Dimitri Pruidze, the managing director of the company and his team first found out about Adamson's high-end sound reinforcement products at Frankfurt's Music Messe in 2001.The final decision to purchase Adamson came when Roger Waters rolled into town with Adamson as his top pick on the technical rider.
They have now upgraded to a large system comprising of 16 Y18, eight T21 Subs and four M15 Multipurpose enclosures, all of which are powered with Lab.gruppen amplifiers and controlled with XTA processors. The system was set by DV2-Adamson Europe, whose full support included an on location theory and application training seminar for the entire Gali-Leo crew.
The new system was put into use right away for events such as Deep Purple's concert, the famous Turkish performer Tarkan's Kiev stop, as well as for the Royal Card TV show which was fully supported by DV2.
"The Gear had arrived just two days prior to the (Royal Card) show, which unintentionally became the hands-on part of the training," commented Andy Weingartner of DV2 Adamson Europe, who was in Kiev with DV2's Technical Engineer Pascal Guillaume for the training seminar. The entire Gali-Leo crew heard the Adamson System for the first time at the Royal Card show which was headlined by the Gypsy Kings, whose rich vocals and heavy percussion made them the ideal performer for such an occasion.
Pruidze's thoughts about working with an Adamson System have been positive: "It was so easy to fly, and after learning Shooter, the installation of the system was a piece of cake. The design of the rigging system makes it really fast to use. The Adamson spec'ed amp racks are truly state of the art, and without doubt designed by a real touring man. But the best part is the last, when you get to switch the system on. The sound envelopes you no matter where you are, and I have never heard bass like the T21 Subs produce."
FOH Engineer Evgeniy Silin says: "When I heard and felt the pure pleasure of the T21 Sub, I was ready to forgive the box weight of 140kg (300lbs)."
"So far every singer who has used the M15 wedges has been ready to take them on tour with them," continues Pruidze. Yuri Kritsyak, the main partner in the company added: "The flown system looks so small, but it just kills all other systems with its SPL, quality of the sound at long distances and its great coverage."
The near future looks optimistic for Gali-Leo, who are already shopping for a Midas 3000 desk and 4 Y10 cabinets complete with Lab.gruppen amplifiers, to compliment their new Y18's. Pruidze and Silin are excitedly planning to double their Y-Axis count early next year.
(Chris Henry)