The sheer scale of the event is extraordinary, certainly when compared with even the largest European festivals - the 150,000sq.m (about the same as 28 American football pitches) area of the Parque do Atleta in Jacarepaguá can accommodate 800,000 people.
Gabisom Audio Equipment, sound provider for the show and one of the world's largest audio rental companies, deployed an Outline GTO line-source system on the 'Sunset' stage, one of the most prestigious stages at Rock in Rio, featuring a diverse array of acts including Joss Stone and local favourites Sepultura as well as Titãs+Xutos Pontapés, Afrika Bambaataa, Matanza and Milton Nascimento.
Gabisom's choice of GTO followed extensive testing carried out during the summer with the assistance of Outline technical staff, in order to verify the systems' performance prior to its 'baptism of fire' at Rock In Rio. Faced with an audience of up to 60,000 at the Sunset Stage, the Brazilian rental company installed a 12-per-side GTO system, supplemented with GTO-LOW bass extension and GTO-DF down-fill elements. Just eight Outline LAB 21 subwoofers were ground-stacked to provide the necessary low frequency performance.
Sound engineer Fernando Luis Leite had a busy event, mixing FOH for both a 'classic rock jam' featuring Ed Motta and Andreas Kisser of Sepultura, as well as Brazilian act Baile do Simonal who produced a mix of samba, rap, baião, soul, jazz, afro-beat, pop, funk and rock for the huge festival crowds.
Leite said, "The Outline GTO was a very pleasant surprise for me. The two bands I mixed are totally different, one playing classic rock with five guitars, and the other a pure Brazilian sound with lots of percussion and horns, but the GTO system handled them both really well. It throws long distances very effectively while maintaining excellent intelligibility even at serious volume. The Rock In Rio crowds expect it to be loud and it was - we were working at around 115dB(A) at the mix position but I was really satisfied with its performance."
Brazilian metal legends Sepultura were mixed on the Sunset Stage by Stanley Soares, who also handled FOH for French industrial percussionists Tambour du Bronx. He said, "I was very impressed with the sound, very clear and tons of pressure, especially for an occasion where I was working with both a very heavy rock band as well as a large group of percussionists."
He continued, "I realised right after I played some music through the system that I would have fun - great tonality, amazing high and low frequency response and besides the problems I had during the set change (which were not related to the system itself) I had a good time."
Outline's Giorgio Biffi said, "Gabisom are one of the largest audio rental operations in the world and are one of only a few companies able to handle several very large events simultaneously. That they had the confidence to field a new system at such a large and high-profile event is a great compliment to Outline, our people and our products.
"As usual Rock In Rio featured some of the world's top artists, and acts operating at this level are normally mixed by some of the most experienced and influential sound engineers who - quite rightly - expect the very best out of the systems they face. The response from everyone who used the GTO system was extremely positive, regardless of the type of music they were working on. Once again, we really must say how proud we are to see our 'Grand Touring Outline' technology working at the very highest level."
(Jim Evans)
