Category: Martin Audio

KOBE PORT MUSEUM FOOD HALL COMPLEX INSTALLS MARTIN AUDIO CDD AND ADORN

Post author By janice
Post date December 1, 2021

Kobe Port Museum, is a new cultural complex in the Japanese city, consisting of an aquarium, food hall, and bridal desk. The space on the ground floor is a next-generation food hall typified by the well-known Kobe restaurant brand, Tooth Tooth which has recently installed a Martin Audio system with background music produced by Fish Four.

Based in Kobe, the president Yutaka Okano says: “High-quality BGM is an indispensable element for restaurants and cafes. We choose music suitable for both day time and night time, and develop the atmosphere of the place. We have enjoyed a long relationship with Martin Audio and have used the brand in several facilities to date. With confidence in the quality of Martin Audio’s speakers, we again requested them without hesitation.”

A total of 29 CDD6TX cabinets have been installed on several pillars, covering a wide area of the food hall. In addition, ADORN series speakers have been deployed in the aisles with ACP-55T pendant and ASC-55T ceiling speakers. Including the outdoor terrace, 52 Martin Audio speakers feature in total.

“At night, DJs come in and play live. In addition, there is an event space in the hall, and if necessary, a portable Blackline X10 can be set up.”

Since there are three locations in the building where DJ booths may be set up, it was necessary to devise ways to smoothly transfer the signal inputs from these locations, and this was accomplished via a mobile input DSP rack, with the input signal delivered to the system via Dante. Switching between the ‘Start DJ’ and ‘Return to BGM’ sources is therefore straightforward.

Finally, Mr. Okano reveals, “There is an aquarium water pool above the bar counter in the centre of the food hall, and this is visible from beneath. We’ve created an amazing atmosphere which is well worth experiencing when visiting Kobe!”

Martin Audio

MARTIN AUDIO AWARDED PATENT FOR XE MONITOR WAVEGUIDE

Post author By janice
Post date December 1, 2021

Martin Audio has extended its list of notable patents with the addition of a United Kingdom Patent for its XE stage monitor waveguide.

The patent covers the use of Martin Audio’s differential dispersion coaxial drive units and the continuation of their waveguide shape to form the baffle, as seen in the XE monitors to achieve the desired HF coverage.The geometry of the static HF horn, the LF cone/moving waveguides and the static baffle combine to form a single HF horn.

WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT OUR CONTINUING INNOVATION HAS ONCE AGAIN BEEN RECOGNISED.

Dom Harter, Martin Audio

The XE stage monitor series comprises the XE300 and XE500, both delivering perfect monitor sound with a defined coverage pattern that allows the artist freedom of movement, while reducing overlap with adjacent monitors.

Coaxial Differential Dispersion technology allows the artist to stand directly over the monitor or further back, without significant changes in SPL or tonal balance. It produces the optimal coverage pattern over a listening plane at head-height and helps to contain the sound within that region.

The now patented contour-moulded static third waveguide increases the size of the horn mouth to maintain pattern control downwards and avoid spill outside the desired coverage area. Its rolled contour reduces diffraction and further improves pattern consistency at the lower end of the HF passband.

Managing director, Dom Harter, commented, “Even though XE monitors were introduced in 2017, it always takes time to secure a patent, but we are delighted that our continuing innovation has once again been recognised and I couldn’t be prouder of our R&D team.”

Find out more about XE Series here.

Martin Audio

MARTIN AUDIO LE100 ASSISTS IN REPRODUCING EIGHT-HORN ENSEMBLE

Post author By janice
Post date November 24, 2021

A classic concert took place recently at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Concert Hall, featuring Nobuaki Fukukawa. One of the world’s most active horn players, he is also principal player in the NHK Symphony Orchestra and a major name in the orchestral world.

At this recent recital Mr. Fukukawa had the clear desire to emulate his recordings from King Records, and play the songs on it in the form of an eight-horn ensemble, by overdubbing himself.

