The decision to use Nexo GEO technology was a major departure for the Glastonbury team and promoter Melvyn Benn of The Mean Fiddler Organization. The Pyramid Stage has, famously, been equipped with Turbosound Flashlight systems for many years. In winning the contract for the 2003 Festival, Chris Beale of SSE Hire completed an impressive roster of all the biggest festivals in the UK, all to be serviced with NEXO GEO T.
The system for the Pyramid Stage was configured with two far-field arrays of 24 GEO T4805 cabinets each. These were 25m offstage on each side. In addition, there were two near-field arrays of 11 GEO T4805s suspended from SSE's trademark Teepee structures, each array being approximately 7m offstage. There was also a centre array of 6 GEO T4805s for centre image/near-field, and two field delays 130m downrange from the system each comprising 8 GEO T4805s. Lightweight Camco Vortex amplifiers powered the whole system.
"I used 12 CD-18 subs per side," adds SSE's Chris Beale, "plus 9 S2 subs under the near-field arrays. In fact, the S2 cabinets were attenuated by 12dB and, while they were effective at warming up the near-field, they didn't contribute significantly to the far-field sub energy. The audience arena was approximately 350m to the rear perimeter, and I would guess that the maximum audience would have been for Radiohead - with around 90,000 - 100,000 watching. I was really pleased with all aspects of the system performance, and I can report that the system was never under stress - we had no amplifier clipping and we had no component failures. The levels were a maximum of 104dBLAeq(15) at the mix, and we achieved better than 90dBA at 350m. The offsite maximum dictated by the local authority was 60dBLAeq(15) which we managed to adhere to throughout - OK, so I got my wrists slapped once, but I always say that, if you don't get caught occasionally, you're not trying hard enough!"
British artist David Gray played his Glastonbury gig just weeks before the start of his US tour, when, according to SSE Hire, he will be one of the first artists in the world to take the new Nexo GEO T on the road. Lestyn Polson, David Gray's FOH engineer was pleased to find GEO T in use at Glastonbury. "I am totally knocked out by the GEO T. I've never heard anything with this combination of power and clarity, and in particular the impression of volume you're getting without actually pushing the meters too hard. And that's critical at Glastonbury - you're working within very tight limits to keep the SPLs down beyond the site. I was getting plenty of energy at FOH, and yet when I checked the meters it was - mostly - well below 104dB. You actually feel you're getting more than you are. I was there for the whole weekend and I had a good look and listen around the site. There was plenty of opportunity to walk the perimeter of the Pyramid field and gauge the throw from the stage and from the delays, and wherever I went there was enough power to hold your attention and enough detail to enjoy the music."
Polson is also a studio engineer, having worked with David Gray on every album since White Ladder. And goes on to say that: "Normally, when I'm listening to a PA, I can hear the cabinets as much as anything else - the resonances from these great big boxes. You get exaggerated top and over-stated bottom end. But with the GEO T, what I'm hearing is a full frequency range with everything in its place and nothing out of balance. It's more like a studio monitoring system!"
(Sarah Rushton-
