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Park Audio Steps Forward in N.Ireland with Electro-Voice
With just one purchase order, Belfast-based Park Audio Productions has become the single largest rental provider of high-spec line array sound systems in Northern Ireland. Shuttlesound, the UK distributor of Electro-Voice, has delivered a comprehensive PA package of EV XLC cabinets and amplifiers and Klark-Teknik processing to go with Park Audio’s own stock of Midas consoles.
Founded nearly ten years ago, Park Audio Productions has earned its living to date from small dance events and live bands. However, against the background of Northern Ireland’s economic resurgence, owner Glenn Gamble has confidently fixed his eye on the top end of the audio rental market.
Targeting international acts that visit Northern Ireland on their European tours, as well as the growing business being generated by local promoters, Gamble is repositioning his young company. From a handy location just 500 yards from Belfast’s largest venue the Odyssey Arena, Park Audio has invested in a high-end equipment inventory that effectively enables the company to leapfrog its competition.
‘We’ve had a long association with Electro-Voice, dating back to the early 1990s,” recalls Glenn Gamble. “We know the quality of EV products and what they can achieve for us, and we knew the level of service we could expect from Shuttlesound, that’s what drew us back to look at the new compact array systems.”
With perfect timing, Park’s decision to buy Electro-Voice’s XLC compact line array was taken just as EV launched its DVX upgrade — the incorporation of new EV 12-inch low-frequency/mid-bass woofers into the XLC127 cabinets, giving greater high-SPL stability and full-bandwidth intelligibility than previously available.
Park has received 24 of the new XLC127DVX cabinets, with 6x XLC215 bass units and 12x X-Sub subbass boxes. The system comes complete with all rigging and ground support, and Park has chosen to pair it with EV’s new Tour Grade 7 amplifiers, 24 of them all fitted with RCM26 DSP cards. The Tour Grade Series offers remarkable audio quality in a lightweight package, with unsurpassed performance protection features and full remote control via EV’s proprietary IRIS-Net management software. Also included in the system were 6 x Square One Dynamics and 8 x Square One Graphics, manufactured by Klark-Teknik. Park will team the system with Midas Legend 3000 and Heritage 1000 consoles.
Park Audio’s first step was to show off its new system by hosting a couple of open/training days in Belfast’s Kings Halls, a classic old venue in the city. David Howe and Jason Kelly from Shuttlesound introduced the XLC’s capabilities to a crowd of local freelance engineers and system techs, demonstrating everything from IRIS-Net software to practical rigging issues. This was the first opportunity for Park’s new manager Mark Morrison to hear the system.
“I couldn’t believe how clear it is; you can feel the system without being deafened by it, and it is amazingly small for what it can produce. If we are to reposition the company successfully, it is vital that we have the right quality-brand equipment and Electro-Voice is that brand. We have a system that is unbeatably versatile and compact - available at an excellent price – that can handle a show for 10,000 people yet still fits neatly into a 7.5 ton truck.”
In picture: the Park Audio Productions team of Glenn Gamble, Mark Morrison and Paul Maxwell, with their new supplies from Shuttlesound.
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