Thunder Audio deploys K1/K2 system for Logic
- Details
The tour began 8 June in Boston and wends its way cross country through major outdoor venues, such as the Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix, Austin360 Amphitheater, and FivePoint Amphitheatre Irvine, as well as arena dates including New York’s Madison Square Garden and The Forum in Los Angeles.
Tour sound-reinforcement provider Thunder Audio Inc. assembled a highly flexible L-Acoustics PA system comprising K1 and K2 components that can be configured to fit each and every stop on the tour.
For most of the dates, the audio crew is flying up to 18 enclosures per side in the main PA hangs - six K1 over 12 K2 - with eight additional K1 per side flown as out-fill arrays. A dozen flown K1-SB and 20 ground-stacked SB28 subwoofers deliver ample low end for the bass-heavy hip-hop shows, with 12 Kara providing audience front-fill coverage from the stage lip.
Monitor arrays are a pair of ARCS II over two SB28 subs, buttressed by a dozen wedges across the front of the stage. The full L-Acoustics complement is powered by 39 LA8 Amplified Controllers.
Thunder Audio vice president of sales Greg Snyder designed the system with input from FOH engineer Darcy Khan and monitor engineer Dane Tarmann. “What makes this system stand out is that it’s a hip-hop tour, but one that demanded high-quality and high intelligibility top-to-bottom,” he says. “K1 and K2 give us all of that and let the system be configured to fit the wide variety of different venues it’s playing in.”
In addition, Snyder points out that this is a 96kHz system end to end, from the DiGiCo SD7 consoles used to mix FOH and monitors to the L-Acoustics Amplified Controllers. “It’s designed to be a high-fidelity, multifaceted system,” says Snyder. “It’s got plenty of low-end and power to rattle the buildings, but it also has the clarity to let the lyrics come through. And it keeps those qualities even as it gets reconfigured for each venue thanks to our Soundvision predictions.”
Thunder Audio President Tony Villarreal points to the tour’s stop at the DTE Energy Music Theatre in Detroit on 30 June as an example. “This is the old Pine Knob Amphitheatre, and they had K2 as the main arrays there and K1 as the out-fills. It’s the first time I can remember ever hearing the sound reach to the last row of the venue,” he reflects. “The K2 drove the sound right up the aisles, yet you could understand every word. I give credit to Darcy and Peter, our systems engineer, on thinking ‘out of the box’ and utilizing this system as intended in a multifaceted fashion.
“What’s great about this system is that you get all the low-frequency punch you could ever want, but you also get the intelligibility and the coverage you need. It’s a perfect fit, every night.”
(Jim Evans)
