Category: Martin Audio

With artistes ranging from the Rolling Stones to Elton John and the Eagles gracing the new supercharged stage and fascia at this year’s American Express presents BST Hyde Park the quality of sound literally needed to raise the bar at AEG Live’s flagship event.

Martin Audio rental partners Capital Sound (part of the Solotech UK group) have been the exclusive suppliers of the manufacturer’s ground-breaking MLA since the event’s inception in 2013, and were able to respond by providing enhanced site coverage. This year, with its expansion across three weekends, the event broke all records, selling 530,000 tickets across the nine shows.

Taking note of the additional 5-metre height gain of Star Group’s new Titan stage (which now reaches 19 metres off the ground), Solotech extended the two main PA and sidefill hangs and streamlined the 11 delay towers, introducing their recently acquired WPL scalable line array—the largest in the Wavefront Precision family.

This resulted in no fewer than 182 Martin Audio line array elements being deployed at the event as well as 44 subwoofers.

Stated Solotech Senior Technical Advisor, Robin Conway, “Had we used the original plot, the hangs would have been out of proportion. So I looked at issues such as trim height, and both visually and performance wise, by increasing the box count we managed to achieve better results, with more energy at the front.“On top of that, we also managed to achieve the trim height we wanted, with the main hangstrimmed this year at 16.2m from the ground (as opposed to 12.5 previously, and the sides at 17.5m, compared to 14.5m.”

Aesthetically the stage design also had to work around a newly-created tree, the central focal point of the stage, while mechanically a wrap-around video screen was introduced for the first time—also masterminded by Solotech.

The main PA this year was increased by four elements, and comprised 19 MLA and a single MLD Downfill each side, with 15 MLA and an MLD Downfill as side hangs (two each side larger than previously). Arranged in a broadside cardioid array were 32 MLX subwoofers while six pairs of MLA Compact provided front fills.

The delay positions had also been extended, with longer hangs. Of the 11 masts, positions 1-5 were identically configured with seven MLA and an MLD Downfill; the Delay masts 6-9 behind the FOH mix tower comprised an extended 10 WPL and three SXH218 in a cardioid stack, while Delay points 10 and 11 were each populated with eight WPC elements.

All Wavefront Precision enclosures were driven by Martin Audio iKON multi-channel amplifiers in the optimum 1-box resolution, and the sound was again carried site wide on an Optocore fibre ring, which offered full redundancy.

The quality of the PA this year was once again exemplary, no better so than for Adele … a fact to which the many social posts attested.

Once again Solotech fielded a highly accomplished technical team, working through the event’s long-term production manager, Proper Productions’ Mark Ward, with Tim Patterson as crew chief, Johnny Buck (monitor engineer), Mike Warren (FOH engineer) and Joseph Pierce system tech. Martin Audio’s former technical director, Jason Baird, was brought in as consultant for the set-up.

Solotech senior project manager Martin Connolly, was delighted with both the onsite and offsite sound thresholds, which met the approval of acousticians / noise control consultants, Vanguardia. “Following propagation tests, we managed to achieve great level—an increase on what we have had in the past and with a bit more control,” he said.

This was particularly evident in performances by Elton John and Adele, as Connolly explained. “Elton John was 100-101dB(A) and Adele was 102dB(A) LEq (1 min) and 101dB(A) LEq 5 mins, with 75dB(A) offsite.”

He said the event had fully justified their decision back in Spring this year to invest further into Wavefront Precision—with an acquisition countenanced by Solotech. As a result, WPL and WPC now complement the WPS system they had earlier bought for the Tim Minchin tour.

Along with the two new WPs Solotech also purchased TORUS for their hire inventory—part of an order amounting to well over 100 enclosures. “Had we not done so, looking at our order book for the summer we would simply have had to sub-hire in,” stated Connolly.

As for the video displays, Solotech provided a near 1500sq.m screen measuring over 16m high for main stage including 4500 Saco tiles and 540 Roe CB5 LED panels on main stage screen. A further 300 Roe CB5 were deployed for delays, relays and for Stage 2.

Summing up the event, and the technical excellence of the sound reinforcement, production director Mark Ward said, “There were a lot of conversations about how to make the PA sound great and feel in proportion on Star’s vast new Titan stage. Solotech and Martin Audio got fully engaged in figuring out solutions and we more than achieved the result we were after—both sonically and aesthetically. It looked ‘right’ and sounded brilliant.”

Photography: Gus Stewart and Awais Butt

When Capital Sound, part of the Solotech UK Group, conceived the original design for Stereophonics’ homecoming concert at the Principality Stadium, for what would have been their ‘We’ll Keep A Welcome’ Christmas show, the idea of 23 Martin Audio PA hangs (covering both an A stage and 40-metre thrust to a B stage) was entirely achievable.

“The kit was already prepped and ready to go out, when the show was suddenly cancelled,” states Solotech Senior Technical Advisor, Robin Conway.

