42 l November 2014
live
Small, mobile, intelligent From Nexo’s versatile M28 loudspeaker to Yamaha’s multi-faceted QL series mixers, 2014 has been abundant in new products suitable for smaller music and theatre tours. David Davies profiles some of the year’s most striking launches UPON THE FIRST dissolution of King Crimson in 1974, founder and guitarist Robert Fripp famously told the Melody Maker of his intention to henceforth serve as a “small, mobile, intelligent unit” able to adjust more swiftly to the changing times. Forty years later, the same kind of expectations might well be applied to much contemporary equipment oriented towards small- and medium-sized touring applications. ‘Small’ and ‘mobile’ should speak for themselves; the less space taken up in trucks and venues, the more that can be assigned to other items of equipment or seats for fee-paying customers. As for ‘intelligent’, most rental companies now handle a greater cross-section of projects than ever before – from conventional rock shows to theatrical events to corporate gigs – so flexibility of systems is very much the name of the game. Although this year’s PSNLive survey indicated that, after several years in abeyance, larger events are again increasing in terms of their overall importance
to hire companies and touring engineers, small/medium-sized events remain the bedrock of the live sound business. Combining bankable annual regulars with valuable one-offs, smaller applications keep the wheels turning for many companies in-between the bigger paydays afforded by larger festivals and arena tours. It’s no surprise to discover, then, that many manufacturers remain ardent in their desire to provide versatile, cost-efficient products for just such applications… LIGHT-IN-WEIGHT LOUDSPEAKERS The requirements of smaller tours were certainly at the top of the priority list for West Midlands-based HRA as it set about developing its XR Series Regional Touring PA. One of the newest additions to the UK loudspeaker manufacturing landscape, HRA’s Regional Touring PA comprises two models that can be used flexibly individually or in combination: the 15” + 1.4” XR1 Active system rated at 1350W rms and the 2 x 15” XR2 subwoofer rated at 2,100W rms.
“The objectives were to develop a system that is light in weight and very modular, allowing it to be stacked easily in small spaces” HRA sales manager Steve Williams on the Regional PA
“The objectives were to develop a system that is light in weight [the XR1 is only 33.9kg] and very modular, allowing it to be stacked easily in quite small spaces,” says HRA sales manager Steve Williams. “It is also very easy to link together systems to increase the size of the PA, so whether you are doing very small, close-knit gigs or medium-sized ones, it is possible to tailor the Regional PA to fit.” Williams adds that the “modularity and scalability reduces the need for hire companies to hold stocks of multiple styles of enclosures yet still be able to fulfil multiple events of varying sizes and forms”. The decision to go for self-powered designs (based around Class D technology provided by Powersoft) is also advantageous for rental outfits “working to reduce the amount of room occupied in the truck and at the venue,” he says. A similarly keen awareness of the realities of contemporary touring informed the development of the M28, the new omni-purpose module in the suite of STM (Scale Through Modularity) loudspeakers from French manufacturer Nexo (as featured on p34). Developed to deliver “a new level of versatility”, STM allows contractors to design a wide variety of systems from four core modules. The Nexo Universal Amp Rack – comprising NXAMP4x4 amplifiers, two digital input patches, two digital
output patches, and an optional ethernet or Dante network card – can feed 12 STM modules in any combination in groups of three. The M28 prioritises versatility; accordingly, the two-way cabinet – which offers 90°/120° of horizontal dispersion and 0° to 15° splaying angle between modules – can be arrayed in the same column with the M46 in a large-format STM system, arrayed in the same column as the B112 bass cabinet in a mid-format STM system, or used independently from the M46 and B112. Nexo also highlights the M28’s facility for easy rigging, with CompassRig technology enabling pre-setting of inter-cabinet angle values, and the REDLock handle locking front-rigging points from the rear of the cabinet.
Yamaha QL mixer at FOH for The Dunwells The result, says Stuart Kerrison from Nexo’s concert sound division, is “a truly flexible system where the same components can be used without compromise on every application regardless of audience size or configuration. STM is a system which can be out earning money for a rental company 365 days a year rather than sitting in the warehouse waiting for the next appropriatesized gig, and therefore actually costing that company money. This allows them to maximise the return on their investment, to amortise their system faster, and to be very competitive with their pricing.” South-east London-based Subfrantic Production Services is among the most recent PA companies to take an interest in the STM family. “One of
Steve Williams with the HRA kit, featuring the Regional PA line