One of the main considerations of promoters Bravura regarding audio was to have as few loudspeaker hangs as possible, limiting the amount of towers needed along the river. Three large COHEDRA rigs were used. A hang of 24 CDR 208 S/T mid/high cabinets plus 12 CDR 210 F flyable subwoofers was suspended from the Tyne Bridge. 20 CDR 208 S/T mid/highs plus 12 groundstacked CDR 210 subwoofers were positioned at the audio control tower close to the Millennium bridge, while a further 20 CDR 208 S/Ts plus 12 CDR 210s were on duty further down the quay. All three arrays were powered by HK AUDIO PR 8 and PR 16 racks.
In addition, four HK Audio RT 112 F flyable horn-loaded, mid/high-range units and eight RL 118 18" bandpass bass horns as well as four VT 115 X multi-functional two-way speakers were positioned beneath the Tyne Bridge as nearfills for people behind the COHEDRA systems. Another four VT 115 X speakers were used as nearfills at the control tower, while between the second and third COHEDRA hangs were another four RT 112 Fs and RL 118s. The JSS crew consisted of company owner Jem Walker with John Greatwood at FOH, James Brown, Ben Reibel and John Massey as system techs and Dan Dawson and Chris Ryan providing rigging expertise.
COHEDRA was chosen for the job in a slightly unorthodox, if randomly fortuitous, manner. Last summer JSS used a COHEDRA system for a gig at Ormsby Hall in Yorkshire, while in his garden a few miles away, Tall Ships Races Event production manager Richard Agar of Bravura Productions found he could understand every single word. He drove to Ormsby Hall, met JSS' Jem Walker and asked him whether he'd be interested in doing the sound for Tall Ships event. A COHEDRA demo for the promoters and the city of Newcastle followed in November, and JSS was awarded the job.
Due to the busy schedule of COHEDRA owners at this time of the year, additional equipment was shipped in from Germany and Austria, demonstrating the efficiency of the fast-growing COHEDRA users' network. "The international COHEDRA network really works well and HK Audio were extremely helpful to us when it came about organising additional equipment," says Walker.
(Lee Baldock)