But when the gig was rescheduled for June, there was none of the luxury of pre-production time that had accompanied the original show. Not only did the B stage now need to function as a totally independent stage, with its own PA, (rather than simply as a delay stage), but Friday’s planned production/build-up day suddenly disappeared when the following night’s concert—which also featured Tom Jones—sold out; this resulted in a second date being added … on the Friday!

The support line-up also changed at the last minute (with Newport-based Feeder coming in), while back at London HQ the crew worked around the clock to deprep inventory returning to base from other festivals (in what has become a frantic summer season for all PA companies as the event industry strives to recover), before reprepping and trucking it down to Wales.

Of course, the crowd of 74,000-plus who filled the stadium under its closed roof were oblivious to this, and reveled in the kind of first-class, evenly balanced coverage for which Solotech and Martin Audio are renowned. There was no compromise to the sound despite the production company needing to make a late provision for the incoming film crew, necessitating them to provide a separate broadcast feed in addition to the sound in the bowl.

Thus there was plenty to occupy the minds of the band’s long-serving sound engineer Dave Roden, Crew Chief, Tim Patterson, and system tech Mark Cleator, working alongside production manager Dave Nelson. Not least of these was how to create 360° of coverage via the B stage system, with two hangs facing back towards the main stage, which obviously meant the audience had to turn around to see when the band performed there.

The main PA hangs from A stage comprised 18 MLA and one MLD (Downfill) enclosure per side. Behind them were two hangs of seven MLX subs in end-fire configuration, with side hangs consisting of 16 MLA per side. Front fills comprised eight XD12 and 16 WPS (set in pairs on a shelf across the front of the stage).

For the B stage Cap turned to their new Wavefront Precision (WPL). These hangs comprised 12 x SXHF218 in a single column, with 36 flown WPL—18 on either side of the subs—while outflanking these were two further hangs of 14 WPL and two hangs of WPC facing the main stage to complete the 360° coverage. The Wavefront Precisions were driven in 2-box resolution from 24 iKON iK42 multi-channel amplifiers in a flown amplifier cart directly over the B-Stage.

The ring delay system, meanwhile, comprised eight hangs of eight MLA Compact.

Robin Conway explained the processing rationale. “Without the luxury of time we used a Dante-enabled Soundweb BLU-806 to create a custom-delayed matrix. Any part of the PA system applicable to A or B stages had different delay taps (for instance the ring system had two different times programmed as the action shifted from A to B stages).” These delay taps allowed the FOH team to choose the entire system focus dependent on which, or how many, band members were performing on which stage at any given time.

“Overall, we got the result we wanted in the face of enormous challenges, and in fact this probably broke some kind of internal record. I doubt, in our history, we’ve fielded 23 separate hangs of PA for a one-off gig before.”

A major mural unveiling took place in downtown Minneapolis recently—heralded by a weekend of celebratory events—when a new 100ft high artwork of Prince, featuring three shots of the Minneapolis musician, was revealed for the first time.

This $500,000 ‘Crown Our Prince’ project, as it is known, has been under development for seven years, with the mural undertaken by Florida street painter Hiero Veiga.

For the Purple block party to coincide with the reveal, local company Slamhammer Audio were brought into handle production, including the sound reinforcement. Having been a loyal customer of Martin Audio for the past two decades, they fielded a combination of eight Martin Audio W8LC Compacts, eight WS218X subs and a pair of W8LM Mini for front fills. For delays—set at the FOH position, and shooting back towards the rear of the crowd—they turned to a pair of Martin Audio CDD-LIVE and CSX-LIVE118B subs.

The reveal party was a free event, which brought several thousand people flocking to downtown Minneapolis’s Ramp A on a perfect evening. The timing was also appropriate as Prince would have turned 64 on June 7.

According to Slamhammer sales manager, Cam Dickison, from a production perspective the main challenge was the small footprint of the bandstand location, and the timing that they had to work within—since the street could not be closed during the day. “With the stage itself needing to be constructed in a very small area, we opted to build sound wing platforms and mounted the PA on those instead of rigging from the stage,” he said.

However, the night had been “full of love, joy, and even some tears” he confirmed, with special appearances from both of Prince’s sisters and performances from Prince cover band Dr. Mambo’s Combo as well as DJ Mickey Breeze. The event was hosted by Chantel Sings and Walter ‘Q-Bear’ Banks, and the whole event was live streamed.

In conclusion, Cam Dickison said, “We love working with the Prince Organisation and honouring his legacy while showing the world that Minneapolis is more than just a fly-over city.

“We have done multiple events with the Organisation and the Minneapolis Downtown Council over the years, including the ‘Prince Live on the Big Screen’ events. These are the two main forces that turned this Prince mural and block party dream into a reality.”

The technical crew also managed to pull off a challenging task, he said. While Dr Mambo’s Combo brought in their own sound engineer, Slamhammer’s Brian Scocchera was on monitors, Matt Fradley mixed FOH for the rest of the show and Mack Swanson was behind the lighting desk.

Situated in Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture, Saito City Hall recently upgraded its loudspeaker systems, opting for an all-Martin Audio solution, including the latest WPS optimised line array. The multipurpose Hall has a seating capacity of 1000 and is used for such events as ceremonies, lectures and cultural presentations.