Mr. Fukukawa and King Records consulted with Koichi Ishimaru, sound master at Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, and he suggested “treating the loudspeakers as musical instruments.” His idea was that Mr. Fukukawa should perform live on stage to create the one part while the seven remaining parts should be played back one by one through the surround speakers, with the recorded source created in Pro Tools.

However, this was no easy task. The system had to be able to reproduce the accurate horn tone and unique localisation with natural sound. To solve this challenge, Mr. Ishimaru selected Martin Audio LE100.

He explains, “I was particular about coaxial speakers because they can accurately express the sound source of musical instruments. I was convinced it was going to be successful.”

Mr. Fukukawa stood in the centre of the stage surrounded by seven chairs, each of which supported an LE100, arranged facing in different directions.

“The bell of the horn is usually facing backwards when being played and so instead of pointing the speaker directly to the audience seats, I tried a similar approach. This allowed us to reproduce the unique soft sound.”

The idea of matching the start of the performance and the recorded sound was also unique. Using a video device called a conductor monitor, which has extremely low latency, Mr. Fukukawa played according to his own conducting video, recorded in advance. Since the original album was made in the same way, it was a straightforward process to do this for the live performance.

Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Concert Hall is famous for its beautiful acoustics and the two octet performances of Star Wars and Death in Venice Mahler Symphony No. 5 ~ Adder Jet were performed to a delighted audience, enthralled by an innovative approach to immersive sound.

Martin Audio

Spa break

Post author By janice
Post date November 16, 2021

Martin Audio distributor Sama Sound has finished upgrading the first of several Resom Resort facilities that are under new ownership. Caroline Moss, from Pro AVL Asia, discovers how the best audio technology is contributing to the relaxation of clients and venue staff

Three years ago, South Korean construction company Hoban Co began proceedings to acquire Resom Resort from its creditors at a cost of US$224 million. Splas Resom, one of the company’s three resorts in Chungcheong Province, has just undergone refurbishment of its existing facilities and the construction of a new building, reopening as the country’s first membership spa resort.

Previously known as Resom Spa Castle, Splas Resom is located in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do, an hour-and-a-half’s drive from Seoul and 30 minutes away from mountains, beaches and a variety of cultural tourist attractions. Splas Resom is supplied with waters from the Deoksan hot springs, revered by Koreans for 600 years for their healing properties.

Martin Audio’s Korean distributor, Sama Sound, partnered with dealer Asea Sound to submit a successful bid to supply sound systems for several multipurpose halls, including the main Juniper Hall, all of which host corporate events, seminars and workshops. The systems needed to be sufficiently versatile to handle a number of source feeds ranging from background music to voice announcements and occasionally, live music. Overseeing the project for Sama Sound was sales manager Jong Hwa Seo, while Seung Hwan Kim designed the system and Hong Geun Kim took charge of the speaker installations and system tuning.

Juniper Hall is mainly rented to third parties for a diverse programme of events, most of which include a speech component. This made speech intelligibility one of the first priorities when selecting an audio system for the hall. A cardioid subwoofer had also been specified in order to reduce leakage from behind the sub. Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Compact (WPC) proved to meet all the performance criteria. “The system pretty much decided itself,” explains Sama Sound product manager, Edan Kwon, “and since a cardioid subwoofer had been specified, we designed the system using Martin Audio’s SXC118 sub.”

The scalable Wavefront Precision offered additional advantages, too. “The venue was constructed without regard for architectural acoustics, so there were consequently many sound reflections, especially from the venue’s back wall, as well as from backstage,” continues Kwon. “The Hard Avoid feature in the proprietary Display software helped us to control those reflections, while the customer was more than satisfied at how the SXC118 cardioid subwoofer reduced the radiation behind.”

