FOXBOROUGH, MA — Patriot Place, a 1.3-million square-foot shopping, dining and event complex built near the home of the New England Patriots, had Ambient Sound Inc. install a new Electro-Voice sound system for its “Rock the Plaza” event series that runs from April to October.
“Rock the Plaza showcases upwards of four bands each weekend,” noted Mario Pregoni, Ambient Sound live sound production manager. “Prior to this year, Patriot Place supplied the stage, and bands had to bring their own PA equipment.
“The problem was that the equipment that the bands were bringing in wasn’t always adequate and the audio quality of these concerts started to suffer,” Pregoni added. “This is a big area too, so we had sound bouncing off various surfaces. We knew we had to make a change.”
Robyn Glaser, who manages all the Rock the Plaza shows for the Kraft Group, came to Pregoni for help. “She said the event needed a complete, dedicated, in-house sound system at Patriot Place. So I did a walk-through of the venue to help figure out logistics.”
Pregoni noted that the venue is directly outside of Gillette Stadium, at the north endzone entrance. The main stage area is set up in front of The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon, which is part of Patriot Place.
“It’s a great venue, but its all concrete, so it’s very reflective,” said Pregoni, who consulted with Rob Howitt of regional EV reps AudioPros and found a solution with Electro-Voice Tour X loudspeakers.
“It’s a plug-and-play system that doesn’t need a genius to set up and operate,” sadi Pregoni. “These boxes sound great with minimal, if any, tweaking. The whole PA can be up and running within 20 minutes and taken down just as fast, which is perfect, because between the amount of foot traffic in that Plaza and the unpredictable weather, they don’t want a system that would take up too much room and take forever to put away. No one wants to have to break down a system in inclement weather.”
So far, Pregoni has no regrets. And he’s no stranger to EV gear. “I use EV for everything I do — football, soccer, concerts, and corporate events — so it was an obvious choice. Tour X really fit the theme and structure of the event very nicely. It delivers everything these concerts need,” adding that the “accessible” price point “makes it a perfect match for smaller venues with smaller budgets and big ambitions.
“I also went with the CP Series amps, which I love,” Pregoni said. “They’ve proven themselves driving our main rig and that speaks for itself; they work under the harshest conditions without fail. I spec’d DC-One and Klark Teknik gear for the same reason.”
The new system is a four-main, four monitors design that comprises two TX2152s, two TX2181s and four TX1122FM stage monitors all powered by CP series amps.
Pregoni also prescribed a complement of EV N/DYM series microphones for input and included both a Klark Teknik Square One Dynamic processor and two Square One Graphic equalizers.
“The first time we used the rig, everyone was blown away,” Pregoni said. “Patriot Place is developing a reputation for great sound, and bands are telling each other to play here. The bands get so excited when they can actually hear themselves through the mix on stage. And, on top of it all, Ambient Sound can use this rig as a showcase for Tour X. We’ve never received so many complimentary e-mails about a system; people constantly tell us how great the equipment made them or their friends sound. This is more than just another mid-level PA box; it’s got that EV concert-quality sound at an incredible pricepoint. Tour X is really in its element here, and it has exceeded everyone’s expectations.”
Gear List:
2x TX2152
2x TX2181
4x TX1152FM
2x CP3000S
1x CP4000S
1x DC-One
1x SQ1G
1x SQ1D
N/D767a Vocal Mics
N/D478 Instr. Mics
N/D468 Drum Mics
N/D868 Bass Drum Mic
For more information, please visit www.electrovoice.com
