« April 2008 |
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 EAW MicroWedge MW12 stage monitors were out in force at the recent Coachella Festival, the annual three-day music and arts celebration held in the desert region of Indio, CA, that this year featured more than 60 top musical artists on six stages.
Numerous MicroWedge MW12 monitors were deployed at the Outdoor Theatre, which hosted a wide range of live rock and related music performances, as well as at the Sahara Tent, a dance venue. Rat Sound Systems of Oxnard, CA, the sound reinforcement supplier for the entire event, choose to utilize the MW12's to meet monitoring and related requirements at both venues.
 A superb new sound reinforcement system featuring EAW KF730 Series line arrays, UX8800 digital processing and SB Series subwoofers is currently being implemented by Aatronics for the worship sanctuary at Eagle Christian Church, located in Eagle, Idaho.
Aatronics, a leading systems provider with headquarters in Boise, is busy finishing up the project, which marks the first installed system in the state of Idaho to feature KF730 Series (and UX8800). We'll be providing more details and photos here soon, along with commentary by key system team members, including Joe Colley and Rik Halsteen. (Thanks to Aatronics for the photo of the ongoing installation above.)
 A new, extensive series of instructional videos has just launched here at EAW.com, detailing the EAW NTL720 small self-powered line array with Gunness Focusing. The series of 16 videos is hosted by EAW engineers and product specialists, covering virtually anything a user might want or need to know about the NTL720, as well as getting the absolute most out of it.
Topics covered in the series include every aspect of the line array modules (amplifier, acoustic package, Wizard array software), rigging (flying, groundstacking, modeling), and service (amp, driver and module removal). The videos, developed and produced by EAW in-house staff, are available in Flash format.
Click here to go directly to the NTL720 instructional videos page.
 The EAW UMX.96 digital console has officially landed, with three distributors in Europe taking delivery of fully tested and approved production models.
In addition, orders from several distributors in the Asian pro audio marketplace are being fulfilled as well. (UMX.96 Product Manager Martyn "Ferrit" Rowe is shown at left with consoles being readied for shipment.)
Final assembly of every UMX.96 is done at the Woodinville, WA facilities, along with exhaustive inspection, testing and verification. This is a “fine-toothed comb” process where every single component, and then the console as a whole, is addressed by the production team.
 Highlights include a 72-hour static "burn-in" period, followed by a visit to the facility’s environmental chamber, where each UMX.96 runs continuous for 48 hours while being cycled through a range of thermal cycles. Further, every PC board is removed and examined via a precision “Micro-Vu” video inspection system, with boards only put back into place after passing this rigorous test.
”A final set of tests are performed on every input and output, as well as every DSP function,” adds Ferrit. “The consoles also must pass our own critical listening tests before we consider them suitable for our customers. The overall process calls to mind a ‘hand-built Ferrari’ approach.” (This news first broke as an exclusive in this month's Pro Sound News Europe magazine. Click here to read the full report.)
 A new system featuring EAW KF730 Series line arrays and UX8800 digital processors with Gunness Focusing that was recently implemented for sound reinforcement at Centennial Hall on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tuscon is the subject of a major feature article in the current issue of Stage Directions magazine.
The article was authored by noted Steve Schull, a noted audio mixer and consultant who is now a member of the Theatre Department at SUNY Oswego. It details the demonstration and selection process involved with the new system, as well as the implementation of its A-list components. Arizona Pro Sound, owned by Mark Cowburn, worked with Centennial Hall personnel as well as UAPresents, the largest performing arts presenter in southern Arizona, in formulating and installing the system.
Click here to go directly to the full article and photos.
 The ongoing “Somewhere Back in Time" world concert tour by Iron Maiden, featuring an all-EAW main loudspeaker line-up, has come to North America, with the major portion of this tour leg kicking off on May 21 in San Antonio. (Click here to view the latest itinerary.)
ML Group continues to serve as the sound company for the tour, with a very large EAW KF760 Series line array contingent - optimized with EAW UX8800 digital processing - being the primary components of the large-scale sound reinforcement system.
ML Group Managing Director Gary Marks is coordinating system issues with partner companies around the globe, such as Norwest Productions of Sydney, Australia and Brantley Sound Associates of Nashville. (Thanks to Norwest Productions for the photo that accompanies this report.)
 Josh Evans, an ace in working with EAW Smaart and now a system designer based in the Middle East, is offering a stable of audio tutorial videos on a channel he's set up on YouTube. The videos provide a load of useful information regarding subwoofer alignment and aux-fed sub techniques, as well as an ongoing series about lobes.
Click here to access the videos. Great job, Josh!
 The 2008 Major League Baseball season kicked off in fine style with the grand opening of Nationals Park, the new 41,000-seat ballpark of the Washington, D.C. franchise that features high-octane venue-wide sound reinforcement led by an all-EAW loudspeaker lineup. The system was designed by Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams (WJHW) of Dallas, with Principal Ron Baker serving as lead designer. Tech Inc. of Latham, Maryland handled the fast-track installation, while the Columbia, Maryland office of AVI-SPL supplied custom engineering services.
