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2003 News Articles XTA Crossover for Elton John in Malta The show, part of the Elton John Solo European tour, saw Capital Sound fly in its W8L/W8LC system as a stand-in for the Clair Brothers i4 line array system being used on the remainder of the tour. The very wide site – measuring some 160 metres wide by just 70 metres deep, with the stage on one of the long sides – created an acoustical challenge for production manager Henry Crallan and Capital Sound’s techs Ian Colville and Finbar Neenan. With housing next to the arena, achieving coverage across the breadth of the arena without excess noise spill was tricky. The solution was to use two ground stacks of Clair Bros i4 almost at right angles to the stage as outfills to complement the W8L/W8LC main left and right PA. FOH engineer Clive Franks mixed on a Yamaha PM4000, and Capital Sound’s Martin Connolly commented: “The system wasn’t driven very hard but it was an incredibly full sound that was really impressive.” The Martin system was processed by XTA DP226 processors, programmed using XTA AudioCore software running on a laptop PC. These days we use XTA and AudioCore for all our Martin Audio systems,” adds Connolly. “It gives us both the precision and the audio quality to match a high quality loudspeaker system like the W8L.”
XTA signal processing was in command of the extensive front of house control system, supplied by Tourtech, that accompanied Coldplay’s UK and European tour, and the round of summer festivals that followed it – culminating in their double-headlining appearances at the V Festivals 2003 at Chelmsford and Weston Park, Stafford. Continuing their role from the tour to the festivals, four XTA SiDDs at front of house provided dynamics processing for the acoustic guitar and keyboards, along with a battery of exotic effects units. Daniel Green mixed at front of house on a Midas XL4, with four GEQ600s providing system control, along with six DP226s. At the other end of the multicore, six more GQ600s handled the monitor mix system EQ and six DP200s acted as monitor processors and EQ for in-ear mixes, with Chris Wood at the controls of a Midas Heritage 3000. Tourtech’s Dick Rabel commented: “Everything that XTA has ever made is extremely well researched; they examine the marketplace and take into account engineers’ viewpoints, so users end up getting products that they’ve almost specified themselves - and the products are manufactured to such high standards they’re totally reliable and dependable. In fact, they’ve become the benchmark by which all other DSP is judged.”
The tour commenced in Boston this month, and the band's massive PA, designed by Chicago's db Sound, features 32 XTA DP226 units and a complex EV X-Line and X-Line Compact PA system. The DP226s are providing crossovers and crucial split-second zoning and delay time changes for this extraordinary adventure, in which the band plays three different venues in each city - a theatre, an indoor arena and a stadium. "The DP226 is an important part of the sound of this PA and this tour," notes Harry Witz, President of db Sound and designer of the Stones' PA system, who is accompanying it on the leg of the tour. "The DP226 is the only digital crossover that can fit the bill for a system like this." XTA's Guy Lewis comments: "A lot of manufacturers have brought speaker processors to market and tried to topple the DP226, but in the four years since the unit drove the last Stones' World Tour, nothing has surpassed the audio quality. For dB Sound to go for the DP226 again is a real privilege for us." "After the last tour, db's entire rig went straight back out on the AC/DC World Tour, so there was no let up," continues Lewis. "dB know the system inside-out, especially AudioCore, and are part of the growing number using radio links to manage the versatile Array Control from anywhere in the auditorium." Witz and dB Sound worked closely with XTA in the development of the exclusive DP Series Array Control feature of the unit's software, which plays a prominent part in handling the PA configuration. "Every processor for every main amp rack is an XTA on this tour," adds Witz. "In addition, because of the DP226's digital capability, we have snapshots of set-ups of hundreds of settings - literally years of libraries that can be recalled instantly. It's making this tour much easier and making the sound consistently better at every show. The XTA processors are really at the heart of this system." While the self-styled 'best pub band in the world' rolls merrily into its wrinkly age, at 40 years there's no slack in the desire to make a massive impact. This is thought to be the first major rock tour to involve three completely different productions in each city, creating a substantial logistical challenge for the production crew, which includes production