XTA Relight Their Fire!

Please forgive that awful pun...

XTA were in full effect on Take That's second mammoth tour since their reform for the "Ultimat Tour" last year. This year, it's the "Beautiful World Tour" that reaches even more spectaculat heights.

Al Woods explained his approach for this tour: “I’m working a little differently this time owing to the fact that I got hold of a rack-mountable 1U computer and I’m using a VPN network. I’m still using XTA AudioCore and WiFi system, but I’ve set up the VPN Windows network to the PC from the tablet.

“It allows me to look at Smart and any programme that I have running in AudioCore while I’m walking
around the room with a microphone, adjusting the system timing. It’s made it a lot quicker to set things up on the European leg — I don’t have to keep returning to the desk to do my impulse measurements to time front fills.”

The backbone of the audio infrastructure for this tour is largely similar to what was fielded at Take That’s arena shows in 2006. Capital Sound Hire remains the
supplier, the Martin Audio W8L line array continues to be the system of choice, and there are D5 consoles at both ends of the multicore. It’s only some of the detail
that is slightly different, advised Bradshaw.
The Brummie engineer had considered using the half-size D5 Remote desk to mix the show, with a view to miniaturising the FOH position. “You still have a D5
backstage and the two are connected via CAT 5 cable, and it’s a good way of working in a number of situations. Trouble was, the input list kept growing to a
point where we couldn’t fit everything on the Remote — I’m currently up to 63 inputs — so I went back to my usual desk!”

He added: “I still very much love the D5 and with the exception of a pair of Yamaha SPX 2000 outboard multi-FX units for some vocal reverbs, I’m
using all the internal processing, comps and gates. Although slightly scaled down for the NEC show we attended, the tour’s complete PA spec includes a
main flown rig of 32 Martin W8L cabinets, 12 W8LS and four W8LD downfills, with 32 W8LCs and 24 W8LMs flown at the sides, and — on the ground — 12 WS218X subs and 12 W8LMs.

The FOH drive rack is loaded with XTA wares, notably a GQ 600 dual 31-band graphic EQ and loudspeaker management handled by 10 DP 226s and four DP
224s. Due to a more substantial performance on the B stage for this tour, its dedicated PA has been expanded to six large hangs consisting in total of 24
W8Ls, 24 W8LCs, 12 W8LCDs and eight WS218X subs, with processing from an XTA GQ 600 and seven DP 226s.