"Christina Aguilera's production team brought in much of their stage equipment including mixing consoles, band gear, LED screens, and the stage set. This was transported in about eight 40ft cargo containers," noted Jaime Godinez, owner of Sound Check. "Our primary task was to ensure a properly-deployed sound reinforcement system for sound mixer Tony Blanc, so that he would be able to present this dynamic show to a 30,000-person outdoor crowd."
Sound Check's main speaker system consisted of 56 Vertec midsize full-range loudspeakers, configured as 36 cabinets of Vertec VT4888DP's with JBL DrivePack technology for the left and right main arrays, with 18 line array elements per side. An additional 10 VT4888 enclosures per side were employed as out-fill arrays, powered by Crown I-Tech 4000 amplifiers. In addition, Sound Check provided 28 VT4880 full-size arrayable subwoofers powered by Crown I-Tech 6000 amplifiers.
Front-fills included JBL's VRX series, with VRX932LA compact constant-curvature line arrays equally distributed across the front of the stage. Signal-delayed arrays consisting of JBL 4894 Array Series cabinets were located in towers to extend the sound system's throw at Fort Bonafacio's Global City open field in Tuagig, Metro Manila, the Philippines' major outdoor parade ground and show venue.
"Since this show brought in most of their gear, our job was quite straightforward," advised Godinez. "We basically provided them with the speaker system, side-fill monitors, some XLR snake cables and AC power distribution. We also provided the front tracked-music act, Mikey Bustos and Kris Lawrence, with a small console, outboard gear and a simple monitor setup. All of the gear provided was to the production's specifications. Our biggest challenge in this outdoor environment was rain. The stage really got blasted by high winds and a strong rainstorm, driving at a 45° angle. My compliments to JBL engineering, as the system sustained no damage despite the challenging use environment."
(Jim Evans)