manager Jake Berry, stage manager Anthony Giardano, FOH engineer Robbie McGrath, assisted by Jim Holman, monitor engineer Chris Wade-Evans, assisted by Kevin Glendenning, and system engineer Dave Dickson. "The real key to this," dB Sound's Harry Witz told PSNE, "has been to devise a way of simplifying the task of creating the right audio solution for each type of venue, and being able to switch between them digitally every night without any glitches or hassle. Using a combination of X-Line and X-Line Compact and the XTA DP226s with XTA AudioCore software, we've succeeded in doing just that." The stadium rig comprises a 20-deep Electrovoice X-Line system, with one column of full range cabinets and one of subs either side, plus another column of 10 full-range X-Line speakers either side facing the bleachers. Further X-Line delay hangs are scaled to suit the venue. Driving it all are 60 Electrovoice P3000 amplifiers with 12 XTA DP226 loudspeaker controllers in control of all EQ and delay timings. The indoor shows feature a scaled-down version of the stadium production, using a main X-Line rig 13 cabinets deep, with columns nine deep for the sides. The central 'B' stage is powered by four columns of EV's new XLC (X-Line Compact) line array, with 12 cabinets in each hang, once again powered by 32 EV P3000 amps and controlled by eight XTA DP226s. Front and rear fills are deployed according to the requirements of the individual venue. "This is where the XTA really comes into its own," says Witz. "On the indoor shows, the front-facing PA is time aligned to the side-facing PA system, as is the front fill system on the ground. All the B stage stuff is turned off in the processors, but when the band goes out to the B stage, at the click of a mouse the front system is muted, the B stage system is unmuted, the side-facing PA on the main stage goes into time-alignment to the B stage, and it also changes in level to match the B stage. Also, the levels, timings and mutes, and any rear fills and front fills for the main stage, all shift at the same moment. We achieve all that with a single click on the AudioCore screen on a laptop." A wireless link is employed by Dickson and the team during the audio setup at each venue, walking around adjusting EQ settings and levels in the different sound zones, and during shows Dickson walks around fine-tuning zone levels from the laptop. "We're using the Windows XP remote desktop client to enable us to switch from the computer and drive rack to the remote instantly," adds Witz. Witz: "We take an audio snapshot of each and every show and the PA configuration in every venue using AudioCore, and store them in a preset library, so that where it would normally takes hours on end to get it all adjusted every day, once it's on file it's as simple as pulling into the gig and calling up a memory and making a few minor adjustments to it - without AudioCore it would be very tough indeed."
The world tour’s sound was provided by Showco and Audiorent of Switzerland with a Clair Brothers i4/B4 line array system, mixed at front-of-house by Paul ‘Pab’ Boothroyd on a pair of Midas XL4 consoles. For Red Square, however, logistics meant a change of PA and Showco brought in Concert Sound, who flew two main hangs of EAW KF760 line arrays and KF761s a side. Says Boothroyd: “It worked very effectively, taking advantage of the look-ahead gate function, and worked very well from a hands-on user’s point of view.” Boothroyd had also taken eight channels of G2 on McCartney’s main European tour dates to handle all his gating. Monitor engineer John Roden was equally keen to try out the new technology in the G2 and ordered one to try only a few dates into the tour as well. He comments: “We added a second kick drum for an acoustic section of the set, and I used it on that and it performed very well - I liked what I heard.” His monitor rig and the backline had been flown to Moscow, including a pair of Midas Heritage H3000s, Showco SRM floor monitors and four Clair R4 full range boxes for sidefills, driven by Amcron amplification. The tour ended back where it had all begun for McCartney, in his home-town of Liverpool. The last show of his hugely-successful year-long tour was staged near the banks of the River Mersey on Sunday June 1, an open-air summer show for 30,000 fans, which entailed the crew effectively building a gig from scratch, erecting the 70ft. stage on empty ground at King's Dock. The 2002-3 tour was the most successful of McCartney’s post-Beatles career, named Tour of the Year by Billboard magazine. Other landmark shows included a charity show inside The Coliseum in Rome on May 10 for just 300 people, the first time any rock & roll artist has played inside The Coliseum, with a free show outside The Coliseum the following day for around 300,000 people, and McCartney’s first concert in Dublin since 1963.