A main system of five WPC elements per side and a single W8VDQ Differential Dispersion central speaker, driven by iKON iK81 Dante eight-channel and four iK42 Dante four-channel amplifiers, has been installed in the Juniper Hall, accompanied by two-per-side SXC118 compact subs in cardioid mode, with a pair of LE200 wedges provided for stage monitoring. Four CDD12Bs function as delay speakers, with side fill handled by a CDD12B on each side of the hall.

In the smaller Rosemary Hall, a pair of Martin Audio W8VDQs and two SXC118 subs form the main system, with two CDD8Bs acting as delay speakers, all powered from a four-channel iK42 and an LEA Connect 702 amplifier.

The Geranium Hall has a pair of CDD8Bs as main speakers and a pair of CDD5Bs for delay, with four CDD8Bs in the Iris and Marigold halls, and a pair of the same speakers in each of the Sage Hall, Jasmine Hall and Verbena Hall spaces. All the CDD models are powered by LEA Professional’s Connect amp series, a relatively new brand which Splas Resom’s house engineer, Seung Hyuk Im, hadn’t worked with before. “I was surprised at the sound performance in conjunction with the CDDs; they are a really good combination,” he says. “Considering the performance and the IoT features they offer, they are very cost-effective products.”

All other equipment installed throughout the halls was well-known to the engineer. “Since the venue is mostly rented, I wanted to choose equipment that was familiar to visiting engineers,” continues Im. “Martin Audio was one of my considerations from the beginning, and it provided me with the best solution. I have experienced [the brand] both at exhibitions and also when I was working at a rental company. The sound is so clear and punchy, and the balance extremely good. Engineers who came in to rent systems for their events were all 100% satisfied.”

The optimisation and Hard Avoid features had worked really well, he adds. “I was also satisfied with the performance of the SXC118 cardioid subwoofer. Since we are a resort, the aesthetics were also important. Martin Audio speakers look classy and fabulous but are also small enough to be fairly unobtrusive – particularly the cardioid subwoofer; it is not easy to find one this small.”

Im is also unstinting in his praise for the CDD Series. “We are using many CDDs in our rooms for main speakers and also for delays,” he says. “In the Juniper Hall, they work as delay speakers, but also as the main speaker system when the hall is divided into several spaces. What makes them so special is that they sound exactly the same, no matter which size, from 5- to 15-inch models. It’s so easy for me to control the sound when there are different sizes of CDDs installed at the venue and, as well as the sound, I also love its small size and design.”

A top-of-the-range Allen & Heath dLive S7000 with DM64 mix rack was selected as front of house console in the Juniper Hall. “The dLive S7000 had enough input channels to handle all the equipment and devices in the room and it has an outstanding preamp,” says Im. “My most important consideration was stability. I’d never experienced any issues with the Allen & Heath SQ6 which we used before the S7000, so I am very satisfied with the stability of Allen & Heath consoles. I also like the fact that the interface is simple and intuitive, and it was very easy for me to learn how to use it. One click and you are there.”

Sama Sound also supplied Shure QLXD4 wireless mic systems to all the halls. “I am very satisfied with Shure QLXD; not just with the sound quality, but with the RF stability,” says Im. “I have many times suffered with RF disconnections with other wireless products, but I haven’t experienced any with QLXD over the course of a year. I tested them using all our 24 channels at the same time at the venue before installing them, and there was no problem at all.”

Im is confident that the new audio infrastructure will allow events to be staged smoothly using the resort’s own equipment, and that visiting rental companies can put on events without needing to bring in their own systems. “Thanks to Sama Sound, their proposal was just what I needed and our collaboration fulfilled all the requirements to achieve my plan,” he says.

Article Source : https://www.proavl-asia.com/details/69040-spa-break

Martin Audio

NEW POP GOLF EXPERIENCE LAUNCHES IN WEMBLEY WITH MARTIN AUDIO CDD

Post author By ContentAdmin
Post date November 8, 2021

Situated at BOXPARK Wembley, a 20,000sq. ft events space described as ‘the ultimate fan park destination’, Pop Golf offers a unique social experience, combining crazy golf with 21st century pop music in a brightly coloured environment. This unusual playground is built on the belief that nothing brings people together like music and play.

