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On the European leg of Justin Bieber ’ s 2016 Purpose World Tour , globally supported by VER Tour Sound , FOH engineer Ken “ Pooch ” Van Druten and monitor engineer Alex MacLeod used a pair of fully loaded DiGiCo SD7 consoles to run more than 120 input channels , more than 20 stereo monitor mixes , and about 20 “ always on ” talkback feeds .
“ We are doing things on this tour with technology that are way beyond anything I have seen on any rock tour ,” Van Druten says . “ The big thing on a pop tour , and especially with this artist , is a huge number of talkback systems … Some people have switched systems so that a band member can switch between a feed that lets them talk to the rest of the band , or one that allows them to talk to their tech . There are feeds for dancers and choreographers and stage managers . I literally could not do this on anything other than an SD7 . The DiGiCo platform is a huge part of pulling off this tour .”
Westbury National was tapped to install a new sound reinforcement system at BMO Field in Toronto – Canada ’ s first purpose-built , soccerspecific stadium . The stadium is currently home to the country ’ s national soccer team , as well as the Toronto FC professional soccer club and , most recently , the CFL ’ s Toronto Argonauts . The two-phase project began in 2015 with the addition of a 9,000-seat upper deck to the stadium ’ s east side , as well as the addition of a continuous concourse level and other enhancements to fan areas . This was followed by the construction of a canopy above the east , west , and south stands that necessitated a new sound reinforcement system .
Westbury worked with distributor SFM on a Fulcrum Acoustic package that included the AH Series of compact , two-way , full-range loudspeakers . The system incorporates six individual hangs of one AH96 loudspeaker covering the south side stands ; six hangs of two AH96 loudspeakers covering the west side ; and six hangs of one AH96 and two AH65 loudspeakers for the largest seating area on the east side . Audio power is delivered by QSC CXD amplifiers located in four climate-controlled racks in the east and west catwalks .
The University of Calgary ’ s new two-storey , 40,000-ft . Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning features innovative architecture and active , flexible learning spaces that incorporate the latest technology , including high-end audio . Among these is the Forum , a 370-seat multi-use space that is employed as a classroom , lecture hall , and entertainment venue . For this space , American national consulting firm The Sextant Group designed an audio system based on Renkus-Heinz VARIAi series modular point-source line arrays .
“ Given the room ’ s complexity and [ 40-ft .] high ceiling , we decided on a line array for the main system ,” says Sextant Group Senior Systems Designer Travis Seibel . “ But because of the layout , we had to overshoot the location where the presenters stand . We could use modular pointsource arrays as long as they were highly directional , and Renkus-Heinz ’ s VARIAi provides that .” For the front main system there is an LCR configuration concealed in wall enclosures . “ The client wanted high volumes ,” adds Seibel . “ The VARIAi offers plenty of horsepower , and it has such a nice , clear , natural sound that it was a no-brainer .”
Encore ’ s FOH engineer Jack Hayback ( left ) & freelance engineer Clint Rowland
Encore Event Technologies recently purchased a Yamaha Rivage PM10 digital audio console from Chicago-area sound company TC Furlong for use at the renowned Beverly Hilton Hotel ’ s International Ballroom in California . The International Ballroom hosts over 300 high profile events per year , ranging from televised awards shows like the Golden Globes to the upcoming Clive Davis pre-Grammy party , the Academy Awards nominee luncheon , The Directors Guild Awards , and so on .
“ We love the Yamaha interface and the boards are supremely reliable , user friendly , and sound great . We have been anticipating the release of the PM10 for some time and are thrilled to finally have it installed . The console seems to have managed to incorporate the wish lists of all our audio engineers into one extremely flexible board ,” says Rachel Wolfe , director of event technologies for Encore .
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