The unit features 2 inputs and 6 outputs. Both inputs have an 8 band parametric equaliser, base delay and gain control. All outputs feature crossover filters, 5 band parametric equaliser, high and low shelving filters, limiter and delay. Full metering is provided for inputs and outputs, with a mute button for instant system control in emergencies. For added tamper-proof security, the unit has a ‘Safe’ switch internally selectable to disable all front panel controls, and the ability to separately disable just the panel memory recall switches. Up to 32 DP6i can be controlled from a single PC with XTA’s proven AudioCore Windows™ control software, with the ability for further units to shadow those 32 ID numbers for an unlimited number of system outputs.
Stage Audio Services is providing the PA which features four XTA C2 compressors across eight of the main drum, guitar and vocal channels. “We tried the Series 2 out on some Meatloaf gigs last year, and Meatloaf’s engineer was blown away by the C2. We just knew we had to have some,” says Stage Audio’s Kevin Mobberley. “We have a DP226 and AudioCore running our L’Acoustics system on the tour and it really has the presence and punch rock audiences expect.” Bowling For Soup’s engineer, Edo Levi was trying them out for the first time: "My honest opinion is... they almost work too well!” he comments. “Some comps colour certain things in certain ways, but the C2s just don't colour the sound at all. I am routing the drum kit to two subgroups and then using stereo settings on the C2 across it. This works great to really tighten up the kit. I use them across the bass and guitars and they are just so clean. “They would be really good on delicate signals too, but there is not too much of that with this band. The adjustable knee is really nice - now I know the unit, I will adjust the knee during the soundcheck, depending on the venue, or even during the gig to tune the compression. The sidechain EQ is a good idea and doesn't change the sound in too much of an obvious way. I was a bit nervous of trying out something new to start with, but for what I want, it has worked out so well.” “The C2s have been brilliant, “ says Kevin. “The band have a huge sound, an enormous guitarist and the UK gigs have been great!”
The tour, which began on April 24 in Middlesborough and winds up at Dublin’s Olympia on May 12, is mixed by Mark Ballard at front of house and Matt Napier on monitors, with Skan technicians Matt Vickers (who is also mixing support band Liko) and Nick Stagg. Mark Ballard’s FOH setup comprises the DiGiCo D5 Live, of which Mark says: “Chris and I had one sent down to look at, and we immediately thought it was a great, very hands-on digital console rather than the typical rather complicated multi-layered setup. The D5 places everything in front of you with three input banks and the touch screens, so you can really mix with two hands.” The engineer is using the console’s onboard dynamics, supplemented by an external XTA DP324 SiDD dynamics processor on Melanie’s vocal microphone for compression and dynamic EQ. His other main effects unit is a TC Electronics System 6000. The D5’s onboard effects are being used for Matt Napier for the support band. Skan Audio purchased the dV-DOSC system in April. “Over the past 18 months, Skan has looked at virtually every speaker product available,” says Skan’s Chris Fitch. “The conclusion was that dV-DOSC provided the most complete solution for the work that Skan has booked, including the forthcoming Melanie C and Ladysmith Black Mambazo tours, which will encompass city halls and theatres from 1,800 - 4,500 capacity and will keep the system busy from mid-April right through until early June. The system is capable of fulfilling the requirements of the bulk of our work, with the opportunity to rent the larger format V-DOSC as required.” The PA consists of 12 dV-DOSC cabinets, four dV-DOSC subwoofers and four 218 subs per side, along with two L’Acoustics ARCs a side for front fills – all controlled by XTA DP226 loudspeaker processors. Mark comments: “It’s very quick to rig once you’ve taken the measurements and calculated the correct angles, and delivers extremely accurate coverage.” The critical time alignment is provided by XTA’s AudioCore software, running on a laptop PC with a wireless modem card. In the control rack, a PRAM WSL-2E, a 1U rackmount ethernet/serial control link, interfaces with the DP226s, side-stepping the need for a second PC purely for serial communication. This provided a fast and stable radio link with Ballard’s laptop, allowing him to set system delays and EQ from various locations in each venue. “Absolutely everything from the stage DigiRack I/Os to the PA outputs,” adds Mark, “is entirely in the digital domain – it’s incredibly clean and noise free and the dynamic range is excellent. The combination of the all of these new technologies is a revelation in terms of speed, accuracy and audio quality.”
