SYDNEY – For three years, Entertainment Installations has supported the two-month “Twilight at Taronga” summer concert series. This year, the soundco tamed off-site noise issues with Martin Audio’s MLA system. The 17 concert series typically draws close to 1,600 to a twilight setting as the sun sets beyond the nearby Opera House and Harbor Bridge.
More details from Martin Audio (www.martin-audio.com):
For the past three years, Entertainment Installations has been supporting the long-standing ‘Twilight at Taronga’ summer concert series in Sydney with production services.
Based an hour north of the city, the installation and production specialists can hardly have taken on a more challenging task, since the concerts take place in the middle of the busy Taronga Park Zoo, with restricted site access. Despite its picturesque setting, with around 1600 people concert-goers each night, picnicking nightly as the sun sets behind the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, in the past off-site noise has been a real issue.
“Being a Sydney Harborside location there are a lot of residents whom you don’t want to disturb with noise. Being located with a zoo, we are also sensitive to the animal residents, which is why we started using [Martin Audio’s] MLA Compact,” observes Entertainment Installations’ MD, Neale Mace.
The company had initially invested in the Wavefront W8C Compact system, but eventually moved onto Martin Audio’s W8LC line array, which Neale says has solved any off-site noise issues.
“[The noise management protocol for the location] asks for an 85dB limit at the perimeter, but we can achieve this and still reach 100dB at the FOH desk,” he said. “[Due to its] ability to fit the audio to a designated area, with very little audio beyond that space, I don’t believe there’s another PA on the market that can deliver the coverage and level that’s required without causing off-site noise.”
Neale and his crew have rigged eight MLA Compact elements per side in the PA towers, on 1-tonne chain blocks. Along with two Yamaha CL5 consoles, a number of Martin Audio LE1200 wedges and three DSX subs stage-stacked on each side under the PA hangs.
“This, along with the large complement of W8C, WSX, W8LC and WS218X means we have the biggest Martin Audio inventory in Australia,” Neale boasted.
The MLA system has left a good impression on Twilight at Taronga audiences and (most importantly) with the neighbors.
“I’m told by the Zoo and the promoter that the first year we were involved was the best result they’d had in terms of audio quality, with no noise complaints,” he said.
“We’ve built on that experience over time and tried to make it better every year. Now they are starting to book bigger and better international acts, boosting the popularity of the event, we are getting more promoter representatives, tour managers and other industry people,” Neale continued. “The MLA system is instrumental in that success.”