As they’ve done with frequently with ballpark sound reinforcement projects, WJHW elected to deploy a distributed system, and in this case, it includes more than 450 full-range EAW loudspeakers, with the majority being compact, two-way members of the MK Series.
 The MK Series has proven popular in numerous stadium and ballpark projects around the globe due to their quality sonic properties, durability, and compact footprint.
Most of the loudspeakers for Nationals Park are outfitted with either 12-inch or 15-inch woofers, although some MK Series enclosures with 8-inch woofers also proved fortuitous in regions dictating a particularly low profile.
All three major decks comprising the main grandstand that surrounds more than 75 percent of the playing surface receive primary sound reinforcement from sets of three MK Series loudspeakers. Mounted to the underside of the seating decks (and the canopy on the upper deck), these supply long-, medium-, and short-throw output to carefully defined zones.
A sizable number of “dual face” loudspeakers, developed for exactly this type of application by WJHW and the EAW Engineering Department, were also deployed. These special models incorporate two MK Series loudspeakers within a single compact enclosure with a 60-degree splay between the two sets of transducers. (Both dual face and standard MK Series in place at Nationals Park are shown at below.)
 Zones of lower level seating running along the edge of the playing field are better reached via high-output EAW MQV Series loudspeakers mounted on the fascia of the upper deck.
More MQV Series loudspeakers are positioned toward the top of the largest stadium scoreboard in the U.S. to deliver coherent, intelligible long-throw (well in excess of 100 feet) coverage to a large seating section in right field.
All loudspeakers for the project were supplied with additional weatherproofing to provide suitable protection from direct exposure to the weather elements. Further, all were painted a custom color by EAW that perfectly matches and blends into the color scheme of the stadium’s primary structural elements.
(Our thanks to Ron Baker at WJHW for this information as well as the photos accompanying this report.)
 The upcoming concert tour by Pearl Jam will feature EAW MicroWedge MW12 stage monitors deployed by Monitor Engineer Karrie Keyes to provide monitor sound on stage for several band members.
The 2008 Pearl Jam tour kicks off in June, with the band serving as the headline act for the Bonnaroo Music Festival. They then move on to at least a dozen shows in the Eastern United States. The band is comprised of Eddie Vedder, (lead vocals, guitar), while Mike McCready (lead guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Matt Cameron (drummer).
Keyes (pictured below) first deployed MicroWedge during Vedder’s just-concluded solo tour, using six MW12 for opening act Liam Finn.
 “When I fired them up in rehearsals, I was blown away. They had power, were clear and just kept going,” she says. As a result, dual MicroWedge MW12’s will be deployed with Pearl Jam for Eddie Vedder’s guitar mix, as well as for Jeff Ament’s mix.
“I’m also very excited to try MicroWedge on the drum mix, because again, we’re always looking for smaller options that deliver top quality,” Keyes adds. “In my evaluations, I came to believe this new version has the performance capabilities to more than keep up in arenas and sheds.”
(Click here to see the current Pearl Jam tour itinerary.) Thanks to Rat Sound Systems for the photos that accompany this report.
 Every year for two weeks, the small city of Vinarós in Castellón, Spain, is transformed with the celebration of the Carnaval de Vinarós, a huge fiesta featuring vibrant shows with various themes, with sound reinforcement for this year's recently concluded Carnaval led by EAW line arrays and subwoofers.
E.J.R. SYSTEMS S.L, a sound & lighting rental company based in Benicarló, headed the sound reinforcement effort, and they collaborated with production supplier Dodinuf, who provided a main system featuring 24 KF730 line arrays joined by and 12 EAW SB1000z subwoofers.
Further, Yapadú Produccions, provided Dodinuf with 8 more KF730 and 4 more SB1000z to complete the main system. Amplification was all Lab.gruppen - 10 fP6400, 8 fP3400 and 2 FP13000, with processing from Dolby Lake.
 ”Day after day, I honestly enjoy my job more," states Eduardo Soriano, Yapadú Produccions co-owner and sound technician specialist. " I’m working with an unbeatable team of world-class brands in EAW, Lab.gruppen and Dolby Lake. They are all exceptional - great to use, and the quickest and easiest set-up and adjustments I’ve ever experienced.
"For this event, we had a clear goal: excellent sound with a great sound pressure level. And we got it, as well as the congratulations from the organizer of the event,” Soriano adds. (Thanks very much to EAW distributor Pro3 & Co. S.L. for this report and the excellent photos.)
 Carlson Audio Systems of Seattle recently utilized the new EAW NTL720 small line array system to great effect for huge events featuring the Dalai Lama at both Qwest Field and Key Arena.
Mark Carlson notes that the NTL720, which supported larger systems featuring EAW KF760 Series line arrays, EAW KF750 Series concert loudspeakers, SB1000z subwoofers and other EAW components, performed exceptionally well in fulfilling their coverage roles at both venues. The NTL720's small size and fast, convenient rigging were quite beneficial as well, Mark adds.
We'll have more coverage of these interesting applications posted here soon. Thanks to Carlson Audio for the excellent photo above.
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