Lab.gruppen, the Swedish manufacturer distributed exclusively in the UK by Sennheiser, is one of the leading amplifier brands within the pro audio industry. According to Jim Stevens, SES's general manager who oversees the Coldplay account: "We have been changing over to Lab.gruppen amplifiers for the last three years. We had an amp 'shoot-out' in 2003 and Lab.gruppen won hands down, so we decided to start putting fP Series into all of our live-sound rigs."
"We started with fP 6400s and fP 3400s for our L-Acoustics V-Dosc rigs specified by Coldplay and Joyce Meyer Ministries. Then, in 2004, we added them to our monitor systems for Hootie and the Blowfish. For 2005, we put them in all of our amphitheatre delay systems. Then last year we installed fP Series in Coldplay's monitor rig, as well as the remainder of our monitor systems. So as far as packaging, weight, reliability and sound goes, Lab.gruppen always wins hands down!"
"In terms of loading capacity," says Dave Cheek, SES systems engineer for the Coldplay tour, "we can provide more watts per cubic foot with Lab.gruppen than with other brands. And these fP Series models are ultra-reliable; we have only had one or two units fail out of hundreds of amps we've used in the past several years."
"For Coldplay's on-stage monitors," adds SES monitor technician John Kaylor, "the difference in sound quality between Lab.gruppen and several other brands we used to use is remarkable - there is additional clarity and 'reach' we haven't enjoyed before. SES can also pack 12 6400 amps powering six bi-amp mixes for stage monitoring into a single flight case, thereby streamlining system setup and teardown."
"Because Coldplay specifies a clean stage layout," Cheek continues, "we had to run cables from the stage-right amps racks to the flown arrays along the lighting trusses, all of which adds additional loading to the amps. We use custom 25-metre lengths of 10-gauge speaker cabling - rather than the normal 12-gauge - to provide more horsepower to the line arrays and stage monitors. The Lab.gruppen amps handle these loads with no problem at all."
"We like the sound of our Lab.gruppen amps for front-of-house and wedge monitors," the systems engineer concludes. "They perfectly match the V-Dosc flown arrays, and form a perfect marriage between loudspeaker and amplifier. The added clarity offered by the fP Series is outstanding. They offer a noticeable improvement over the competition."
Lab.gruppen products are distributed in the UK by Sennheiser UK.
(Lee Baldock)
