Martin Audio’s Multi-Cellular Loudspeaker Array ability to control noise escape beyond a festival site perimeter while maintaining fidelity and high sound pressure levels was proven again at 2015’s Glastonbury Festival.

For the audience, this meant that FOH engineers could mix artists on the Pyramid Stage for crowds of up to 120,000 people,’ without inviting complaints from residents surrounding the site.

System design was similar to last year, comprising 72 MLA for the main hangs, eight MLA Compact for stereo infill at the pit barrier and a total of six delay positions of both MLA and MLA Compact as required. One key change this year was the addition of two extra delay systems. RG Jones’ Project Manager, Simon Honywill, explains, ‘This was primarily because Glastonbury production decided to split the FOH control platform from one to two platforms located left and right in front of the stage. They also moved the platforms closer to the stage and along with them the first set of delay towers.’ With the centre of the field opened up visually the aim of the festival site was to increase the experience for the audience right at the back of the field close to the camping area, a space previously regarded as out of coverage for the Pyramid stage, These changes necessitated the extra MLA Compact delays.

‘We drove each acoustic cell in each MLA to direct sound at the audience, and then cut it off sharply just beyond the perimeter of the field to dramatically reduce noise pollution,’ System tech, Andy Davies, explains. ‘As a result, acts like The Who and Motorhead could play at 104-105dBA.’

‘I wasn’t looking forward to Glastonbury because of the noise restrictions – as you can imagine, we like to play loud,’ says Motorhead FOH engineer Arnie Annables. ‘However, from the off things went surprisingly well and I was very happy with the outcome. The system sounded good, not what I am used to, but my ears were pleased. The RG Jones guys did a fantastic job looking after me, as did everyone on stage; it’s been a real pleasure.’

Another of the artists who packed the Pyramid field was James Bay. His FOH engineer Rob Sadler commented: ‘Vocal clarity is so important with James Bay. I can’t really hide the vocals in the mix, and with the MLA today it was clarity all the way. I can’t fault the system, no soundcheck and yet everything I needed was pretty much there from the off.’

Pharrell Williams FOH engineer Christopher Lee was also pleased with the accompaniment of MLX subs. Mixing on a DiGiCo SD7 he said, ‘Pharrell likes the bass and mix to be identical to the record so the subs were a real surprise to me – right up there where I needed them every time. I was really impressed, not just with the configuration but also with the excellent tuning of the system.’

An array of 38 MLX stretched across the width of the stage to provide the sub-bass support. ‘The system knitted together really well,’ Andy Davies says. ‘It has allowed us to put more energy through the middle two delays and push a big thrust of power up the centre of the site. We then use the outer delays to fill in and keep coverage going out to the edge, which has worked really well.’

During sub-heavy Kanye West set, Simon Honywill reported that at 250m distance from the stage his clothing was physically moving, achieved by the tried and tested broadside sub cardioid array. ‘We have 22 MLX cabs facing forward and another 11 facing backwards to give us cancellation and to make sure we’re not disturbing the other stages on site,’ explains Davies. ‘We’ve also electronically arc’d the array so there is delay time incrementally added from the middle box out giving coverage to the sub array that matches up with the site really nicely.’

Toby Francis, FOH engineer for Kanye West enjoyed the moment: ‘I thought it went really well but I also listened to all the other bands during the day and they sounded great. Kanye was on a crane right in front of the PA for a number of songs and it still sounded tight and controlled. What I really liked about the PA is that even at the volume limit for the festival it sounded big and full. The Glastonbury limits are considerably lower than Kanye would prefer, so yes I was impressed.’

For John Carroll, Managing Director of RG Jones Sound Engineering, Glastonbury was an affirmation: ‘There really isn’t anything out there to match the clarity and warmth of the MLA system,’ he says. ‘Again the continued support from Martin Audio has been second to none which makes it a robust investment from all perspectives.’

See also:
Glastonbury hits record sound high with MLA

More: www.rgjones.co.uk
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