STAGE
PRO AND JBL PROFESSIONAL VERTEC® LINE ARRAYS |
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| NORTHRIDGE, CALIFORNIA, July 21, 2004 – In an event demonstrating the resilience and versatility of the JBL VERTEC® line, Lawrence, KS-based Stage Pro handled full production responsibilities for Country Jam 2004 in Grand Junction, CO. Held June 24-27, the annual festival featured country superstars such as Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, John Michael Montgomery and Travis Tritt. Stage Pro used their newly-purchased VERTEC VT4889 rig for the event. Owner Jay Waller arrayed one column of 12 line array elements on each side of the stage. While the festival always draws huge crowds and top-notch performers, the environmental conditions can be less than ideal at times. “Grand Junction is one of most brutal environments in which to do anything,” said Waller, whose company has been providing event packages for Country Jam since 1992. “The temperature and humidity varies from every extreme. It’s not that high in elevation, but in June, temperatures get into the 100s and there’s zero humidity. But when the sun sets, the temperature drops dramatically--this completely changes the sound of the show for the huge crowd.” Compound these fluctuations with high winds (which twice reached 70 miles per hour during the festival), and Waller and his audio crew had quite a challenge on their hands. “We found ourselves changing the output of the high end by 10-12 dB over the course of the day,” Waller pointed out. To counter these extreme environmental issues, Waller built delay stacks that were thirty feet tall instead of the usual eight, and to ease the job for band soundmixers, was given permission to move the mix position in closer to the stage from what is normally 225 feet. These adjustments, along with the even coverage characteristics of the VERTEC line array elements, helped make this year’s Country Jam an overwhelming success. “The old loudspeaker boxes were using a horn-loaded trapezoidal design that wasn’t conducive to that type of environment,” Waller added. “They were really hard to control and e.q., and with no humidity, their pattern control was completely shot. This year, the sound was dramatically more consistent because the coverage of the VERTEC system is so smooth and predictable.” Stage Pro, one of the Midwest’s busiest and most competitive regional concert sound companies, joins a worldwide network of VERTEC owners that has rapidly been expanding since JBL’s VT4889 line array system was first launched only four years ago. “We were very pleased with Stage Pro’s decision to purchase a VERTEC rig, and are thrilled that they are seeing immediate benefits,” said David Scheirman, Director of Tour Sound for JBL Professional. “The true test of any sound reinforcement system for professional use is not how well it performs in a laboratory, but how well it can hold up in real-world conditions. This is another example of VERTEC’s ability to meet our customers’ challenges in the field with its trademark coverage, high fidelity, and dynamic output capabilities in the face of adversity.” Stage Pro can be reached at www.stagepro.org or (785) 841-1306. ABOUT JBL PROFESSIONAL ABOUT THE HARMAN PRO GROUP ### |
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Copyright © 2004 JBL Professional. |
