G&G RENTALS GETS SUPERCROSS AUDIO ON TRACK WITH NEW
JBL HLA TOUR SYSTEM

Sound system needs for the 1999 Supercross dirt-bike racing events are being handled by G&G Leasing and Rentals of Houston, Texas. An SFX Live! event series, Supercross is produced by PACE Motorsports and sanctioned by the AMA (American Motorcyclists' Assocation). This popular sporting event series is now in its 25th Anniversary year. The '99 season's competition events began on January 9th at Anaheim's Edison International Field, and will be touring the U.S.A. through May 1st.

"As this Supercross event series has grown, and since these events are broadcast through channels like NBC Sports and ESPN, we're committed to upgrading our production values," advises Todd Jendro, Director of Pace Supercross. "For this special 25th Anniversary event series, that includes not only premium-quality sound, but special lighting, and new custom over-the-road trucks to transport our production gear,"

For the first time ever, Pace Motorsports is carrying full production equipment "on the road" to each venue. JBL Professional's new lightweight HLA (Horn Loaded Array) loudspeaker system is included in the premium-quality production package. G&G has reportedly selected JBL's HLA system due to its high output and controlled-coverage characteristics, and ease of setup and operation.

"JBL's new system gives us an ideal blend of high output, low weight and operational simplicity," explains Jeff Wilson of G&G Leasing and Rentals. "We looked at other types of loudspeaker systems, and felt that HLA gave us the best combination of features and performance for this project".

G&G has designed a custom 360-degree coverage sound reinforcement system for use in major venues on the tour, like Atlanta's Georgia Dome, Texas Stadium, Minneapolis' Metrodome, and New Orleans' Superdome. Sixteen of JBL's HLA model 4895 array modules are positioned atop an aluminum grid in the center of each competition venue. The ground-support tower, fabricated by Lighting & Sound Design, a P.R.G. company, is designed to integrate the suspension needs for special-effects lighting instruments and the high-intensity sound reinforcement speaker array. The design goal of the audio system is to provide clear, powerful coverage of announcers' voices and music in each stadium and dome on the nationwide tour, each of which has different architectural characteristics.

The unique HLA model 4895 loudspeaker array modules are loaded with JBL's new Differential DriveÔ technology, which incorporates two voice coils in each loudspeaker. According to JBL, this advanced transducer design offers greater output from a single device than traditional, competitive products. Each 4895 3-way array module is built into JBL's patented SpaceframeÔ, a lightweight, open aluminum structure that enables technical crews to easily configure speaker arrays with different performance characteristics as needed. The 4895's tilting waveguide allows low, mid and high frequency elements to be positioned as desired in one simple adjustment, without complicated rigging hardware or changes in enclosure placement.

G&G sound technicians Scott Sledd and Matt Sterling are responsible for setting up and operating the touring sound system in each venue. Available equipment includes Shure wireless microphones, a Yamaha mixing console, signal processing units from BSS and Ramsa, and Crown Macro-tech power amplifiers. The HLA loudspeaker units are driven by a JBL DSC280 loudspeaker system controller. A custom high noise-level communications systems with sealed muffs and noise-cancelling microphones from AVS (Audio-Visual Systems) of Burbank, CA enables announcers and production crew to hear each other during the extremely loud competition motorcycle races.

"The noise levels are very intense," notes Sledd. "Not only do we have a high level of excitement with the sports announcers, but we're being asked to go for a very energetic audio environment with rock-music playback for the crowd. Also, the working environment is a real test for any type of audio equipment. We have a lot of dust to contend with. Sometimes the dirt bikes spin out of control literally within a couple of feet from the house mix position."

Event setup for the audio crew includes fishing a multi-pair cable through a special conduit that is placed underneath the motorbike racetrack area prior to mounds of dirt being formed into the dips and ramps that are the hallmark of Supercross dirt-bike racing. Additional signal output lines are connected to input and output patching panels to access the venue's sound booth.

With veteran Supercross announcer Erv Bruan positioned near the high-level loudspeaker array in the center of the competition track area, gain-before-feedback is a consideration. The G&G crew copes with this challenge through the use of channel-inserted frequency-gating compressor limiters. In addition to announcers' microphones, console inputs include video soundtracks and a PC-based "digital jukebox".

"I can't think of many other loudspeakers that can put out high-level focused sound from a relatively small array like this HLA rig does," noted G&G technician Matt Sterling. "We're covering a lot of seating area with a relatively small system."

At a typical venue, the G&G crew relies on the HLA array to be the primary audio "point-source", while using signal delay units to interface with the installed system so as to take advantage of installed under-balcony speaker and concourse loudspeaker locations. "We're all learning this time out; it's the first attempt to carry our own production equipment," remarked Mike Hathaway, veteran production manager for the Supercross events. "The sound of these events is 100% better than last year when we just relied on the building's audio installations. This system rocks!"

G&G Leasing and Rentals is affiliated with Ideas, Inc. and is part of an integrated sound, lighting and staging production operation. The firm can be contacted at (713) 613-1900.