Espinosa Paz ranks high on the list of Hispanic artists gaining fame with US audiences.
Known in Mexico for his norteña and banda musical styles, Paz’ reputation is growing on both sides of the US-Mexico border – with US touring supported by DAS Audio loudspeaker systems supplied by Global Productions.
Handling all staging considerations, Global Productions co-owner Adrian Gallegos serves as tour production manager and performs double duty as monitor engineer for US performances. To accommodate the various venues where Paz performs, Gallegos uses a combination of DAS Aero 12A, Aero 8A and Aero 50 line array loudspeaker systems, plus LX-218A subwoofers.
‘Our loudspeaker setups vary quite a bit depending on the nature of the venue,’ he says. ‘We go from arenas to theatres to nightclubs, so I have to be able to handle a wide range of performance spaces. Currently, we have 24 Aero 12A powered line array elements that we frequently fly 12 units per side. These are accompanied by a dozen LX-218A powered subwoofers that we position six boxes per side. We’ve also been using DAS Audio’s large format, three-way active Aero 50 line array enclosures for the largest venues like arenas and big theatres. When we use the Aero 50s, we typically fly eight units per side and use the LX-218A subs for low-frequency support.’
For smaller venues, Gallegos uses eight Aero 12As per side in conjunction with the 12 LX-218A subwoofers. Frequently, he’ll use Aero 8A ultra-compact line array enclosures for front fill. ‘I love the versatility the Aero Series 2 loudspeaker systems provide,’ he says. ‘The Aero 12A and Aero 8A sound terrific. They are extremely easy to set-up, tear down and transport, and the integrated hardware is a pleasure to work with. Assembling the clusters and adjusting the pinouts for angling is very quick and effortless. I like to think of the Aero 12A as a turnkey box that does everything I ask of it.
‘Nightclubs are never easy to set up for,’ Gallegos continues. ‘With the Aero 12A being a compact loudspeaker enclosure, it’s very easy to rig six or eight boxes per side. We can hang these loudspeakers off Genie lifts without any problems whatsoever and they also work really well when we need to ground stack the enclosures. On big arena jobs, I use eight Aero 50s per side and a combination set-up where the Aero 12As provide down fill and front fill. We also use the Aero 12As for the extreme sides in addition to the left-right house mains to ensure consistent coverage from one side of the space to the other.’
The self-powered design of the Aero 12A, Aero 8A and LX-218A also have advantages for Gallegos and his crew: ‘The fact that these loudspeakers are self-powered makes system cabling considerably easier,’ he says. ‘Further, the DSP capabilities for loudspeaker management are excellent and since the power amps are built right into the rear of the enclosures, the end result is much faster and simplified setup and tear-down.
‘Our experience with DAS Audio has been excellent. The company’s customer and tech support services are first rate. Our main sales and support person, Carlos Henao, has been terrific in terms of follow-up and ensuring that we understand the various aspects of the equipment. This has resulted in system performance that is beyond what we had ever hoped for. We regularly received compliments for the sound quality from concert goers and Espinosa Paz has been equally pleased with the system’s performance. In the roughly eight months that we’ve been using the DAS gear, we’ve had very consistent sound quality from job to job and we can cover every type of venue we encounter without issues. I’m a big fan of DAS.’
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