Western Audio is one of New Zealand’s leading sound providers and, under the direction of Andy Craig, they provided both the people and technologies to stage this well-executed event, with two main Electro-Voice X-Array systems controlled by XTA DP226 processors, and the linking distributed system time-aligned with an additional DP226 – all under the hand of XTA’s AudioCore PC control system. “The real star turn came from SiDD”, explains Andy Craig, senior systems engineer on the day. “Inputs to the system were very simple: two hand-held radio microphones along with CD and video playback. The two radio microphones each had their own unique challenges and I was very keen to use the SiDD, supplied by Spherical Systems (XTA’s New Zealand distributor), to deal with these issues. “The MC for the occasion was a television personality who was conducting interviews with a wide range of people. He is a former rock singer and has very good vocal projection. Not everyone he interviewed had the same vocal projection and as a result the SiDD was working overtime controlling the dynamics. We were not only providing audio for the public, but providing feeds for all the media and streaming internet and invisible dynamics control was of vital importance. SiDD’s look-ahead facility is astounding.
'Thoroughly Modern Millie', 'The Goat or Who is Sylvia', 'Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe', 'Dirty Blonde', 'Best Little Whorehouse in Texas', 'Smell of the Kill', and 'The Producers', are some of the Broadway and touring shows that are sounding better than ever thanks to the DP226. Broadway continues its love affair with the acclaimed DP226 speaker controller system. The DP226's most recent application on the Great White Way is the revival of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical classic Oklahoma!, which is currently running in previews at the Gershwin Theatre, and will open on March 21, 2002. A total of seven DP226 crossover controllers are in use at the theatre (12 DP200 crossovers are also being used). As with numerous other Broadway and touring productions, including According to Mark Menard, Associate Sound Designer for Oklahoma!, several of the DP226's are being used in a 1-in, 6-out configuration. "That allows us to get six multiple taps off a single signal," Menard explains. "We only have to use a single DP226 to control a large group of speakers. We don't have to gang units together. The benefits of that kind of configurations flexibility is we have fewer controllers working more speakers, which cuts down on the number of points on the signal path, and provides a cleaner, quieter signal path. Also, we get more uniform control over parameters such as equalisation, delay, and level." Furthermore, Menard adds, the remote programmability of the DP226 means that he can roam the theatre before and during performances, constantly fine-tuning the sound. "We can make changes in real time from many different locations. That is the greatest flexibility of the XTA's." ProMix Electrotec, the Westchester, NY-based rental company servicing mainly the theatre and concert touring markets, supplied the sound system for Oklahoma! and many other Broadway productions. David Strang, General Manager at ProMix Electrotec, says the DP226 is now Broadway's favourite speaker controller and DSP system. "We've had literally hundreds of DP200 controllers for years," he explains. "In the last few months, though, the DP226 has surpassed it as the most popular signal processor on Broadway, no question about it. We have about 40 pieces ion various locations around Times Square and with touring companies, and we're adding more of them all the time. The DP226 really is a remarkable piece of technology and deserves to be up there with its name in lights." “The second mic was for speeches. It was exposed to the prevailing wind and running relatively high gain. We were using foam windshields, rather than ‘fluffies’ because I’ve found that people are reluctant to work in close to the microphone when the microphone is encased in what looks like a small rodent. But the foam windshields are prone to extreme wind noise and Wellington does have a reputation for breeziness. “SiDD’s Dynamic EQ eliminated the