SHANGHAI — The Budee-sponsored Green Note Stage at the Shanghai International Jazz Festival featured audio mains that produced some hefty output. The L-R setup included seven Martin Audio MLAs and one MLD in each hanging array, and four MLX subs per side on the ground. But the gear itself was compact and light in weight, only 790kg (1,742 lbs) per side. Other gear at the stage included an Avid Profile at FOH, Avid VENUE SC48 on monitors, Lab.gruppen FP 10000Q amplifiers and mics from Blue Microphones and Sontronics.
More details from Budee (www.budee.com):
Beijing Pacific Budee Technology Development Co., LTD., a distributor of AV, entertainment, touring sound, and MI products in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, sponsored the main stage at the Shanghai International Jazz Festival held Oct. 21-22, 2012 at the Shanghai Pudong New Area World Expo Park.
Jazz artists from around the world converged on the two day festival including Incognito from the U.K., Japan’s Jabberloop, Theo Croker’s Afrosonic global collaboration and Italy’s Roberta Gambarini. Additionally, Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor made their China debut while Chinese artists Yuanyawei , Mowenwei and Fangdatong gave riveting performances. Over 8,000 music fans enjoyed a weekend of music and some fantastic weather in the world’s largest city. Budee’s “Green Note” stage drew more than its share of visitors.
Budee’s Green Note Stage.
Budee’s Lee Feng, one of China’s leading tour sound engineers, built the PA system featuring Martin Audio MLA line arrays, Avid Profile console at FOH, Avid Venue SC48 on monitors, Lab.gruppen FP 10000Q amplifiers, and microphones from Blue Microphones and Sontronics. T-Rex Tone Trunks were also made available to the artists for experimentation.
Remarkably, the audio mains were about as compact as it gets: At only 790kg—including flyware—per side, consisting of seven Martin Audio MLAs and one MLD in each hanging array, and four MLX subs per side on the ground, audio fidelity was consistent from 3 meters at center stage all the way to 65 meters at FOH.
“The MLA System Budee supplied was the perfect choice for this outdoor festival. MLA gave us perfect consistency over the whole 65 meter-deep audience area. We threw everything we could at it, from single instrument acoustic to full-on modern funk and the performance was flawless throughout,” remarked Martin Audio’s Andy Davies. “For me being able to do this with only 800kg of PA per side really shows how advanced the MLA is. All the visiting engineers commented on the exceptional clarity and consistency of the system but most importantly visiting artists were blown away by the quality of the sound—that’s when you know you are really onto a good thing!”
Budee’s Lee Feng notes “mixing a show on the MLA is a great experience. Everyone has noticed how detailed and rich the sound is everywhere but also how controlled the on-stage sound is from this PA. I haven’t used anything else on the market that can do what this system can.”
Davies continues “Multi-cellular loudspeaker array redefines the large-scale loudspeaker system. Cellular technology provides an enhanced set of powerful tools for working efficiently in the modern production environment. The result is a balanced system with even coverage right from switch on, however complicated the venue. The net result is MLA simply gives you more time to focus on the artist and engineer, rather than the equipment.”
China’s leading tour sound engineer, Wu Zheng, tunes the system for optimal performance. He would later mix several acts including Yuanyawei , Mowenwei and Jabberloop.
