Turning a 36-acre former industrial site into a mixed-use space with areas to live, work and relax is the ambition of Nottingham’s Island Quarter. As one of the first examples of what the new district is expected to bring to the English city, the performance space at Canal Turn is set to be the cultural centrepiece of the Island Quarter with a stage that can handle everything from solo artists to full festivals.

Responsibility for the sound system fell to local A/V installer Music Gear Installations, who have opted to use an Electro-Voice X2 line array system driven and controlled by Dynacord amplifiers and electronics.

‘We’ve pushed the boundaries of technology a bit and everything is built around being futureproof,’ explains Mick Whittemore from Music Gear Installations. ‘The idea was the owner could put anyone on – we had to get to a certain level for the tribute acts and mid-level touring bands, but also have the infrastructure to enable major acts to play there. It needs to handle literally anything from a solo acoustic performer who can simply plug-and-play – with their own mixing desk if required – to a full-on music festival.’

To achieve this, Music Gear Installations enlisted the help of Bosch consultant Neal Allen, who suggested a solution he knows from his time as a touring FOH engineer – the X2 line arrays for live sound applications from the X-Line Advance line array family.

‘I know the product really well,’ says Allen. ‘The owners liked the heritage of where I had been with it and what I had done with it. When they heard it, they really liked the sound of it too.’

The open-air stage at Canal Turn is covered by six X2-212/90 line-array elements per side with two X12-128 subwoofers delivering the low frequencies. ‘X2 provides the detail this kind of project needs,’ Allen says. ‘It’s a nice sounding box that can do multiple styles of music. They can run it full range, which sometimes they do when they are just doing the screen and it will cope well with whatever they need it to do.’

On stage, artists are supported by eight Electro-Voice MFX-15MC multi-functional coax monitors. The system is powered by Dynacord amplifiers, with IPX units handling the MFX stage monitors and TGX models responsible for the main PA. An MXE5 Matrix Mix Engine delivers routing and mixing, while SoniCue Sound System Software provides control and configuration.

‘It was simple to tune the system with SoniCue, and the latest upgrade version has also made it very user-friendly for the venue staff and students, especially for general system operation,’ says Allen. ‘They only use the parts of SoniCue that they need – such as presets and level changes – which means that the system can be just as easily run by a sound engineer or by students on a day-to-day basis.’

Reflecting on the overall project and the futureproof solution he has delivered, Whittemore says: ‘The whole feel of the place is great and they have some really big plans. We’ve made a futureproof venue that integrates well into the surrounding environment and the plans for this area. Most importantly, everybody is pleased with the way it sounds.’

‘This was a future-proof selection that I was more than happy to recommend,’ confirms Canal Turn Project Manager, Ben Hicklin. ‘I’ve been delighted with the results. Everything I have been promised has been delivered, together with the added bonus of working with local specialists.’