Northampton-based full service production company Stage Right Productions has expanded an already extensive dBTechnologies inventory with the recent purchase of the VIO two-way line array system from UK distributor, CUK Audio.

Part of the system is already deployed in the 900-seat Deco theatre in Northampton for the annual pantomime – a production of Peter Pan featuring Coronation Street’s Nick Cochrane as Smee, The Voice finalist Lydia Lucy as Wendy, Grange Hill’s Colin Ridgewell as Captain Hook, West End actor Chris Wills as Peter Pan, and Northampton’s own Naomi Wilkins as Tiger Lily.

Stage Right operates in a wide range of sectors in the event industry, from outdoor concerts, to corporate events to theatre shows. The company has been investing in dBTechnologies products for more than ten years, and held a large amount of the DVA T4 and S20 modules. However, as Production Manager Craig Burgess explains, the time was right to invest in new technology: ‘The DVA T4 system has served us valiantly for many years, but we felt that now the time was right to invest in some new gear, and of course more recent technology.

‘Earlier in the year, CUK Audio organised a visit to the dBTechnologies factory in Italy to see how the products are designed and manufactured. We were extremely impressed with VIO’s capabilities and functionality so investing in VIO seemed like a natural progression and an obvious choice for us in adding new PA to our inventory.’

The Stage Right team decided to use VIO on Peter Pan for its speech clarity for, dynamic frequency response for show playback and for the efficiency of the L210 long-throw modules. The L210s also provide even coverage due to their 110° horizontal dispersion pattern.

‘This allowed us to cover the whole auditorium with just two hangs of PA,’ Burgess says. ‘Another feature we really like is that we can monitor and control all the modules remotely from the new Aurora Net control software. What’s more, our recent purchase of the VIO S118 subs made it possible to fly all the PA – this was ideal as the venue has limited options for ground stacking due to the size of set. We also stock the beefier VIO S318s but felt they were not suitable for this production due to their larger footprint. The results for Peter Pan are amazing and a clear improvement over Deco’s in-house line array system which struggles to cover the circles and lacks the punch and clarity of the VIO.

‘I feel that dBTechnologies have really stepped up their game with the VIO which is a serious contender sitting next to other large format systems,’ he adds. ‘The fact that we have benefitted from such great support from CUK was also a factor in our decision-making; we know we can count on their help if we need it. We’re looking forward to seeing further additions to the VIO range and are proud to be one of the first companies in the UK using these great products from dBTechnologies.’

Stage Right invested in a total of ten L210 2-way active line array elements, two S3118 triple 18-inch active subwoofers, two S118 single 18-inch active subwoofers plus the requisite hardware and accessories for flying and ground stacking. All except the S3118 subs are currently in use for Peter Pan, controlled from a PC running new Aurora Net software via an RDNet Control 2 hardware interface.