PHOENIX — For the second summer in a row, the Mayhem Tour is featuring the ribbon-loaded Versarray 212 line-array sound system from Peavey Electronics.
As the exclusive sound system of the Jägermeister Mobile Stage—a custom-built, traveling foldout stage housed in a 44-foot trailer—the Peavey Versarray 212 is providing sound reinforcement for metal bands including Trivium, All That Remains and God Forbid as the festival crisscrosses the nation from July through August.
“The Peavey Versarray 212 is a big leap forward for sound reinforcement technology,” said Dave Summers, road and production manager for the Jägermeister Mobile Stage. “With this system, Peavey developed a line array that positions 16 loudspeaker components in a compact enclosure while delivering the highest levels of performance. It’s the ideal system for modern touring situations, where performance and efficiency are matters of necessity.”
Summers first became familiar with the original Versarray 112 system on the Jägermeister Mobile Stage in 2007, then adopted the even-louder Versarray 212 before hitting the 2008 Mayhem Tour, providing sound for Machine Head, Five Finger Death Punch and Walls of Jericho. “It performed exceptionally well in every situation we could throw at it,” he said.
The Jägermeister Mobile Stage currently features twin arrays of eight Versarray 212 enclosures per side plus 16 Versarray 218 subwoofers. Each VR212 enclosure is outfitted with two 12” Black Widow woofers, four planar ribbon drivers and ten midrange drivers.
The proprietary ribbon drivers are mounted to a manifold line source that work with the specially designed midrange drivers to create a high-energy field that enables critically damped operation with immediate transient response. All 16 line-array components utilize neodymium magnets that yield lighter weight and greater efficiency over traditional magnet designs.
The Versarray line-array system is managed by Peavey Architectural Acoustics Digitool processors and powered by twenty-four Crest Audio Pro 9200 amplifiers and six Pro 8200 amps. A combination of six Crest Audio Pro 9200, four Pro 8200 and four Pro 7200 amps provide power for the stage’s Peavey QW monitor rig.
“The Versarray line array system is truly amazing,” said Rick Zeiler, director of marketing and brand development at Jägermeister. “Producing a heavy rock concert can be difficult because there is so much going on in the music, but the Versarray solves that through incredible sonic articulation, consistency and a fully dynamic listening experience.”
Peavey artists Bullet For My Valentine, Trivium, All That Remains, Job For A Cowboy and The Black Dahlia Murder—all endorsers of the Peavey 6505 guitar amplifier—are all performing on the 2009 Mayhem Tour.
For more information, please visit www.peavey.com.
Photos by Kevin Baldes
