs.

All of which has this year delighted the many visiting sound engineers accompanying artists ranging from Gladys Knight, Kaiser Chiefs, Soft Cell, Kool & The Gang and Tom Jones, who have been playing to capacity audiences of 3,000 immersed within the Palace surrounds.

“NOT ONLY DID I HAVE A REALLY GOOD EXPERIENCE BUT THE ARTIST HERSELF WAS PARTICULARLY PLEASED AND SAID HOW GREAT THE SHOW SOUNDED.”

Working again for promoters IMG, according to SWG Events Head of Audio, Simon Purse, this product streamlining has made their task a lot easier. “It’s the first time we’ve had a complete flagship Martin Audio system in our inventory and as a result we’ve been able to refine the design,” he confirms. “Everyone has been very complimentary—the FOH guys are loving the system.”

Despite having established a proven design template, rigging this 50ft x 50ft courtyard certainly wasn’t without its challenges. “It’s a massive, cobbled courtyard surrounded by walls and turrets,” he says. “And being a Grade I-listed building you have to be careful not only with cobbles but also shaking the ancient windows.” This required working within specific frequency response curves and managing content within control software. The lower frequencies are most problematic, but the DISPLAY software also needs to be programmed to ‘hard avoid’ the back wall.

Facing his third year of providing technical services for Access The Festival (ATF), the three-day EDM dance party in Warwick’s Sherbourne Park, events specialist Sound Access turned for the first time to Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision (WPS) for the sound reinforcement.

The Festival, organised by DJs Will Darley and Alex Neidhardt, continues to evolve its concept (this year adding a third day). But mindful that with three stages in close proximity, and a lot of low-frequency energy to contain, Sound Access owner Joe Baker’s rationale was simple. “The organisers wanted to upgrade the audio this year because we all felt that the listening experience was the most important.”

In order to mitigate sound spillage, tight control was required. “Last year, noise rejection out the back was quite bad with the system we used,” acknowledged Baker. But there were no such problems this year.

Sound Access have collaborated with Martin Audio partner dBS Solutions on several tours — including Burn The Floor, where they carried a WPS rig. “It was the first time I had used it, and I had the best time. I never had to change my mix even when we dropped boxes for smaller venues, whereas with other systems you have to work hard to get that consistency.”

When ATF came around Baker was back in contact with Chris Bogg at dBS Solutions who was happy to cross-hire his WPS and TORUS systems for the summer party. Sophia Livett from noise consultants Acoustec set site sound thresholds, which Joe Baker knew he could meet by deploying Martin Audio’s ‘Hard Avoid’ feature in the proprietary DISPLAY software.

Due to the spread of the coronavirus, many outdoor festivals have been forced to be canceled or prohibited from speaking out in recent years.

In the past, there were various restrictions such as limiting the number of people and requiring masks to be worn. However, this year, all regulations have been lifted, and large-scale rock festivals have returned to scene.. Voice production including audience chorus and call-and-response became possible.

There are many residential areas and commercial facilities in the neighborhood of Chiba City Soga Sports Park.. This year, when the restrictions of the audience has been lifted, a higher SPL is required. At a venue where it is necessary to place emphasis on noise control, we needed to create a system that was different from the conventional system.

Therefore, a system that followed the “ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL 2022”, which was a great success last year, was used.

Each of the two main stages have eight MLAs at the front. In addition to this, 7 MLA towers were installed at 4 locations each, for a total of 8 locations. Normally, this delay tower is installed on both sides of the audience area, but it is installed only on one side, making it possible to minimize sound leakage outside the venue.

We interviewed Mr. Shuzo Fujii, Chairman of MSI JAPAN, who was in charge of the JAPAN JAM system.

“We had to control sound leakage to the outside of the venue to an unprecedented level, but the results were easy to obtain. Inside the audience area and outside it was a completely different space. It was amazing how much sound pressure and quality was provided that it didn’t leak out.I felt that this outdoor festival was a moment that once again proved the high level of MLA’s controllability.”

This year, MLA will play an active role at three venues: SKY STAGE, SUNSET STAGE, and BUZZ STAGE. Enjoyed Golden Week.

*JAPAN JAM 2023 was held on April 30, 2023/May 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. Unfortunately, the SUNSET STAGE was canceled on the final day due to strong winds, but all five days were held without incident.

Over the years, Soundworks of Virginia has built a reputation for providing advanced sound production for national tours passing through the state. As one of the first live sound production companies in the world to acquire Martin Audio’s large format WPL line array at the beginning of 2019, their early adoption has paid handsome dividends.

Recently they provided sound production for R&B vocal group, Boyz II Men, when the group visited the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion, a 6,500-cap outdoor amphitheatre in Portsmouth, VA.

