ATK/AUDIOTEK
AND JBL VERTEC® LINE
ARRAYS BRING
AMERICAN COUNTRY MUSIC TO THE WORLD |
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| LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, May 26, 2004 – Demonstrating the broad acceptance of its system products for high-profile special events, JBL announces that its VERTEC line arrays are in use by prominent sound system provider ATK/AudioTek Inc. to support the 39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, staged here and broadcast worldwide tonight on CBS. Previously held at medium sized venues, the event’s popularity forced the Academy of Country Music to move it this year to the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, a much larger facility requiring the highest-quality sound system and technical production support. Last year, the sold-out show was broadcast to tens of millions of people in over 175 countries as well as 800,000 men and women in the U.S. armed forces. This year’s show is hosted by Reba McEntire. Country music superstars George Strait, Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts will perform and The Rock, LeAnn Rimes and NASCAR legend Sterling Marlin will be presenters.
“It’s rewarding that a company of ATK’s stature has chosen our VERTEC line array systems for this internationally prestigious music awards show,” said David Scheirman, Director of Tour Sound for JBL Professional. “Our original design concepts for VERTEC, including high fidelity, lightweight enclosures and adaptable suspension systems, are reflected in this choice.”
This year’s ACM Awards at the Mandalay Bay’s event center dictated that the layout of scenic elements would influence the PA solution. Dick Clark Productions, the production company of record, sought expert help for the sound system design and chose ATK, whose engineering staff is known throughout the industry for their extensive experience in such major events, including the most recent Academy Awards presentation. “We have a lot of experience with this type of show,” explains ATK’s Chief Engineer, Scott Harmala. “And we have a system that is readily adaptable and works great in these situations, the JBL VERTEC line array. For example, we’ve used VERTEC for the Academy Award show the last two years that we’ve done that event. We are big fans of VERTEC because it’s easy to rig, very flexible and offers an exceptional acoustical design. We are very pleased with the overall packaging and sound.” As configured for this year’s Mandalay Bay event, the system has two main left/right forward clusters, each comprising a total of 14 VT4889 full-size line array elements. One aspect of the design dictated by the venue is that the distance between the downstage edge and the far reaches of the arena is so great that a coverage gap exists in the center. Therefore, Harmala placed an additional sound source on the scoreboard at a steep angle to cover that zone. Further out from the stage are six flown subwoofers for additional low frequency support. Two-thirds of the way into the house seating area is a left/center/right arrangement of arrays, each containing six VT4889s. “Achieving broadcast-quality sound with a near-field characteristic at every seat is one of the producer’s goals,” notes Harmala. “With these lightweight system enclosures, our crew can easily position supporting arrays as required.” The Academy of Country Music, which sponsors the annual awards show, is comprised of 3,000+ professional members. It was founded in 1964 with a mission to support, promote, and enhance the advancement of the country music industry worldwide. The Academy is headquartered in Burbank, CA. ABOUT JBL PROFESSIONAL ### |
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Copyright © 2004 JBL Professional. |