Based on a concept devised by Smith & Devil, the venue features a course of nine pop-themed holes paired with a high-octane Martin Audio sound system, provided by partners, Middlesex Sound & Light (MSL).

Director and project manager Darrel Olivier looked no further than the company’s CDD6 / SX112 subwoofer combination, as he has many times in the past.

From Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ to retro 80’s boomboxes and suspended cassette tapes, each hole is completely unique and has been designed to offer the experience of stepping straight into a music video. Hence MSL also applied some unusual twists and immersive customer interaction.

They were introduced to the project by designer Zachary Pulman (Zachary Pulman Design Studio) with whom they worked previously on the similarly profiled Swingers. Olivier won the pitch and was soon on-site discussing requirements for the multi-zone site with owner Allan Saud, of operators Mighty Adventures. The brief was to provide cutting edge audio technology, that would do justice to the eclectic playlist, profiled by creative director, Kevin Mura (of Smith & Devil). The playlists were curated by Tin Drum, featuring different genres each night, while Open Ear delivered the platform for the music playout.

THE MARTIN AUDIO SOUND SYSTEM, RECOMMENDED AND INSTALLED BY THE MSL TEAM, HAS ENSURED WE ARE ABLE TO DELIVER THE UNIQUE MUSIC EXPERIENCE THAT WE WANT FOR OUR CLIENTS.
Allan Saud, Mighty Adventures

Stated Olivier, “The process began in September last year but became drawn out because of COVID. However, it was a joy to work with because the client had put together a complete 30-page AV presentation pack; they knew exactly what they wanted. There was a strong emphasis on powerful sound with some quirks. For example, in the Sound Lounge experience they have used Ableton Live software run off a 32Gb iPad Pro to enable clients to interact and manipulate the sound.” Any sound source can be sent to any zone with local volume and source select by BSS remote control panels.

Explaining the speaker selection, he said, “The place is like a tin can with high ceilings and hard surfaces so we specified a large quantity of speakers which could be underrun, to mitigate the reflections. We have used the CDD6 many times; aesthetically it is a nice box which works particularly well with the SX112.”

The operation exists on ground floor and mezzanine levels. In total MSL has deployed 22 CDD6 compact 2-way loudspeakers. In the Ground Floor bar, a pair of CDD6 are complemented by a 1 x 12in SX112 subwoofer concealed under the stairs.

Each of the nine crazy golf holes is served by its own CDD6 and color-coded with its own individual RAL colour, with the Martin Audio enclosures are sprayed to match. Three SX112 subs have been specified—two flown and one floor-standing—each providing coverage for three of the holes).

One twist is on Hole 3 where a giant set of headphones has been equipped with a pair of Martin Audio ADORN A55. “As clients walk through it, they trigger different sound effects,” explains Darrel Olivier.

Up on the Mezzanine, each of the two zones is identically equipped with CDD6 in each of the four corners and an SX112 handling the low frequency extension.

DJ plug-in points have been provided on Hole 9—which is designed as a live stage set, with provision for live PA. Further DJ plug-in points can be found in the mezzanine area for private hire clients.

Finally, MSL has provided a full AV infrastructure, with the many media displays used exclusively for digital signage and promo, controlled by Tripleplay.

This is the first Pop Golf venue in what is being positioned as a gradual brand roll-out.

Stated Allan Saud: “The Martin Audio sound system, recommended and installed by the MSL team, has ensured we are able to deliver the unique music experience that we want for our clients. It is both powerful and versatile, making its mark in both the interactive features as well as over the nine golf holes, where the speakers blend in seamlessly.”

Photography by Andrew Meredith.