It was a venue familiar to the Soundworks team and while load-in and rigging protocols are straightforward there are acoustic challenges to be met, since the venue deploys a tent-like material to cover the first 3,000 seats nearest the stage. Bryan Hargrave, Soundworks’ engineer and system tech for the show commented, “Since we did not have serious noise abatement issues to address, I used the Hard Avoid feature available in [Martin Audio’s proprietary] DISPLAY software to prevent reflections and interaction with the tent cover.

This makes a very positive impact on the sound quality and is appreciated by both band engineer and audience alike.”

Bobby Scherberger is the venue production manager and since Martin Audio was listed on the band’s rider, once he had cleared the WPL rig with the Boyz II Men production team he contacted Soundworks. “We have worked with Bobby for many years and at numerous different venues. He is aware of Soundworks’ equipment and has total confidence in our experience and capability. It’s fair to say he has become a fan of Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision,” suggested Soundworks president Grant Howard.

“WITH WPL WE BID IN TOTAL CONFIDENCE ON EVERYTHING THAT COMES OUR WAY. WE KNOW THAT WE CAN COMPETE NECK AND NECK WITH ANYTHING OUT THERE. IT’S A GREAT FEELING.”

Boyz II Men’s trio of vocalists, fronting a full backing band, required 56 channel inputs from the stage. And while it was the band production team’s first experience with WPL, according to Bryan Hargrave “it was definitely a two thumbs up situation all around.”

Headed by their flagship WPL line array, Martin Audio systems have been specified throughout the vast 250,000 sq. ft Armory complex in St. Louis, MO.

Originally constructed in 1938 as an Armory for the Missouri National Guard—part of the New Deal after the Great Recession—it later became a US tennis HQ before transforming into a concert venue in the 1960s and 1970s (featuring Ike & Tina Turner and the Grateful Dead among others).

More recently it has had a chequered life, before falling into disrepair. Several times it went back to the drawing board before Jake Miller and Chris Honstain of hospitality specialists Brick + Bev, an affiliate of local developers Green Street Real Estate Ventures, took it over. Honstain and Green Street’s Phil Hulse put their heads together and the project then went into overdrive.

The operators’ principal focus was The Commons, the huge 85,000 sq. ft main concert hall, with a 60ft x 32ft stage—the first of three spaces that will feature Martin Audio components over a phased opening. They were put in contact with Brad Stephens at Martin Audio North America, and their integration partner AVI Systems, who had worked with some of the facility’s operational staff over the previous six years, were awarded the contract.

They in turn specified Martin Audio’s WPL line array as being the optimum solution for the 5,200-cap space—a decision endorsed by both Honstain and Production Director, Rek Mohr.

The former described the sound system as “incredible”, adding “it really blows you away.” He characterises the building itself “as one of a kind; there’s no way anyone would build it again.”

“I HAD NEVER WORKED WITH MARTIN AUDIO BEFORE, BUT I JUST LOVE THE SOUND—AND THE QUALITY YOU GET IS INCREDIBLE”.

Rek Mohr also gave the sound system an unconditional thumbs-up. “I had never worked with Martin Audio before, but I just love the sound—and the quality you get is incredible. All the different boxes we have in here sound fantastic in their own right and I’m very impressed.” By this he is also referring to TORUS, CDD and ADORN series, which feature elsewhere.

Yunnan University of the Arts, established in 1959, started a dance department in 1961 and developed into a dance academy in 2003. Soon after it obtained a master’s degree authorization in dance in 2006. There are currently three undergraduate majors (orientations) in dance performance, choreography, and choreography (dance education, folk dance inheritance), and two postgraduate training categories of academic and professional.

The first-level discipline “Music and Dance” was rated as B-grade in the fourth round of national discipline evaluation in 2016. In the same year, it was approved as a “first-class discipline (plateau category A) in Yunnan Province, and it will be the best discipline in China in 2021. Ranked 9th in the ranking. Since 2019, dance performance, choreography, and choreography have been approved as national and provincial first-class undergraduate major construction sites. Among them, the dance performance major ranks third in the country in the 2021 Soft Science Professional Ranking. Existing 2 national-level first-class courses, 1 Ministry of Education course ideological and political demonstration course, 1 national-level ideological and political teaching team, 6 national-level ideological and political teaching teachers, and 2 provincial-level first-class courses.

The college has a team of teachers with high teaching level, strong creative ability and fruitful achievements. There are 96 full-time and part-time teachers, including 11 permanent experts. Among them, senior professional titles accounted for 61%, and doctoral and master’s degrees accounted for 85%. Among the teachers are the national “virtue and art” literary and art workers, experts who enjoy special allowances from the State Council, experts who enjoy special allowances from the Yunnan Provincial Government, members of the Yunnan Provincial Political Consultative Conference, experts from the Professional Subcommittee of the National Graduate Education Steering Committee, and national and provincial teaching teachers. wait. There are more than a thousand students in the school.

