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Supergroup Rocked the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage
Leaders in sound solutions, RG Jones, Synco and Martin Audio, played together to create the solution for the legendary Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival.
With mostly dry weather and a fantastically eclectic Glastonbury musical line-up including Kings of Leon, The Fratellis, Amy Winehouse, Jay-Z, Goldfrapp, Leonard Cohen and The Verve to savour, there was plenty for audiences to smile about - including an all-new PA system design that saw RG Jones extend its contribution in 2007 from the stage sound to the main arena PA.
Engaged last year to provide full control systems and stage monitoring, this year the team was brought in by Chris Beale of CBA and Dick Tee, respectively Pyramid Stage sound co-ordinator and production manager, to supply a powerful, pristine, controlled sound solution and a highly experienced crew for both stage and FOH.
In charge of the South London based company's team was renowned FOH engineer Simon Honywill (who has been involved with RG Jones since the beginning of time) with Diarmuid McLennan at his side, and system engineer Mark Edwards.
As well as heading up the on-stage operation, Mark Isbister was overall responsible for pre-production. Monitor world was looked after by Steve Watson and Mark Isbister, alongside "the patch master" Ali Viles; whilst Steve Carr, Ben Milton and Laura Yensen took care of the stage.
Out front, the team rigged dual 15-deep left and right hangs of Martin Audio's W8L Longbow high power line array, each with downfills and complemented by W8LC stereo infills. The arrays - dry hired from Capital Sound with on site support from Ian Colville - were individually EQ'd and aligned using XTA Audiocore software controlling an array of DP226 processors under wireless tablet control to ensure the requirement for consistent levels across the arena, and rapid attenuation beyond it, were fully met.
The PA configuration was designed with the assistance of Martin Audio's Jim Cousins and Jason Baird using the company's latest software. Talented acoustician Andy Pardoe devised a special bass array configuration which consisted of a row 54 WS218X subwoofers, arranged in blocks of three (two front-facing, one rear-facing) to provide enhanced directivity control.
RG Jones's long-time membership of the Synco Europe Network was underlined by a new stage monitor system comprising exclusively Synco proprietary low profile stage monitors. The monitor system consisted of 20 Synco CW15A low-profile dual concentric 15" monitor wedges, complemented with two 15' STS Synco subs for the drumfill. System equalisation was achieved using XTA digital EQ controlled by a wireless tablet and Klark Teknik DN360 for grab EQ.
Three delay hangs of Synco by Martin Audio W8LC-based line array hangs, with eight-cabinet cardioid subbass arrays, from R G Jones's rental stock, ensured excellent level and clarity across the 80,000 capacity arena.
Control systems reflected RG Jones's successful deployment of an all-digital signal control solution in 2007. A highly flexible line system provided both digital and analogue feeds to monitors, FOH and the BBC's outside broadcast team, configured as classic festival A/B systems, allowing one band to perform while the next was being line checked and a third set of equipment was being prepared backstage. A mixture of 12 pair and 48 pair multicore systems was interfaced with 96 ways of Klark Teknik active splits to generate the FOH, monitor and media outputs. The system was also designed for fast interfacing with visiting bands' line systems.
One of last year's successful R G Jones innovations, a sophisticated shout system between stage and FOH, saw all stage crew wearing a radio IEM and a push-to-talk radio headset, while FOH and Monitors had switched microphones and wedges, all controlled by a dedicated Yamaha LS9 mixer.
Another solution carried over from 2007 was the all-digital FOH setup, offering engineers a pair of Digidesign Venue consoles at FOH in an A/B flip-flop configuration, with a D-Show Profile serving as FOH matrix, linked to stage via an Optocore DD32E digital fibre-based network system - and thence via AES to the XTA loudspeaker processors. The solution maintained a digital signal path all the way to the DP226 outputs, while the consoles' integral processing and plug-ins eliminated the need for effects racks.
The combination of Venue's unique mix-buss algorithms and the Optocore's ultra-high speed transmission resulted in optimum audio quality - while for visiting engineers who opted to use their own consoles, the team had a rapid changeover routine well rehearsed, allowing 20-30 minute intervals between bands.
Simon Honywill comments: "R G Jones were invited to submit a design for the complete system after delivering a successful job with the stage and control systems last year. Many of the suppliers involved with the festival, including the BBC had stated that they were very impressed with the way the stage was handled, and with the team in general. Chris Beale was confident that we could deliver, and we have found that people appreciate our approach, which we could sum up as being "not very rock'n'roll in a traditional sense", but completely dedicated to what we do."
As ever the sound design team, working in conjunction with environmental acoustics consultants Capita Symons, faced a dual challenge - delivering a exciting sound level to the packed main bowl audience yet without allowing the excess spillage into areas outside the site that have caused problems in the past.
"A great deal was learned during last year's festival," says Chris Beale, "and in particular, it was decided that we would draw up an audio specification that described not only how the audio system in each of the three main arenas - Pyramid, Other, and Jazz - should perform, but how they should be designed so as not to interfere with each other.
"For the Pyramid Stage arena itself, the design called for a main PA in which the top cabinets would be angled down by 8 degrees to ensure it would get under potential wind effects, and a bass array design that took into account low frequency pressure limits in the audience areas near to the stage, relative to the low frequency sound pressure distance. And the delays would need to be proportionately as powerful as the main system, again angled down and with individual cabinet control. Those criteria together provided the basis for designing the arena system."
He adds: "Melvin Benn [festival production director] paid very close attention to the system and walked the arena with us, and he's extremely satisfied. We've got a great result, because of the amount of effort that everyone's put in, the thinking and co-operation that's gone on between everyone involved has been really good. And following the weekend, the local authority have declared themselves very happy too, which is great news for the festival."
7th July 2008
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