‘Lana is a very discreet vocalist, very self-conscious about how she approaches a microphone. What we want to do is keep the low end around her, but nowhere near overpowering, to give her a lot of space on stage, yet keep plenty of bass out there in the audience.’
Sound Image FOH system tech Bill Price is discussing Lana Del Rey’s three-plus-octave vocal range and intimate delivery. In the context of a band on a big stage, the task of ensuring that every sultry whisper is heard can present its share of challenges. Sound Image reckons to have the right sound system for the job, however.
Currently out on her North American Endless Summer tour, along with opener Courtney Love, Del Rey is wowing fans in sheds each night on an L-Acoustics K1 main loudspeaker system, with K2 out fill arrays flown as needed in wider venues. ‘This is my first time touring with K1, K2 and Kara, and I’m having a wonderful time with it,’ says FOH engineer, Max Bisgrove. ‘It gives me superb vocal clarity, headroom in spades, excellent coverage and packs a serious punch when called for. I would recommend it to anyone and will be requesting it again in the future.’
That’s accomplished by flying L-Acoustics K1-SB subs with the main hangs and time-aligning them to push the low end from the hangs out to the sides and rear of the sheds the tour is visiting. The set-up of SB28s stacked onstage in a cardioid configuration gives the punch, keeping it in the crowd and off the stage.
‘It’s a challenge,’ Price adds. ‘With Lana’s voice being so velvety, Max has to keep the gain pretty hot, which can create feedback problems, even with in-ear monitors, because her microphone will usually be down in front on stage. He attenuates a few critical frequencies to compensate, but it’s really the PA system that makes it happen. The K1 is an amazingly sensitive and incredibly musical loudspeaker. I don’t think there’s another loudspeaker that could work as well with an artist like Lana.’
Sound Image’s loudspeaker complement for the tour consists of left and right hangs of 12 K1 modules above three Kara for down fill, which are flown adjacent to sub arrays of four K1-SB. Out fill arrays of eight K2 are also used for tour stops at venues with wider seating geometries. Below, six SB28 subs are stacked in cardioid mode on the stage, with six Kara spread across the lip for front fill. Thirty LA8 amplified controllers housed in ten LA-Raks, five per side, power and manage the system.