Martin Audio

AUDIOSURE INSTALLS MARTIN AUDIO BLACKLINEX IN NEW SOUTH AFRICAN WELLNESS CENTRE

Post author By ContentAdmin
Post date November 3, 2021

Located in Bedfordview, an affluent area within Johannesburg, the newly opened Body Action Gym is a six-star, state-of-the-art wellness facility which provides access to world-class fitness equipment, personalised nutritional guidance and a lifestyle environment like no other.

The gym boasts 5000 sq.m of cardio and weight training space; an array of dedicated aerobic, yoga, Pilates, HIIT and spinning studios; an open-air basketball court, boxing ring’ 50m sprint track and outdoor elite fitness training area—plus a kids area, in-house cafe and apparel shop.

Key focus was given to the various entertainment systems which needed to seamlessly integrate into the gym’s overall vision for the facility.And this was highlighted by a state-of-the-art Martin Audio BlacklineX PA system.

John Greaves, Audio Specialist at Audiosure, the Martin Audio distributor, explained the various factors which led to the elaborate audio system design. “We were trying to achieve an extremely high-quality, distributed, multi-zone, multi-purpose, state-of-the-art audio solution which would allow each area of the gym to have audio functioning either independently or collectively, at the touch of a button,” he said. The Audiosure Solutions team worked closely with Craig Harris and Mark Bracco from Audiobility, specialists in control automation, to help turn Body Action Gym’s vision into reality.

The Audiosure Solutions team had to be cognisant of the fact that the gym sits across three floors of a multi-storey building, which is shared with corporate offices. This posed a slight issue for the team, as the audio system needed to deliver club-level sound when guest DJs were playing, while at the same time leave the occupants of the offices above free from disturbance. Greaves added, “Structural transference was the gym’s biggest concern, so we needed to make sure that we isolated the speakers and subwoofers from any concrete surfaces.” This was achieved with the use of rubber mounts and steel suspension rope, and helped prevent any vibrations from being transferred through the concrete to the adjacent floors.

WE ARE BIG FANS OF BLACKLINEX BECAUSE IT OFFERS EXCEPTIONAL SOUND QUALITY AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.
John Greaves, Audiosure

To achieve the optimum result they turned to the prestigious Martin Audio portfolio. The main gym area now consists of 16 Blackline X8s mounted to custom column clamps, as well as six Blackline X118 subwoofers suspended from the concrete slab. The entire solution is controlled by a dedicated Martin Audio DX0.5 speaker management system, allowing complete control of processing functions such as EQ, crossover and system protection. Each of the studios are equipped with a pair of powered Blackline XP12s, providing 1300W of class-leading sound from an extremely compact enclosure. The XP12s are all pole mounted from the ceiling, utilising the aforementioned rubber mounts.

The surrounding areas, including the indoor boxing area, outdoor CrossFit section, outdoor running track and basketball court and kids’ areas, were also equipped with sound, and careful selection of appropriate wireless microphones—from Belt-pack Transmitter Systems to Headset Microphones for the trainer—was applied, while similar attention to detail was given to the lighting.

Greg Payne, Director at Audiosure, described the whole project as “an absolute pleasure.” He added, “From conceptualisation to completion, the outcome was exactly how we had planned it. Audiosure is privileged to distribute some of the world’s leading brands, and being able to incorporate these into this project meant that the result was pure perfection.”

And John Greaves also added his praise of the Martin Audio solution. “We are big fans of BlacklineX because it offers exceptional sound quality at an affordable price, it offers very neat mounting hardware and an aesthetically pleasing enclosure design. The BlacklineX powered enclosures are wonderful because of their built-in DSP, limiters and again the same points as above.

“It was a compelling solution because the Blackline X8s are small and neat enough to be distributed all around the venue, while being impressive enough to cover the space effectively, with great sounding audio.”

Martin Audio

MLA COMPACT FLOATS RG JONES’ BOAT AT HENLEY FESTIVAL

Post author By ContentAdmin
Post date November 1, 2021

After its enforced break last year, the traditional black-tie Henley Festival returned this summer with sound system providers, RG Jones Sound Engineering’s association with the event now approaching 40 years.

