The company operates both locally and internationally, with the bulk of the company's business taking place throughout the tri-state area of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. As the company expands its operations, the ability to have a sizeable equipment arsenal available to handle a wide range of projects is essential. That's why, for live sound reinforcement, the company relies on loudspeaker systems from Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.
Over the past three years, Aggressive Sound has invested in a variety of D.A.S. Audio equipment, including products from the company's Aero Series 2 and Action Series catalogues.
Jeff Hair, founder and president of Aggressive Sound, comments, "We handle a diverse range of projects and this is why it's so important that our SR systems deliver not only great sound, but also a wealth of features that enable us to handle any job that comes through the door.
"Among the various projects we handle, we provide sound services for acts such as Straight No Chaser and Manowar. In addition to acts of this nature, we also provide services to a six-year-old festival called River Rock at the Amp as well as a 28-year-old festival known as Rockin' on the River. These two festivals draw crowds that range in size from 4,000 - 13,000 people, so it's important that our sound systems be up to the task."
For both events, the D.A.S. loudspeaker setup is impressive. The main flown line array setup encompasses twenty D.A.S. Aero 12A powered two-way, mid-high line array modules for most shows. For the bigger acts, Hair notes that Aggressive Sound will substitute 18 Aero 40A powered 3-way line array elements in place of the Aero 12As.
For low frequency support, Hair employs anywhere from six to 18 D.A.S. LX-218CA powered subwoofer systems. He is particularly fond of the capabilities of the LX-218CA. "I really like the fact that the CA model incorporates the ability to turn the middle sub in the stack of three backwards- effectively turning the subwoofer system into Cardioid coverage. The LX-218CA is the best and most accurate subwoofer system I have ever heard in my 41 years in this business."
Onstage monitoring is handled using a combination of D.A.S. Audio's Action Series loudspeakers. Hair reports using eight D.A.S. Action 12A compact multi-purpose enclosures with monitor position, four Action 218A powered subwoofers, along with four Action 15A powered, compact point source enclosures. The drum monitor setup includes a combination of the Action 218A subwoofer along with an Action 15A enclosure.
For front-fills, Hair deploys four D.A.S. Aero 12A enclosures about 8ft apart from one another. For out-fills, Hair likes to use four Aero 12A boxes. "As we do with the in-fills, these boxes are mounted to D.A.S. stacking plates to allow proper pinning and accurate angling of the boxes." Rounding out the equation, Hair also employs D.A.S. Audio's DSP-4080 4 input / 8 output stereo / mono processor for loudspeaker management as well as the D.A.S.net computer control system.
As heavily invested in D.A.S. Audio equipment as he is, quality customer and technical support services are crucial. Hair offered this assessment of his experience with D.A.S. Audio. "I have been to D.A.S. Audio's US headquarters many times as well as the factory in Valencia Spain," he says. "I have received hundreds of hours of personal, one-on-one training from the factory engineers and, in fact, from D.A.S. Audio's owner and chief designer/engineer. Everyone has been just great."
(Jim Evans)
