"Geneally speaking it's like a car rental company that offers different models of similar grade. FOH engineers normally prefer a certain PA system and at Satis&fy they can now offer three alternatives: the Y-Axis, V-Dosc and X-Line." Satis&fy's business developer Werner Renz continues to explain the grounds for purchasing a third large format PA system: "I heard the Y18 the first time at a concert in Switzerland and I was surprised. The rather small amount of cabinets produced a high SPL and still had quite a bit of headroom left. I was also sold on the sound, especially the low-mids, which are of particular importance for the vocals and instruments like guitars and the snare drum.
During a two day training seminar Adamson's European sales manager Andy Weingaertner and European tour support Jochen Sommer introduced a number of Satis&fy staff to the system with topics like system configuration, the shooter simulation software and XTA system controllers, and also covered physical aspects such as rigging, setup and teardown. One of the freshest topics was using the Adamson T21-Subs in cardioid mode. The recent research was commissioned by Adamson, executed by Didier DalFitto of DV2 and successfully tested at this year's big summer festivals Les Voix du Gaou and Festival des Vielles Charrues in France.
Satis& fy put this algorithm mode into the test at one of their very first shows with the Y-Axis system - the anniversary of German Unification. Annual large festivities take place in Berlin, and traditionally the celebration concert gives a chance for up and coming artists to perform on the same stage as some of the most established German artists and in front of a huge audience to boot. This year 750.000 spectators came to see bands such as July, Silbermond and Die Fantastischen Vier at this very special event.
Jochen Sommer was at the site as technical support personnel overseeing the main system set-up which consisted of 24 Y18, 12 T-21, 12 EV X-Line Subs distributed in front of the stage to flatten out the LF response of a standard L/R sub configuration, 10 L-Acoustics ARCS as near fills, and several delay positions with Nexo's Geo-D systems provided by a local rental company. The monitoring system consisted of a larger amount of L-acoustics FM115 wedges plus dV-Dosc with SB218 subs as side fills, The T21 subs were used in Cardioid mode. Satis&Fy system engineer and FOH support Johan Schreuder said: "It's amazing! You stand next to the rear sub stack and you think somebody has switched it off." and Renz adds: "This helps very much in dealing with the emission regulations we're facing here."
(Jim Evans)