However, the site on the banks of the Thames is not without its challenges when it comes to creating optimum audio. This is highlighted by its main Floating Stage, situated on the river itself.The auditorium here is only around 40m from front to back, but over 100m wide. Obtaining even coverage without hotspots for audiences, both inside and outside the main sound field, is a challenge that has been met head on by a combination of the service providers’ technical expertise, led by designer Simon Honywill, and their deployment of Martin Audio’s award-winning MLA.

The Festival production team had previously acknowledged that MLA’s advanced control technology had enabled them to dial in exactly the required coverage area to ensure compliance with the licence conditions.

Once again, the system tech responsible was highly experienced MLA technician, Mark Edwards. With his adept use of Hard Avoid in the DISPLAY optimisation software, RG Jones comfortably maintained offsite noise limits at 65dB(A) over 15 minutes while achieving appropriate levels within the defined coverage areas.

While this year’s five-day festival saw headliners Madness, James Blunt and Sophie Ellis-Bextor supported by Sara Cox alongside Sounds of the 80s, Disco Classical Featuring Kathy Sledge, and Don’t Stop Me Now rock symphony revue shows, RG Jones also provided Martin Audio solutions for a number of support and specialist club stages—largely using MLA Mini. The one exception was Pure Heaven, combining two major clubbing brands. And this saw the deployment of the new Martin Audio TORUS advanced constant curvature system.

Bowcher project managed the audio for the whole site in tandem with Production Manager, John Harris. As with 2019, a seven-elements-a-side MLA Compact flown PA rig provided coverage on the Floating Stage, with a further nine elements per side of MLA Compact providing outfills and four a-side MLA Mini for infills. Providing LF extension were two stacks of three MLX subwoofers, designed in cardioid pattern to prevent bleed back onto the stage, while DD12’s delays ensured intelligibility was maintained at the back of the Grandstand, where the roof obscures the top of the main system.

In addition to Mark Edwards, Steve Carr handled monitors on the Floating Stage and Rosie Tarrant was stage patch, with responsibility for RF.

Elsewhere, Sam Liddiard supervised Salon Comedy Club, Olly Wickes was FOH in the Jazz Club, Dan Langridge was at the Riverside Restaurant and Sam Millen ensured the sound ran smoothly in the Bedouin Lounge Bar.

As for TORUS, RG Jones say they can see plenty of uses for it in their 2022 calendar. The flexibility of the system would fit well into the diverse applications the company deals with across its hugely varied client portfolio.

Photo credit: Alex Wood

Martin Audio

ELECTRIC WOODLANDS MAKES ENCHANTED FESTIVAL DEBUT WITH MARTIN AUDIO PA’S

Post author By janice
Post date October 20, 2021

A new dance festival called Electric Woodlands took place recently in the idyllic grounds of Bygrave Farm in Baldock. Three bespoke stages, set in lush green landscapes, and a hidden forest provided the backdrop to a who’s who of drum & bass, house and bass exponents over an 11-hour period.

Capital Sound, part of the Solotech UK Group, equipped all three stages with PA, the two largest fitted out with premium Martin Audio systems.

The service providers had been introduced to the event by Alex Anderson, a production manager with whom they had worked previously. Capital senior project manager, Martin Connolly takes up the story. “We were then contacted and initially asked to quote on the main stage before extending this to the other two stages.”

The crew worked alongside the event’s main production manager, Catherine Bates, observing sound thresholds set by F1 Acoustics. “It was a remote site so there were no real sound restrictions,” Connolly observed.

The main Big Top, managed by DnB Allstars, comprised a 76m x 66m 6-pole Kayam tent. It was here that this online community of drum & bass fans presented a top line-up, headlined by Chase & Status and Rage.