problem totally. To set up, I put up two identical microphones at the speech position, one as a control, while I dialled in SiDD. I was hoping that the dynamic EQ would reduce the wind noise, but I was amazed when it virtually eliminated the problem. It meant that I could leave the high pass filters at a usual level rather than having to hack away at the low frequencies. This resulted in a more natural sound and better level control. A better result all around, and no small thanks to SiDD and those lovely folk at XTA.” Director of Spherical Systems, Martin Morris commented: “The kind of centralised control that XTA’s AudioCore provides is a dream come true. And XTA’s SiDD really dealt with the dynamic superbly. Look at this setup - a hand picked crew of the best engineer’s the country has to offer, state of the art technologies from XTA including DP226’s and the DP324 SiDD, all working wonderfully to make every word clearly heard by the 15,000 crowd.” Martin continues “Four-piece band Fur Patrol performed on a balcony overlooking Courtenay Place. There was the cast, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, plus Jonah Lohmu, and the street was just buzzing. Everyone, including the hobbits, agreed that it was the best Two Towers premier to date.”
The vocal five-piece, signed to Richard Branson’s V2 label after their appearances on ITV’s PopstarsTV series, played a six-week sold-out tour of UK theatres which finished at the end of March, with Aussie engineer Pyne at the controls for the band’s début concert performances. The gigs were deemed so successful that a UK arena tour has been scheduled for February 2004. In a unique twist, the tour culminated in a headline appearance at a gala dinner for the Sony group at their Brooklands, Surrey HQ, with a full scale recreation of the tour production. Capital Sound provided the sound production for the tour and full event production for the Sony show. For the latter, the Martin W8L line array tour rig was supplemented by a Martin Wavefront 2 distributed system for speeches and a corporate presentation, controlled by a pair of XTA DP224s and DP226s using AudioCore software for remote control from a laptop. Capital’s Paul Timmins comments: “As on the tour, we had five XTA C2 compressors dealing with the band’s five hand-held microphones and headset mics. It was the big new idea that we brought in for the tour, because at the beginning it was a bit of a struggle to get all the levels balanced against the noise of the audience, and when we introduced the C2s Chris was very happy with the result – they really sorted it out.” Chris Pyne explains: “Capital Sound’s Paul Timmins approached me to look after the first live tour by Liberty X. Being an Australian I didn't really know much about the history of Liberty X and the Popstars show in the UK. Suffice to say this kind of pop show has some interesting challenges - not least of which are the vocal performance and consistency of levels. Having five channels of constantly swapping lead vocals is a handful; in fact it's two handfuls. Especially difficult is keeping the vocal at a consistent level above the audience noise while also keeping the dynamics under control. I originally tried a well-known high end valve compressor which, after a number of shows, didn't really seem to do the job. I’ve been following the progress of the XTA brand for a few years now especially after using their crossovers and a SiDD on a couple of Kylie tours. The C2 compressor caught my eye while I was considering using a SiDD for Liberty X. “I requested through Capital that I give the C2 a try. I’m generally not one for overstating the facts, but the difference the C2 made was astounding - the headroom and the sound quality were immediately obvious. I actually went back through the signal chain to make sure that I hadn't had the original compressors patched up incorrectly. “In general, the C2 was fantastic, allowing me to control two lots of five vocal channels, in what was a very busy hands-on mix, without having to constantly monitor and adjust the units. The sidechain EQ also came in handy to tame some unwanted frequencies in the girls’ vocals. One more thing: they have blue lights on them - so they must be good!”