Martin Audio——The global leader in line array optimization technology!

Wavefront Precision line arrays provide a scalable approach to the level of control, consistency and coverage required for an event or installation. Consisting of WPM, WPS, WPC and WPL, Wavefront Precision, Martin Audio’s best-selling line array system series, is deployed at major festivals, concerts and corporate events, and also installed in theaters, concert halls, In houses of worship, on-site venues and auditoriums.

Jilin Art Institute is the only comprehensive higher art institution in Northeast China. The predecessor of the college was the Lu Xun Academy of Literature and Art of Northeastern University in 1946. In 1958, Jilin Art College was established and in 1978, it was renamed Jilin Art College. The college was granted the right to confer master’s degrees in 1993 and soon it became the first batch of provincial key disciplines in Jilin Province in 1995. Recently in 2020, it became a characteristic high-level university in Jilin Province.

Over 30 partners from across Asia Pacific converge for first distributor convention

Generation AV, who provide sales and technical support for Martin Audio across the APAC territories, recently hosted their first Martin Audio APAC distributor meeting in Singapore, with over 30 business partners from across Asia Pacific attending.

This provided an opportunity for representatives to network, connect, learn, and sample the latest products and technology from the British manufacturer—as well as share their successes and experiences.

HAVING ALL OUR PARTNERS IN ONE LOCATION FOR THE DISTRIBUTOR MEETING, TO SHARE AND RECOGNISE THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, WAS JUST INCREDIBLE.

There was an additional incentive to attend, since the meeting coincided with the launch of Generation AV’s new Experience Centre in Singapore, which will act as the main hub for all distributors and their clients to gather and be exposed to the latest products from Martin Audio. Distributors and clients alike can now immerse themselves in the company’s signature sound and experience the impeccable output that the products produce.

In terms of product showcase, the introduction of the new FlexPoint series and TORUS 8 to the region provided the undoubted highlights. This was the first time all distribution partners had the opportunity of hearing these products … and they did not disappoint. Dom Harter, Managing Director of Martin Audio, and Bradley Watson, Martin Audio Global Sales Director, were in attendance to lead the demonstrations—and in addition to the product demos, there was plenty of discussion on future roadmaps, operations and business in general.

“Martin Audio recognises one of our biggest potentials for growth today is in Asia, which is why we made the investment in the Experience Centre alongside Generation AV,” said Harter, addressing the assembly. “Having all our partners in one location for the distributor meeting, to share and recognise their achievements, was just incredible.”

Dave McKinney, Generation AV Managing Director, added his thanks to all distributors for making the journey to attend. “Due to the success, this will now become an annual event,” he assured. “However, we look forward to welcoming partners with their customers during the course of the year.”

At the event Martin Audio and Generation AV presented awards to the top-performing distributors in Asia Pacific in 2022, encouraging them to continue their efforts in building the brand in their own particular markets.

AUSTRALIA:  Technical Audio Group is now making carbon neutral deliveries around Sydney with an all-electric, solar charged eight-tonne truck.

Having long wanted to improve the certainty of local deliveries particularly those direct to work sites where access is limited and where timing needs to be flexible and reliable Team TAG researched the options and settled on the SEA 300 EV.

“As a service to our customers we want to guarantee deliveries and we were finding that local couriers just don’t have the flexibility to wait and make sure difficult deliveries are completed,” said TAG warehouse manager, Shane Linfoot. “You can’t blame them they’re on a tight schedule and have to complete their runs, but it doesn’t work when one of our deliveries is critical and that’s why we made the decision to take control of those sort of deliveries ourselves.”

“On paper an eight-tonne electric truck is an eye-watering investment that doesn’t make financial sense,” stated TAG CFO Craig Durrant. “If it was purely a business decision, we wouldn’t have taken the leap but there are much bigger factors at play here, like the environment and the condition of the planet we pass onto the next generation. Every time tag|zero hits the road it serves as a powerful reminder that a carbon neutral solution is not only possible but in fact a serious and viable option. And the lack of exhaust emissions is something everyone out in traffic can enjoy immediately.”

It took 18 months for TAG’s SEA 300 EV to be delivered. The SEA 300 EV utilises a Hino chassis with the diesel engine and gearbox replaced by a SEA-Drive electric power system plus batteries sufficient for a 220km range. The company manufactures around five electric trucks every week at its Dandenong, Victoria facility.

With a 108Kw solar array on its Kings Park warehouse roof, tag|zero is charged directly from the sun. “There’s something beautiful and compelling about turning sunlight into local deliveries.” said Linfoot. “We’re working our solar array pretty hard now with nine electric warehouse vehicles, the odd EV charging up and now tag|zero. Nonetheless if you’re passing by, you’re still very welcome to drop in for some free juice, and if you see tag|zero on the road please give us a wave.”