Capital Sound responded by flying 14 MLA Compact Loudspeaker Arrays, left and right, with 12 MLX subwoofers in a broadside array and six Martin Audio XD12 for front fill. “We chose MLA Compact because we were weight restricted to 850 kilos per side,” noted Capital’s project manager. MLA and system tech on this stage was Dan Leaver, with Lee Furnell as the crew chief.

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A Martin Audio rig was also present on The Clearing Stage, hosted by the bassline collective, CruCast. They showcased leading practitioners Skepsis, Darkzy, Kanine, DJ Q b2b Jamie Duggan, Window Kid, Zero, Tsuki—as well as garage, grime and bassline star, Flava D.

For this stage Capital Sound elected to fly eight WPS per side—run off iKON iK42 amplifiers in 1-box resolution—again with restricted weight capacities in mind. “It was the best weapon in the Martin Audio armoury that was also sufficiently light to give us the required number of speakers per side,” he said. Subwoofers comprised 12 SX218 (2 x 18”) and four XD12 provided front fill.

Sam Cunningham was the FOH tech at the Clearing Stage and system tech was Alistair Helliard.

In view of the success of the inaugural Electric Woodlands, the festival is now being pitched as an annual event.

Martin Audio

TITAN FESTIVAL REVIVES CARDIFF’S ALEXANDRA HEAD AS A VENUE, WITH HELP FROM MLA

Post author By ContentAdmin
Post date October 13, 2021

A unique festival in Cardiff Bay is being seen as the precursor to reviving a once popular venue at the City’s Alexandra Head.

The four-day extravaganza, promoted by Live Nation, combined the two-day electronic Titan Festival at the weekend, book-ended by Bay Series on the Friday and Monday.

In residence throughout the entire event and broadcasting sound from an all-star line-up, ranging from Biffy Clyro and Frank Carter And The Rattlesnakes on the opening night, to Eric Prydz and Chic featuring Nile Rogers, was the award-winning Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker array—provided by Stage Audio Services (SAS) under the project management of Nat Hopking.

In addition to the above, Pendulum presented their spectacular Trinity show, reuniting all three original band members for a rare UK outing on the Friday, and another popular act was CamelPhat, supporting Eric Prydz on the Saturday.

In view of the sensitive location, with the potential of sound propagation affecting both harbourmaster’s comms as the PA blasted out over the Bay, and also spilling into nearby residential areas, Martin Audio provided SAS systems engineer Dave Taylor with technical back-up in the form of Product Support Engineer, Simon Purse.

Purse recalls that the main issue had been the risk of disturbing communications to the boats in the harbour. “We did some propagation tests and applied Hard Avoid to prevent leakage back to the artists onstage, and at the imaginary rear wall at the boundary of the audience area, 70 metres back. In fact we stored a number of presets in the background of the software, to cater for various different scenarios.”

Dave Taylor takes up the story. “As it was an open site, we needed to take precautions against possible wind interference, but in the end, this was not needed.” Sound thresholds were imposed by acousticians Electric Star Live, with the initially set maximum of 96dBa Leq (15 minutes) later relaxed to 98dBa for the main acts (and dependent on the style of music).

COVERAGE WAS EVEN RIGHT ACROSS THE SITE, AND THE SUBS SOUNDED FANTASTIC, ESPECIALLY ON THE DRUM AND BASS.
Dave Taylor, Stage Audio Services (SAS)

Taylor confirmed that hangs of 10 Martin Audio MLA elements per side were supported by 15 MLX subwoofers in cardioid broadside sub array, to ensure rear rejection, and four MLA Compact, ground-stacked on each side of the stage, acted as side-fills.

Dave Taylor himself mixed the drum and bass acts, with the exception of Biffy Clyro (whose sound was in the hands of experienced sound engineer, Jon Burton). Stated Taylor, “Coverage was even right across the site, and the subs sounded fantastic, especially on the drum and bass. It was thumping hard, yet we were still only at 70%. There was plenty of horsepower in the system and I had the tops turned down 4dB. There was always ample headroom in the system.”

