In STM terminology, Wigwam's package is 48 sets; 48 x M46 main cabinets, 48 x B112 bass cabinets and 48 x S118 sub bass units. The system specification is identical to that ordered by London rental company Capital Sound Hire earlier this year.
The main criteria for the new system, according to Wigwam's Chris Hill, was, will it sound good ? will it be flexible and quick to rig?
Together with Capital Sound, Wigwam has been working closely with Nexo to inform what they, as rental companies, wanted from a new PA system. "Nexo's engineers really listened, went away and came up with the STM concept rather than just bringing out another cabinet design that none of us really wanted."
"They have a different way of looking at things," continues Hill. "STM is scalable and we can use it for many different applications instead of it just being able to do certain types of work. We're hopeful that this will give us maximum utilisation of our stock."
Wigwam is now looking forward to using its new STM system in real-life situations. "We'll be working closely with Capital Sound to decide how we'll package it as a system," says Hill, "then we can determine how small the system can go, and work upwards from there. We have lots of ideas for it, and we'll be putting our own mark on it before we're in a position to move it forward and make it available to our customers."
Stuart Kerrison, manager of Nexo's Concert Sound division, says the Wigwam contract marks a key point in the life cycle of STM, as it starts to arrive on the international touring market. "It's very satisfying to have both our development partners show so much confidence in the system, and we can now look forward to their experience and expertise being applied, as Chris says, in real life rather than in the R&D lab. Concert systems at this level have to perform as a complete solution, and that's what we're focussed on now: providing a road-ready PA system that delivers at the highest level, supported by well-trained engineers, with a high degree of operational flexibility between members of the STM network."
(Jim Evans)
