"If you're doing the sound for The World's Largest Disco, the system has to be no-holds-barred," said Ray DiBiase, president of Northeastern Production Systems, which provided the sound, lighting and video systems for the event. "The music is the reason everyone was there and we had to move 7,000 people with loud, bass-heavy sound in a room that's the biggest dance floor in New York State."
While the music was retro, the sound system NPS brought in was anything but, comprising JBL VERTEC VT4889 full-size line array elements, VT4886 subcompact line array elements and VT4880 full-size arrayable subwoofers. Eight VT4889 loudspeakers were hung from each side of the main stage, with six VT4886 loudspeakers on each side, and 24 VT4880 subwoofers ground-stacked six wide and two high on each side of the stage. An additional left-right configuration of eight VT4888 midsize elements each served as delays, while another eight VT4889 loudspeakers provided center rear delay. Six VT4886 per side provided emergency backup sound, hung from the upstage lighting truss. In addition, a left-right configuration of four VT4888 per side, stacked on dual VT4882 subwoofers, served as the main system for the VIP Room at the event. Crown VZ5000 and MA2400 amplifiers powered the main VT4889 arrays and the VT4888 delays. Crown IT8000 and IT12000HD amplifiers powered the VT4880 and VT4882 subwoofers, VT4886s and the rest of the VT4888 and VT4889 loudspeakers. NPS also employed Harman HiQnet System Architect to link three dbx 4800 DriveRacks to a tablet computer with a wireless router.
"There were people everywhere, and we had to make sure that the music was heard and just as importantly, felt by everyone," DiBiase noted. "As any sound reinforcement pro knows, thousands of bodies can absorb a lot of sound, aside from the fact that the party was in such a big room. Getting even and consistent coverage was a must. It was also a total party atmosphere with everyone making a lot of noise, and the system had to be heard above all that."
VERTEC line arrays are ideal for this kind of application, DiBiase noted. "Aside from their sheer ability to pump out the volume, they can play loud yet stay clean, clear and articulate," he said. "Since their coverage pattern is controlled and predictable, they really lend themselves to installations where you have to position speakers all around the venue."
(Lee Baldock)
