Download demanded a lot from its sound systems, which had to be loud but also feature finely focusable directional control - to contain environmental spillage. SSE director Chris Beale designed the systems for both stages. He decided that VerTec was ideal for the main (open-air) stage, particularly as many top American acts roared their way across the 15 band-a-day line up and their engineers would be familiar with the system. Beale states: "The VerTec product is excellent. It’s a well engineered system - lightweight, ergonomic, practically packaged, well executed and containing quality components - need I say more?"
The system was configured as 14 VerTec 4889 elements per side plus four VerTec 4888 ‘midi’ enclosures. There was also a centre vocal cluster of eight 4888s. The elegant fingers of the arrays worked well in the very expedient wing space, with left and right hangs cloaked with special Download PA scrims, and the centre cluster hanging virtually unobtrusively in the middle of the stage. No delay towers were necessary, as the VerTec easily threw the full sound image right to the rear of the 240 metre long arena. The house and monitor system amplification was exclusively Camco V6 and V4.
(Lee Baldock)
