Produced by Simon Brooks-Ward, managing director of Horse Power International alongside Brigadier Mel Jameson, who also produces the Edinburgh Tattoo, the tri-service event was held over four days and nights and featured international and British military acts, massed bands, pipes and drums and military re-enactments.
Delta's Paul Keating reports: "We've been involved with the Royal Windsor Horse Show for the past five years and that has led to us providing audio for the Windsor Castle Royal Tattoo. We need to provide a sound system that works for the daytime event, where most of the action happens within the arena, as well as the evening show, where there is a combination of orchestral and solo performers on stage and other performers in the centre of the arena."
The arena is large - 130m x 80m - and is also an unusual shape, with the stage at one end and seating on three sides. Achieving aural focus is tricky and timing the system correctly for the audience - whether the performance is at stage end, in the centre of the arena, or a combination of the two - is essential.
To accomplish this, Delta positioned a hang of 12 L'Acoustic's V-DOSC with six SB218 subs either side, controlled by XTA 226s and 224s for the main stage. These were supplemented by a distributed vocal system comprising a total of 36 d&b C6 cabinets positioned on fourteen 15m masts, provided by Summit Steel and also used to accommodate the lighting for the arena.
The system was controlled and managed via a BSS Soundweb network, utilising a fibre ring, with remote amplifier sites, positioned around the arena. This allowed Delta to change the timing of the system, with the distributed masts delaying back to the stage area for certain elements, whilst having zero delay for performances in the arena's centre.
A DiGiCo D5 Live mixing console, operated by Richard Sharatt, was stationed at Front of House. "We had about 112 inputs to the D5 this year," recalls Keating, "and a second control position going back into the D5 for the daytime show, with the D5 controlling the main system and Soundweb.
"We have to work within a given budget, so we prioritise what remains acoustic and what becomes amplified. On previous events, we've used up to 60 channels of RF to amplify the larger marching bands."
This year the budget allowed for 12 RF channels, which could be utilised for a variety of performances including solo vocalists, pipes, fiddle players, etc. "There was a small fife and drum band from Denmark who were 20 strong," continues Keating. "This is a good example of where we amplified a band, using TiMax to create image definitions.
"For the stage orchestra we chose a combination of Rode and DPA microphones for the string section, with Sennheiser 3000 Series for the RF. Unlike simply covering a stage area, this is a large area to cover RF-wise, so we built a special RF antennae system, positioning six around the arena to make sure we obtained good coverage."
Additionally, eight Meyer MM4s with remote volume control were provided as a localised system for the Royal box. "During the Royal line up on the Saturday evening, when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were present for the performance, I was reprimanded for the sound being far too loud," says Keating. "Prince Philip said he was going to send me the bill for his hearing."
(Jim Evans)
