The Flashline line array system - designed to deliver hi-fi sound to large audiences using paper cone midrange transducers to deliver beautiful vocal frequencies - was specified by Sandé's live sound engineer Darren Connor, and supplied by Mansfield-based Entertainment Sound Specialists (ESS) via Britannia Row Productions.
Connor deployed a configuration of 11 Flashline TFS-900H flown per side, six TFS-900B subwoofers per side on the floor, two Aspect TA-890H in-fills, and two TQ-308 passive two-way front-fills for the show.
This is a system that has been really well thought out, from the flying system right down to the amplifier features," says Connor. "I was impressed with the contained rigging system where none of the pins or rigging parts protrude. It looks clean and is totally straightforward to fly.
"As soon as I turned on the PA, the two distinct parts of the frequency spectrum that I was immediately impressed with were the high frequencies and the sub frequencies. The fidelity and definition, whilst maintaining a smooth sound in the higher spectrum, were stunning. This allowed me to create a full range, open, and 'airy' mix without it being harsh and offensive to the ear. It also allowed me to be a little more generous with the sibilance on Emeli's vocal to bring her voice out of the mix a little more.
"I was also impressed with the tightness of the subs. They proved to be extremely efficient, and what seemed the best level at first was actually reduced by 5dB by the time I had finished ringing out the system."
Connor and the system techs, Adam Smith (Britannia Row Productions) and Martin Wharton and Paul Danson (ESS), used a combination of Smaart and Turbosound's TurboDrive software to configure the rig, which "made setup and zoning of the system easy", he says.
(Jim Evans)
