Working alongside West's FOH engineer Horace Ward, systems tech Dan Seal used Meyer Sound's MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction program to plan out the system configuration and streamline setup time. "MAPP is absolutely stunning," Seal says. "To me, it's part of why we use Meyer Sound. I can plan my PA hang so precisely, I know I'm going to get the best out of every show."
The main system included 12 MILO, two MILO 120, and four M3D line array loudspeakers per side, augmented by sidefills of 12 MICA line array loudspeakers each. A dozen 700-HP subwoofers per side provided "bone-shaking" low end, while four MICA loudspeakers and two 600-HP subwoofers covered stage sidefill duties. Three M'elodie line array loudspeakers atop the subs delivered infill coverage, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system with two Galileo 616 units provided system drive and processing.
"The MILO and the MICA rigs work so well together," says Seal. "They're not all that different to EQ, and the transition between them is just seamless. It makes it really easy to get the same consistent sound throughout the entire house. The rigging is also fantastic - it goes up and down quickly. The Meyer line array is simply the best-sounding PA there is."
The tour's sound reinforcement also included a rear system featuring eight MSL-4 loudspeakers per side, flown four wide and two deep, along with eight more 650-P subwoofers on the floor.
"We only use the rear system for effects, and not until midway through the show," Seal reports. "We've got a bunch of playback stuff on Pro Tools - it sounds like spaceships taking off, and an enormous jet flying around the room. It just comes out of nowhere midway through the show, and it's absolutely massive. The crowd reaction is priceless."
(Claire Beeson)
