Ice Cube recently made his long-awaited live return to the UK and Ireland, performing a run of six live shows with promoter TEG Live Europe calling on UK production company Adlib to provide full technical production all of the shows. It was the first time Adlib had worked with the artist, and used an L-Acoustics K Series PA to deliver a fittingly powerful punch

Adlib fielded a system comprising two main hangs each side consisting of 12 K1 and up to six K2 down. A total of 36 KS28 were used, ten boxes flown behind and eight groundstacked below each main array. Four Kara II and four A15 Wide were used in combination for front fill. The system was run via Milan-AVB across 46 LA12X amplified controllers.

‘K Series is renowned for its consistent frequency response across various venue configurations,’ says Adlib Account Manager Jay Petch, says of the design and placement of the system. ‘The challenge with this show was delivering this consistency down as low as 30Hz for all audience members. The primary low-end frequency in a couple of the songs is a sustained 32Hz.’

Ensuring the sub design could reinforce Ice Cube’s bass-heavy repertoire was essential. ‘The artist didn’t request cardioid, and with ten flown KS28 per side, we had a line of subs almost as long as the main K1 hang,’ explains Petch. ‘Flying the subs ensured even low-end coverage around the arena while also meeting the sub-requirements of the show, right to the furthest and highest seats. The ground sub was predominantly used to cover the first 20m of audience and was configured as a broadside array.

‘As new suppliers to Ice Cube and his team, we wanted to reinforce the fact that they were in safe hands with one of the most trusted and recognised brands in the industry, which is why L-Acoustics was chosen,’ he adds.

Also crucial to the tour’s success was L-Acoustics Soundvision software, which the team used to match the PA to each venue. ‘In the pre-tour design stage, Soundvision was important in previewing the necessary box counts to cover the largest deployments of the tour in London and Manchester,’ says System Tech, Dave Cartwright. ‘Beyond this, Soundvision was invaluable in getting the sub design correct before even leaving my desk, let alone flying anything on the first date.

‘Adlib holds extensive room data for all venues on this tour, and we used this to design a standard system for the tour, changing side hang locations slightly depending on the venue. We ensured the IMAGs and K2 side hangs, which were in close proximity, were working together and not against each other, making minor changes to the rigging plots to ensure this was the case. Without Soundvision, these adjustments would not have been so apparent.

‘I built a base room file, including the stage and IMAGs, and a base speaker file. Daily, while on the road, I could import this into Adlib’s room file and then quickly set trim heights, adjust box counts, and refine the design. The Autosolvers in Soundvision help accomplish this rapidly,’ he continues. ‘This also ensured that what I imported into LA Network Manager was consistent, and worked efficiently with how the LA12X were prepared and deployed for the tour.’

While this may have been the first time Ice Cube has taken to the road with Adlib, his experience with the supplier and the L-Acoustics system it provided suggests it may not be the last.