Hildred specified four channels of XTA’s unique SiDD DP324 (Seriously Intelligent Digital Dynamics) processing, the two SiDD units providing threshold-sensitive high pass filtering to eliminate popping at low vocal levels, parametric equalisation, and frequency-sensitive compression for controlling HF on acoustic guitar. Back with a bang from the ‘80s, Erasure’s The Other Tour started in the US in March to rave reviews and continued in the UK through May and June. Martin is mixing front-of-house using a Yamaha DM2000 digital console and a D&B C4 PA system from Encore. The band played a variety of venues with stars Andy Bell and Vince Clarke fronting this revival of their glory years. The impressive set is pure bedsit-land, with the exception of some outrageous costumes for Andy Bell. “Vince runs his multitrack Mac set-up live every night and sends me the backing tracks. I use the SiDD’s Dynamic EQ for control on Andy’s voice, our two backing vocals, plus Vince’s acoustic guitar, which appears here and there through the show.” “I use SiDDs above any other piece of equipment for their sonic quality and programming capability,” says Hildred. “I store my settings on a PC card or on my laptop to make recall and adjustments fast and simple, and the classic XTA audio purity means I don’t lose any sound quality in the analogue-to-digital conversion process.” Martin is now currently working with the Audiobullys who are performing various festivals including Glastonbury and Fuji Rock in Japan.
The nine-date UK tour runs from October 10-25 with the final night at Brixton Academy. This June, Kosheen marked their arrival in the top flight by winning 'Best Breakbeat Act' at the DanceStar World Dance Music Awards 2002 for Resist, and their debut release Hide U was voted 'Best Single' at the Drum & Bass Awards. The Kosheen trio are Markee Substance, Darren Decoder and Sian Evans, augmented by a drummer, cello player and DJ. Capital Sound's Paul Timmins explains: "We supported them and provided monitors on a 12-week tour last year when they were on their way up, and they've come a very long way very quickly. A year and a half ago were still going around in a van and now they're taking out a full production including sound, lighting and projection." This autumn's one-truck tour production features a Midas Heritage 3000 for FOH with engineer Simon Thomas and a Midas XL4 on monitors, mixed by Dave Lee. 14 cabinets aside of Martin Audio W8C, plus six ground-stacked WSX sub-bass a side, form the main system, which will be supplemented at Brixton by a flown system of another eight W8Cs and four more subs. Monitoring is a combination of Martin LE700s and Sennheiser wireless in-ear systems. All the Martin Audio loudspeakers, including monitors, are driven by XTA DP224 and DP226 digital loudspeaker processors, providing crossover, EQ and time alignment functions. Paul Timmins comments: "We specify XTA loudspeaker processors because they are the best sounding on the market, they're extremely reliable and because XTA's AudioCore software makes set-up fast and simple even with a complex system."
Furthermore, the ease of use and reliability of the XTA equipment assured that the show could meet its deadline of an entire season’s taping in four strenuous days of production, with between three and four shows taped per day. One Dream Sound provided a large Martin Audio PA with 10 mid-high boxes per side on a stage that was set up to recreate the Apollo’s, right down to the famous “Lucky Stump” that performers touch as they go onstage. “It is a big PA, but we specialize in large systems for broadcast and live events.” remarks David Ferdinand, CEO of One Dream Sound. Housed in 25,000 square feet of Manhattan production space, One Dream Sound also provides PA services for a dozen Off-Broadway shows and national tours, including Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk and Stomp, as well as recent performances by artists including Patti LaBelle and Christina Aguilera. Ferdinand continues, “The space is quite large, and the trick in doing music for television is to get the room under control — keep the volume in check but still get the excitement level up.” To achieve that, One Dream Sound brought in a broad array of XTA processing equipment, including six XTA C2 dual/stereo compressors, six G2 gates, a pair of GQ600 dual/stereo 30-band EQs, four each of the DP200 and DP224 speaker management systems, two DP226 systems, and a pair of XTA SIDDs. The C2, with its “look-ahead” attack times for instantaneous transient control, automatic time constants, and enhanced de-essing abilities, was used on all vocal microphones. The G2, with its fully adjustable envelope including hold time, was employed on the entire drum kit. The SIDDs were utilized, in Ferdinand’s words, to “act as a ’mastering system’ for the overall PA.” Citing an example of how the XTA gear gave the crew — including One Dream Sound’s Greg Rosenkranz and Thom Wright, and FOH Mixer Kevin Hartman of client Good Brothers Sound — control of the venue, Ferdinand explains, “One of the key things is not to let the room get away from you. That takes compression and limiting. But with most comp/limiters, you can hear them ‘breathing,’ or even hear distortion when the compression kicks in. That’s never the case with the XTA C2 compressor. It’s incredibly clean and transparent in its operation and its sound. The XTA gear is so good and predictable in performance that it really made a difference in getting the production to move along quickly and stay on schedule — and never stop sounding good. The client was extremely happy with the system’s performance.”
