Teams of sound engineers converged at Glasto 2011 armed with the latest technology to ensure that, if the trampled grounds were remembered as wet and muddy, the audio quality would be anything but. The festival, which runs the last weekend of June, was sold out within hours of when tickets went on sale last October, months before Coldplay, Beyoncé and U2 were confirmed as headliners at the festival's main Pyramid stage.
The Pyramid Stage
For this year's Pyramid stage, RG Jones Sound Engineering provided a custom-designed Synco sub-bass array and Synco stage monitor systems, with additional crew and matching equipment provided by Ampco Flashlight from the Netherlands.
The PA consisted of a Martin Audio W8L Longbow rig, with a total of 64 cabinets flown 16-deep in dual inner and outer main PA hangs per side, with an additional 64 W8LCs flown in four delay positions, all timed using Smaart. The setup, which impressed visiting sound crews, supported performances by U2, Coldplay and Beyoncé, among others.
A cardioid broadside sub-bass array of 36 Synco triple-18" woofers, custom made for the Synco Network by Martin Audio, had been refined over the past three years, in conjunction with noise monitoring specialists RPS Planning & Development, to help keep the sound contained to the Pyramid Stage area.
The sub bass was arranged in a combined cardioid and broadside sub array-electronically curved, with the top and bottom enclosure front facing and the middle pointing backwards. With a third of the subs facing backwards in a cardioid configuration this effectively reduced the broadside array's output on the stage itself.
Project manager Steve Carr from RG Jones handled FOH duties with Hugo Scholten. Mark Edwards was system engineer, and Martin Audio R&D director Jason Baird supported the system design effort.
To maintain coverage within the off-site sound limits, the top four W8L Longbow and W8LC boxes in each hang were controlled individually. By delaying the subs incrementally from the center outwards, the overall wavefront could also be tuned to fit the shape of the Pyramid Stage field.
At the FOH mix position, a pair of 48-channel Midas XL4 consoles handled the core mix duties along with an Avid Venue Profile, also supplied by RG Jones. Mark Isbister headed up the stage crew with Alistair Viles, Matt Sussex and Tim Wann, and serving as monitor engineers were Steve Watson and Ben Milton.
BB King, Wu-Tang Clan and Plan B were among the acts using the RG Jones-supplied Midas gear; others, including Biffy Clyro, Paolo Nutini, Morrissy and Pendulum, each brought their own Midas PRO6 to the Pyramid stage.
The Other Stage
On the Other Stage, Skan PA Hire provided two XL4s at FOH and two H3000s on stage. Headliners there included Primal Scream, The Chemical Brothers and Queens of the Stone Age.
Marcus Dalmeida and Jerey Denning were running FOH for South West Audio at The Park Stage, providing a PRO6 at FOH. That stage has become known for secret appearances – in this year's case, Pulp and Radiohead. The Park Stage also had Sennheiser 2000 series wireless mics with 935 heads and 2000 series plug-in transmitters on GB-w range, as well as ew 300 G3 IEM systems and further evolution radio and wired mics.
South West Audio also supported the new bands performing at the BBC Introducing stage with a PRO9 manned by FOH engineer Aaron Sayers, who found the console easy for the guest engineers to adapt to. A K-array KR400 system was used for an acoustic backstage session that went out on air.
John Peel/West Holts Stages
At the John Peel and West Holts stages, APR Audio provided PA and control systems, using Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing systems at FOH and monitors.
For FOH, APR provided an iLive-144 control surface, connected via Cat5 ACE to a modular iDR10 MixRack installed onstage. The systems were networked to provide input sharing and remote control via the iLive Editor PC software.
A broadcast feed was also provided, split from the iDR-64 mic preamps and patched via the ACE network to 48 XLR outs on the iDR10 MixRack. FOH engineer Stuart McKay credited the iLive setup for, among other things, "the gain sharing that was in place between monitors and FOH."
APR brought an iDR-64 MixRack connected to the iLive-176 for monitors. APR provided 12 onstage mixes plus LR side-fills and up to eight stereo IEM feeds. Engineer Fabrizio Piazzini also used the iLive MixPad app to make final tweaks.
DAS Audio's new Road Series of floor monitors were used by every act on the John Peel stage at Glasto including GlasVegas, Miles Kane, Example and Warpaint. The self-powered Road Series comprises two models, the 12A and 15A. With 12- or 15-inc drivers respectively, both have a 1.5-inch exit compression driver, and both low-profile designs are available in either right- or left-handed versions.
"We chose them because they're light, they're active and they're absolute dynamite," says Andy. "They sound fantastic, the power is incredible, there's no weight to them at all and we've got very high volumes with no feedback at all. And we're taking very little out on EQ, which saves a lot of messing around."
The John Peel Stage also featured 2000 Series in-ears in GB-w range, G3 wireless microphones with 935 heads plus evolution radio and wired mics, including e 935 vocal mics.
On the West Holts Stage, APR provided an iLive-144 surface at FOH, and an iDR-64 was built into the stage box input rack. A compact iLive system, comprising an iDR-16 MixRack and iLive-R72 rack-mount control surface was used as a production desk to manage MC mics, DJ, and BGM duties at FOH. Delayed near-field monitoring was also controlled by this setup at the F
Leftfield/Strummerville Stages
The Leftfield stage at Glastonbury also featured DAS equipment, in the form of an Aero12A line array, supplied by SouthWest Audio, comprising a dozen Aero12a, four Aero8a plus a dozen LX218a subs. Artists using the system included Billy Bragg, Paul Heaton, Reverend & The Makers and Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly.
SouthWest also deployed a K-array KR400 system during the Left Field stage's daytime debate sessions, for which a small thrust stage was positioned forward of the DAS system. "We needed a solution that would get the necessary coverage, but that was discrete," explains Mark. "The K-array was perfect. It was absolutely seamless and the coverage was impressive.
At the smaller Strummerville stage, named in honor of the late Joe Strummer and offering aspiring musicians the opportunity to play live to the masses, Peavey provided a 24FX console with built-in effects, eliminating the need for outboard processors. Class-D powered Peavey PR 15D enclosures were used for mains and PR 12D enclosures for monitors. Guest acts included Mumford & Sons, Emmy the Great and King Blues.
Glastonbury traditionally skips a year every five years, which would have happened this year, but was postponed until next, to let the fields recuperate.
