Avett Brothers World Tour
The Long Throw
These days, the once-common huge stadium music shows are less of the norm, except for the occasional special events (such as the Oklahoma Twister Relief Concert spotlighted in last month’s FRONT of HOUSE) or the rare mega-tour. Even The Rolling Stones’ last outing hit more arenas than stadiums. For some reason, stadium shows are more common overseas — perhaps because certain popular artists only come through on a far less frequent basis, so fans may consider such events more like once-per-decade events rather than annual occurrences, thus providing a larger draw.
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Spotlight: 10 Recent House of Worship Projects
Recently at FRONT of HOUSE, we’ve noticed a huge increase in installation projects, both in secular venues — such as performing arts, theaters, schools and sports facilities, but particularly, also with church and house of worship (HOW) sanctuaries. In fact, the latter market has experienced a major bump in activity over the past year, and it’s not limited to simple changes, but major projects, often involving high-end, high-tech approaches to providing superb audio for both the spoken word and music. With that in mind, we decided to spotlight a number of recent HOW installations that captured our eyes — and ears.
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Mixing Taylor Swift’s “Red” Tour
Amidst rave reviews from top media outlets from The New York Times to Rolling Stone, Taylor Swift’s Red tour is currently in full swing. The country-pop queen is working her way across the U.S., headlining 58 shows in 45 cities in 29 states and three provinces in 2013. Three DiGiCo SD7 systems and a d&b audiotechnik PA, provided by Eighth Day Sound Systems, deliver sizzling sound on the tour. The trio of SD7s are in place at FOH and two in monitor world — one for the band and one for artist monitors.
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An Evening with Todd Rundgren
If anything’s predictable about Todd Rundgren, it’s to expect the unexpected. A brilliant songwriter/guitarist/synthesist with talents both onstage and in the studio, Rundgren’s career (solo or with his band Utopia) has spanned just about every musical genre, ranging from rock to pop to smooth soul to edgy electronica and most recently, EDM. And even at 65, he shows no signs of slowing down, hopping from continent to continent to promote State — his 24th studio album, as well as a series of “An Evening with Todd Rundgren” shows to stay in touch with the legions of fans of his catalog standards such as “Hello, It’s Me” and “I Saw the Light.”
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Large-Format Line Arrays
Big jobs and huge installations require sizable systems, and we offer this look at a selection of large-format line arrays, here defined as systems with dual 10-inch (or larger) woofers. In this range, speakers are rarely used as simple pairs and are usually deployed in multiple cabinet arrays, with prices often determined as part of an overall system purchase (typically with subs, amplification, rigging, wiring, dollies, etc.) and as such, single-cabinet pricing becomes less meaningful and is not provided. URL’s for each company are attached; contact the manufacturer for more information.
The Long and Short of Loudspeaker Throws
A common phrase in pro audio is “I need a P.A. that has enough throw to cover the audience.” Of course, loudspeakers do not lob sound like a baseball, but instead set up sound waves in the air that then travel to the ears of the audience, which then detect the sound as it passes them. Regardless of the questionable terminology, the concepts behind “throw” are an important to the audio industry.
The ability to cover patrons at increasing distances from the sound system opens doors to bid on larger events and ultimately get the show to the ears of more paying customers. Let’s examine the acoustic factors behind throw, the limitations loudspeakers impose on throw and some practical tips for getting the most coverage out of your sound system.
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