The tour is the first for R G Jones since it became the UK member of the Synco Europe Network and took delivery of a Renkus-Heinz Synco Touring System. The system is controlled by two XTA DP226 and one DP224 loudspeaker controllers, under the command of XTA AudioCore software on a laptop PC at the front of house control position. The band comprises Chris Rea on vocals and guitar, guitarist Robert Ahwai, bassist Sylvin Marc, drummer Kirt Rust and accordionist Ed Hession. Honywill continues: “The drive rack has two DP226 and one DP224. The first DP226 deals with flown PA and the second the ground stack PA. The DP224 is used to time-align the front fills. Because we rarely fly the same array configuration twice - we really tailor the rig to the room, especially in Europe where venues range from 500 people in a club to 5,000 seat arenas - we have to be flexible by reconfiguring the units as necessary. The DP226s are used for all the system EQ and time alignment. The system runs remotely from front of house using RS485, meaning that all the analogue cable runs were kept short. I particularly like the display interface and the AudioCore software; it’s very user-friendly and compact. Plus it means that we can easily zero the system EQ and time alignment at each venue to start again fresh each time.”
The legendary Bon Dylan embarked on his most recent tour at the end of January, bringing the XTA DP226 crossover along with him. A critical part of the sound system on Dylan's tour, the DP226 is fast becoming a legend in its own right, thanks to great sound and unparalleled performance. Six of the XTA DP226 crossovers are part of the tour sound package, which is based around a French-made L-Acoustics' V-DOSC line array sound system. The DP226 is used in conjunction with the V-DOSC main cabinets, as well as the V-DOSC sidefill and sub-bass cabinets. They are also used with rear delay cabinets when the venue calls for those. ProMix Electrotec, a leading rental company servicing mainly the Broadway theatre and concert touring markets, supplied the sound system for Dylan's tour. Martin "Ferrit" Rowe, Warehouse Support Technician at ProMix's Las Vegas Office, explains, "The DP226 is one of two preferred crossovers for the DV sound cabinets, but several of the sound engineers have pointed out the DP226 is the superior of the two. They will tell you it is far more musical sounding, and has the breathiness not found in other crossovers. This really makes a difference when it comes to a unique voice such as Bon Dylan's. Part of the experience in going to hear Dylan is hearing that amazing, gravely voice, and the DP226 helps bring every little detail across, even in the largest venues." In addition, Ferrit notes the DP226 has a technical advantage in its quality that manifests itself in an interesting manner: "The comment they are making is that the DP226 makes the system so quiet, they're beginning to notice the FOH console's noise floor. Now that's remarkable!" Ferrit further cited the DP226's flexibility, allowing upwards of 35 distinct speaker configuration settings, giving engineers tremendous choice in determining how best to configure the system for each of the lengthy tour's many and varied venues. "I've done a lot of work with the DP226, and I can say that everyone cites its excellent sonic quality and reliability, " concludes Ferrit. "It's a great piece of gear." |
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