"We made history last weekend on two counts." said Download boss and Live Nation's COO, John Probyn. "First, we produced the best rock festival that the world has ever seen and second, we listened to it through the best PA system anyone has heard!"
"Every single engineer had something good to say about the system - that's something I've never known before," said SSE' project manager Pete Russell.
Tim Cleasby, who engineered Skin and Stone Gods, said: "The system sounded great for both bands I mixed on the Sunday; loads of balls and plenty of clarity. I loved it from the first kick drum hit. It provided great coverage throughout the field so there were no worries about anyone complaining about not being able to hear. The SSE crew were as usual top notch and very accommodating and made my life very easy."
"It was great working with SSE and I thought the K1 system at Download was amazing!" said Adam Correia, FOH engineer for Down. "It was great sounding, loud and clear. I was able to feel the subs at FOH which I love. Great stuff! I look forward to the next opportunity I get to mix on it."
The layout of the site was changed from the previous year, so the audio system design also had to be reconsidered. This was done by SSE Hire's Miles Hillyard with the assistance of L-Acoustics Soundvision acoustical simulation software. Live Nation asked audio consultants Vanguardia to do a noise pollution prediction based on the new layout and the audio system design from the previous year.
"The modelling we did in conjunction with SSE showed that the stage relocation was likely to adversely affect a small group of properties near the site." says Deni Butterfield, Principal Acoustic Consultant with Vanguardia.
The initial predictions were based on a V-Dosc system and showed that levels would need to be restricted to 98dB 15 minute Leq at FOH to keep within licensing requirements. Following the redesign of the system by SSE using K1, the predictive data showed a 2dB decrease at off-site monitoring areas while achieving 102dB(A) at FOH.
The system comprised two main L-Acoustics K1 hangs left and right of stage, each with 12 x K1, 6 x K1 subs and 12 x SB28s in cardioid configuration. The system was supplemented by outer hangs with 8 KUDO cabinets per side.
"The K1Subs at the top of the arrays were very effective at helping us to achieve a controlled tonal balance across the site. We also utilised the mechanically-adjustable K-Louvers on the KUDO boxes, which helped us to optimise the coverage and blend in with the V-Dosc delays," says Hillyard.
(Lee Baldock)
