SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Solotech Nashville turned to an L-Acoustics rig of K1/K2 to handle the audio mashup of two combined events: Ozzfest Meets Knotfest in San Bernardino, CA. Despite the time crunch during load-in and setup, K1/K2’s ease of use helped the crew get the job done in record time. Along with the audio quality, the crew also applauded the system’s plug and play benefits and ease of use as definite time savers for the event.
More details from L-Acoustics (www.l-acoustics.com):
Two of the biggest annual events in hard rock came head-to-head this year when concert promoter Live Nation debuted Ozzfest Meets Knotfest at the San Manuel Amphitheater and Festival Grounds in San Bernardino, CA. The metal mashup featured separate production on each day, with Slipknot bringing in an L-Acoustics K1/K2 rig provided by Solotech Nashville for the Main Stage on the second day of the festival, which reportedly drew a total of more than 62,000 people over the weekend. Slipknot marked this fourth anniversary of Knotfest by performing the band’s second album, 2001’s Iowa, in its entirety for the first time on stage.
L-Acoustics equipment on Knotfest’s Main Stage, which also featured opening acts Slayer, Amon Amarth, Anthrax, Trivium and Motionless in White, included eight K1 plus four K2 modules flown per side on the main left/right hangs. Side hangs comprised a total of 20 K2 boxes, flown 10 per side. Eight K1-SB subwoofers were additionally flown on each side and were complemented by 24 ground-stacked SB28s. Seven LA8-powered LA-RAKs per side drove the whole system. According to Solotech Nashville Managing Director Paul Owen, who has been Slipknot’s touring account manager for the past 16 years, this is the third consecutive Knotfest to fly an L-Acoustics K1/K2 rig.
Ozzfest struck the night before and Solotech came in at 8 a.m. to prepare for Knotfest. Despite the time crunch during load-in and setup, K1/K2’s ease of use helped the crew get the job done in record time. “The rigging is simple and elegant,” says Solotech Nashville Technical Advisor Jason McCarrick, who served as Knotfest’s systems tech. “If you have a long load-in and are waiting for points, it is possible to set all the angles in advance. This makes flying and cabling up each side of the system fast and easy.
“Plus, the system is very plug-and-play,” he adds. “When powered up and sent good quality source material, there is little to do other than minor compensation for room and environmental conditions. The system sounds great straight out of the gate. If the system is deployed in accordance with the Soundvision design model, then you are 75 percent there.”
The ease of use extends to the cabling at the amplifier end, McCarrick continues. “It is clearly indicated on the front panel of the LA8 which speaker should be connected to it. There’s no guesswork.”
That can be a significant time-saver these days, he adds. “They’re pushing load-ins later and doors earlier to allow for more opening acts. I don’t have much time, so the ease and simplicity, that’s what we want—and with L-Acoustics, it’s right there.”
