LAS VEGAS – Five Finger Death Punch (5FDP) and Danish metal band Volbeat co-headlined a tour that also featured opening acts Hellyeah and Nothing More with 22 shows around the U.S. between Sept. 16 and Oct. 24. Sound Image supported the tour with 48 Adamson E15 and 12 E12 line source enclosures and 24 E218 subwoofers.
More details from Adamson Systems (www.adamsonsystems.com):
Bruce Reiter, 5FDP FOH engineer and production manager for the tour, first heard an Adamson rig when visiting a friend mixing another rock band.
“I thought it translated heavy music in a smooth and powerful way,” explains Bruce Reiter, 5FDP FOH engineer and production manager for the tour. “After speaking with a few respected FOH mixers we decided it was the perfect fit for what Five Finger Death Punch was doing.”
“The production manager in me loves how quick and easy the system goes up and comes down,” adds Reiter. “As a mixer I have to say that it’s frinkin’ awesome. My guitars sound natural, drums are crushing, bass is booming and vocals are crystal clear – never harsh – the PA has a very comfortable sound. The volume level from front to back in the arenas was incredibly even as well.”
The typical performance setup consisted of left-right arrays made up of twelve E15s followed by four E12s. Outfill was covered by two more arrays, this time each consisted of eight E15s with two E12s on the bottom. Sound Image system tech Cameron Whaley, who had not used the Adamson PA prior to the tour, came away impressed.
“For some of the larger venues we expanded the main arrays, but mostly this set-up did the job nicely,” adds Whaley. “The E15s, with their enhanced low end, were a great choice for this type of music, and the E12s? They are incredibly versatile. They sound sonically the same as the E15s which creates a seamless transition.”
Both the Adamson E15 and E12 are 3-way line source enclosures. The E15 is loaded with two 7-inch Kevlar Neodymium midrange transducers paired with two 4-inch high frequency compression drivers while the E12 features a single 7-inch Kevlar Neodymium midrange transducers paired with a 4-inch high frequency compression driver.
Enhanced low end is provided by two 15-inch (E15) or two 12-inch (E12) proprietary Kevlar Neodymium woofers. The end result is seamless mid-high energy with minimal distortion at very high SPL levels and substantial low end for most applications.
Each performance also used all 24 E218 subwoofers – either ground stacked 12 per side under the left-right arrays for the smaller rooms (with limited rigging) or half stacked on the ground while the other half was flown behind the main PA at larger arenas.
During every performance the audience received an audio experience that exceeded their expectations.
“The Sound Image crew – Cameron along with Tarik Kahn and Tony Luna (monitors) – did a stellar job with the audio production,” adds Reiter. The system was exactly what a tour this size needed and fit the type of music being played extremely well. I would recommend it to anyone.”
