André Rieu is ubiquitous on the live sound circuit as one of the most celebrated and commercially successful violinists of his day. Performing around 100 concerts annually – L-Acoustics Certified Partner Solotech has been a consistent part of the tour package, most recently proving a K Series concert sound system for the first time.
‘The K Series weighs half of what our previous system weighed, is available worldwide and L-Acoustics Soundvision software is a real time-saver when I get into my advance and designs tasks,’ explains Solotech Audio Crew Chief, Alexandre Dugas. ‘The rigging department wanted to get rid of those monster motors and some of the mandatory safety steels in venues with stricter rigging standards – we now use three 1T with a delta plate, making the rigger’s life a lot easier, which is good for us,
‘The K2 is such a versatile speaker,’ he continues ‘Using Panflex, we can configure a main and side PA using the same enclosures, which gives me great flexibility. As a classical orchestra, we don’t need extensive low-end, and the full-range K2 saves us from hanging subs and frees up floor space. It also properly covers the last seats in those long venues. We used to need delay hangs, but with the long-throw capability of K2, we can cover those seats with just the main PA, which is a great logistical advantage on a tight one-nighter schedule.
Solotech fielded a main LR system of 16 K2 per side, with side fill of 12 K2 per side. Eleven Kiva II provide front fill, four X12 are used for out fill, and two KS28 subs are ground-stacked per side for low-end extension. Onstage, musicians hear themselves through 14 X8 and four X12 monitors. The entire system is driven by LA12X amplified controllers via Milan-AVB.
Dugas and his team designed the system using L-Acoustics Soundvision 3D modelling software. ‘Soundvision allows me to be much more confident about the result I’ll get,’ he says. ‘So much time is saved, and the results are always as predicted.’
‘We definitely get the most natural, transparent, warm, evenly distributed, and in-your-face sound of any sound system available today, period’ he adds.
