According to FMX's Ron MacGillivray, XLC suits the style of event for which FMX has become known. "We do a lot of radio station work such as roadshows and other one-off events, many of which take place outdoors. Get-in and get-out times are usually minimal, and that is where a system like XLC really comes into its own."
Son and business partner Ross MacGillivray agrees: "XLC cabinets are smaller and lighter than anything else we have, and because of their 120° dispersion characteristics, you need fewer of them to cover the same area. That basically means we're taking up much less room in the truck, they are lighter and easier to transport and you don't need as many guys to set them up. Furthermore, the rigging system is integral to the cabinet, and it all goes together really easily, so that's another time-saver. We've also found the software that comes as part of the system to be really useful in calculating the correct angles for the arrays for your venue it takes a lot of time-consuming guesswork out of the process."
FMX Ltd has purchased nine XLC 127+ mid/high and six XLC 118 sub units per side, making a total of 30 XLC cabinets, and a further four EV P3000 amplifiers to add to their existing inventory. The first outing for the new system was for a huge Bonfire Night fireworks spectacular on Glasgow Green to which 60,000 people were expected to attend. In the event, 90,000 turned up! Ron MacGillivray described that as a bit of a shock! "The system, which was flown in a standard line array format with separate hangs of nine XLC 127+ and six XLC 118s per side coped remarkably well under the circumstances. Despite not being designed to cover a crowd that big, we nevertheless achieved seamless sound levels from front to rear (as far as it went) and excellent stereo imaging from right to left. I was delighted with its performance, but had we known to expect that many people, we'd have used an X-Line system. Nevertheless, the organizers - who were as shocked as we were - were still very pleased with the way it performed, and we're looking forward to using it on many more events as we move towards Christmas and the New Year."
(Lee Baldock)