The promoters ensured that this event was a real spectacle, with pyrotechnics, lasers and big screen video supporting the muscular Martin Audio PA. It looks certain that now the venue has been re-established, the event will return on an even larger scale in 2022.

Martin Audio

MLA COMES ALIVE FOR IDLES’ LOUD LUNCHTIME HEADLINE SPOT AT BROCKWELL PARK

Post author By janice
Post date October 6, 2021

The same team that successfully staged the recent South Facing Festival at Crystal Palace Bowl regrouped a few miles down the road to Brockwell Park, south of Brixton, where a recent three-day festival was divided into three prominent brands. Kicking off on Friday, September 3rd with Wide Awake, this was followed by Mighty Hoopla and finally Cross The Tracks on the Sunday (collectively billed as “Brixton’s jazz, funk and soul feast”).

Mighty Hoopla saw Cheryl headlining, with, Eve and Becky Hill, Jimmy Somerville and Gabrielle among the support, while Sunday saw Corinne Bailey Rae, Cymande, Soul II Soul Lianne La Havas, and Jordan Rakei take the stage among others.

Capital Sound provided sound reinforcement on the four main stages, with the principal three featuring Martin Audio MLA loudspeaker arrays.

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Working once again with promoter Marcus Weedon, production company Loud Sound Events and production manager Julia Bruns (as they had at Crystal Palace), Cap project manager David Preston confirmed that the most unusual headline spot had been filled by post-punk band, IDLES—themselves confirmed Martin Audio devotees—who topped the bill on the opening Wide Awake day.

One of the loudest bands on the circuit, they took to the stage at 1.30pm for the Friday headline spot in order to fulfil another engagement that evening, with their sound mixed as usual by Chris Fullard.

Capital has prior experience of working Mighty Hoopla and are familiar with the site; they were thus aware of noise sensitivity, with residential dwellings in close proximity to main stage right. The service providers were fortunate to have experienced MLA tech Dan Fathers to set optimisations that would notch out unwanted areas of coverage, using the Hard Avoid function in the DISPLAY software, to protect the neighbours from potential noise pollution. Fathers was supported by FOH tech, Bheki Phakathi.

Main stage was equipped with hangs of 13 MLA elements plus a single MLD Downfill box on each side. These were supported by a further eight MLA Compact as side hangs on each flank and a further 12 W8LM as front fills. Subwoofers comprised 15 MLX in a broadside cardioid array in order to keep sound from bleeding back onto the stage.

Two delay towers, each comprising eight MLA Compact, were set behind the mix position and between 55-60 metres from the stage, offering 80 metres coverage distance in total. Fathers marginally reoptimised and reduced the throw distance of the PA after the opening day, such was its projection.

The second stage was set inside a circus big top where Capital flew 10 MLA per side, with 12 MLX subwoofers on the ground, arrayed across the front. Providing front fills were six of Martin Audio’s popular DD6 front fills in a location where the sound was supervised by FOH tech Rich Wonnacott.

Stage 3 was assigned to a slightly smaller tent, where 10 MLA Compact were rigged per side, with 12 SX218 subwoofers arrayed in front of the stage. Four DD12 were provided for front fill, and Capital’s Ollie Fallon doubled as both system tech and FOH tech.

Stated IDLES’ FOH engineer, Chris Fullard, “Once again, the sound produced by MLA was really great. As always you can run this PA pretty flat—I just loaded my show file and it sounded fantastic from the get-go. The drums, in particular, sounded huge outdoors … the kit was slamming, as was the bass, and there was a fantastic sub response.”

He confirmed that the band would be touring with MLA when they go out next year.

Despite IDLES’ reputation for loud sound David Preston confirmed that throughout the weekend, his crew had worked within the noise limits (and offsite thresholds) set by acousticians, Electric Star, while Vanguardia oversaw the levels on behalf of Lambeth Council.

“Everything went extremely well,” confirmed Preston, in summary.

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