Mr. Fukui of F Enterprise, the company that manages the Saito City Hall, commented, “My goal was to create an environment in which an identical sound can be experienced in every audience seat. The reason for choosing Martin Audio products is because we have used Martin Audio F215, X12 and LE100 point source systems for monitoring, which place the focus on the sound produced by the performer. Thanks to the resolution and clarity of the sound, making it easier for us to respond to the monitor requests at the site, I had no concerns.

“As Yoshikazu Mera, the famous counter-tenor singer, as well as the director of Saito City Hall also have a high appreciation of sound, we had no hesitation in choosing Martin Audio systems.”

They discussed their requirements with Martin Audio dealer, Mr. Miura of Music Reserve, based on the different usage of the Hall and the music genres to be played.

A single array of five WPS elements was selected for the main proscenium system and since the required coverage area differs depending on the performance, Martin Audio XD12 was chosen, two cabinets per side—one for far field, the other for near field. Adding LF extension, an SX118 subwoofer has been installed on either side of the stage, while four CDD5 are used for stage frontfills, in order to improve intelligibility while suppressing reflections at the rear seating. All this is powered by four multi-channel iKON iK42 dedicated control amplifiers.

“As a result, we are now able to deliver a stable Martin Audio signature sound anywhere in the venue,” concludes Mr. Fukui. “We have already used this system in various applications, including speech and music, and every time we have received praise.”

A new 4,400-seat, three-storey church in the Ghanaian capital of Accra has been equipped with Martin Audio’s new state-of-the-art Wavefront Precision line array system.

Part of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC)—with a global outreach overseen by founder, Rev. Dr. Mensa Otabil—sound consultancy and installation were undertaken by London-based Ghanaian production engineer and integrator, Eben Awuah of Amson Audio.

Awuah has been working with professional sound systems since the age of 13, having been associated with the Dominion Centre, Wood Green, and specified many world leading brands along the way. He first became aware of Martin Audio four or five years ago while working as production engineer for another company. “But the time came when I wanted to set up my own AV operation to serve the whole of West Africa, including Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. I needed to go back there with a recognised system and Martin Audio was one of the premier brands I was looking at.”

The big turning point came when he attended a Martin Audio open day three years ago—just as the plan for Christ Temple East was being outlined—and heard the scalable Wavefront Precision Compact optimised array for the first time. “It coincided with just having finished an installation in Nigeria [with another leading system]. Although that sounded great, what I heard from WPC gave me the headroom I needed for this project.”

This was very much foremost in his mind when he was brought in as a consultant by the ICGC for their new project, described as a ‘Pentecostal Charismatic church’. “We earmarked four major systems and I was asked to give the pros and cons of each and explain which would be the better choice for the church.” Eben Awuah was then asked to undertake the complete installation.

Knowing the system would need to reinforce a vast programme of music—from gospel voice choirs to full orchestras rock ‘n’ roll bands and spoken word from celebrants, he recommended a WPC solution. “We are the only church in Ghana, with an opera group, a classical band, a harmonised choir and rock ‘n’ roll band,” he laughs. “WPC not only gave us more warmth than the other systems, but we needed a stronger lower end that we just couldn’t find elsewhere. It gave us that little bit of extra headroom with all the drivers hitting the right frequencies within the box, whereas I really struggled [with the other main system under consideration.] As for speech reproduction, the clarity from WPC is second to none.”

Ensuring maximum control, consistency and coverage, the entire system is run in 1-box resolution.

The system comprises two hangs of 10 WPC elements and two hangs of eight. These are used in combination with hangs of six SXCF118 (1 x 18) cardioid subwoofers flown behind each hang. There is further ground stacked sub reinforcement of 12 SXH218 (2 x 18), set across the wide stage in blocks of 2-4-4-2. The line arrays are powered by 10 iKON iK81’s and the subs by five iK42.

Cardioid characteristics for the subwoofers are essential in this venue due to the large number of microphones used on stage, especially with orchestral performances.

12 CDD8 are deployed as stage lip fills and finally 12 XE300s serve as floor monitors, powered by four iKON iK42 amplifiers.

The vast number of support function rooms and ancillary areas in the vast building also have their sound delivered by more than 140 Martin Audio C6.8T ceiling speakers.

“Although acoustic treatment is still taking place to deaden the vast room the system already sounds amazing,” according to Awuah.

System design assistance came from Martin Audio Product Support Engineer, Robin Dibble. According to Eben Awuah, the sound is first class. “We just loaded the system files from Display 2.3 via VU-NET and with the minimum of tweaking it was ready to go. This system just works, even though there is still more work to do on the room.”

The installation has certainly met with the approval of ICGC Founder / Overseer and Pastor, Dr. Otabil, who predicted that “this must be the best sound system in the whole of West Africa!”

It was also commended by the British High Commissioner for Ghana, Her Excellency Harriet Thompson, who visited the facility and spoke favourably both about the quality of the sound system and the British and Ghana trade relationship.