Imagine two large festivals, booked almost back-to-back in the same locale, with each having two companion stages 60 feet apart and running at all times to spread the sound and excitement. Definitely a tough assignment, both in terms of pressure on the crew as well as demands on the sound system itself, which had to perform equally well with levels that were varied at the idle (band-changing) stage to adjust relative imaging, about -6dB for smaller crowds and full-on when packed for headliners.
But it worked and went without a hitch, thanks to sound provider Solotech and Meyer Sound’s new LEO linear large-scale sound reinforcement system, which made its first Canadian festival appearance at the event. Following the success of the first weekend’s shows, where those conjoined systems performed admirably for the “mainstream/eclectic” Osheaga rock festival, the setup was reprised for the Heavy MTL (a play on the “MTL” abbreviation for Montreal) metal festival that kicked off five days later on the same site.
Both festivals took place at Parc Jean-Drapeau, near downtown Montreal, on an island in the St. Lawrence River. The three-day Osheaga Festival featured, among others, Justice, The Black Keys, Snoop Dogg and Florence + The Machine. Six days later, the same site and setup was host to Heavy MTL, which headlined the pummeling rock of the Deftones, System of a Down, Slipknot and Marilyn Manson. Both festivals sold out, with daily attendance topping 40,000.
The two stages had different designations and promotional scrims for the two weekends — Mountain and River for the first, Jägermeister and Heavy MTL for the second — but for the Solotech crews, they remained simply the “A” and “B” stages. To keep the wheels greased and running smoothly, Solotech dispatched two veteran techs, Patrice Lavoie and David Vincent, to mind affairs at A and B respectively.
Sometimes a Great Notion
The concept of coupling the two stages in tandem was hatched by Vincent, and was inspired in part by the arrival of the new LEO systems. “The basic location of the stages was set by the festival producers,” he relates, “with the spacing between fixed by the large video screen. In past years, we never considered running the systems together because they weren’t the same, usually Meyer Sound at one and L-Acoustics at the other, and we had stage B at an angle.”
With LEO’s arrival, they decided to configure two identical systems. “It was similar to what we often do on a smaller scale for a corporate event in a wide space,” Vincent continues, “where we will put out four evenly-spaced line arrays. So with the stages 60 feet apart, the four arrays are practically the same distance apart and operating in an L-R-L-R stereo configuration. To prevent cancellation, only the active stage subwoofers stayed on. It was kind of a guess, and we had a few people asking, ‘Will that really work?’ But it ended up working very well.”
The Lion’s Roar
Osheaga was one of two festivals to host the worldwide festival debut of LEO, Meyer Sound’s new entry in the high-power, long-throw line array category. (The other was Minnesota’s WE Fest country music festival, held the same weekend.) The LEO linear large-scale sound reinforcement system, as it is officially titled, comprises the LEO-M line array loudspeaker, the 1100-LFC low-frequency control element and the companion Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system. All three are mandatory for the LEO system designation, though other compatible Meyer Sound loudspeakers may be deployed in supplementary roles.
If you’ve never heard of LEO and think you missed a big advertising splash in the trade press, you didn’t. The system is available on a limited basis to a number of Meyer Sound rental companies. The very first of these LEO owners is Solotech, which played a distinguished role as its requirements for a very accurate, high-power system for Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson The Immortal world tour were instrumental in the development process of the LEO system. On the outcome of this collaborative effort, Solotech’s senior vice president touring, Richard Lachance, says: “Meyer Sound has once more innovated very successfully in cooperation with the people who are out there in the field.”
The Show Setup
For the Montreal festivals, the LEO-M contingent of 40 was evenly divided, with each array of 10 carrying an underhang of four MICA line array loudspeakers as downfills. All 1100-LFCs were flown, six per side per stage, and supplemented by eight 700-HP subwoofers stacked underneath the stage wings. Each system was governed by a Galileo Callisto loudspeaker management system with a Galileo 616-AES master for each connected to the three Galileo Callisto array processors for each system. The drive racks at the two stages were interconnected by a 12-pair snake to enable the joint full-power and -6dB operation.
Filling support roles were, per stage, four M’elodie line array loudspeakers (front fill), four CQ-2 loudspeakers (in- and out-fill), four MSL-4 loudspeakers (side fill), MSL-6 (far sides), and two 700-HP subwoofers (side fill).
The dual system also included a delay tower behind each FOH location, each with eight MICA line array loudspeakers. The delays covered the low hillside slopes at the far end of the audience area, which extended about 580 feet from the stage. According to Vincent, delays were required not because the main arrays couldn’t throw that far, but because they could throw considerably further.
Reactions and Impressions
“The way the stages are oriented, if we aimed to cover the whole hill, the LEOs would throw over the top and into residential areas across the river,” he explains. “So we aimed the LEOs at the bottom of the hill, and then set the delay angles and levels so they would cover to the top of the hill but not throw too far beyond it.”
The new LEO system made an immediate positive impression on the Solotech team. “The system had a lot of power when you consider we had only 10 of the LEO-M boxes per side,” remarks Patrice Lavoie. “The low frequency range is tight and really musical, while the highs are smooth and clear. It sounds open and it keeps the same tonal quality as it gets louder.”
The 1100-LFCs also got a nod of approval from Lavoie. “They have a lot of power and sound good over their whole frequency range. They are far from being ‘one note subs.’ We had only six per side, but they gave what we asked for without fear.”
David Vincent was similarly enthusiastic: “The first time we turned on the system our reaction was, ‘Oh God, this is a beast, this is something way beyond what we were expecting. The low end is very tight, the best Meyer has ever done. The highs were smooth, very hi-fi and in your face, everywhere on the site.”
Walking the site during tuning, Vincent was struck by the uniform coverage. “It is smooth and consistent,” he notes, “not changing drastically as you move across the front of the stage. It’s not like some other systems where it sounds great on axis, then you walk 30 feet away and it sounds like a different mix.”
Of course it’s the FOH engineers who largely determine the pecking order on tour riders, and that group also reacted kindly to LEO’s festival bow. “We did not have a single complaint,” continues Vincent. “Everybody was happy. Over the two festivals we had at least five FOH engineers say it was the best system they had ever used.”
One such fader jockey was Ian Laughton, who mixes Florence + The Machine. “It was very smooth, and excellent for what I do with Florence,” he says. “Meyer rigs have always been great-sounding, especially for guitar bands, but Florence is more the big harp and keys. It sounded powerful, but still very controlled.”
At the Mix Position
Solotech also provided each stage with top-notch gear for the front-end, again with identical rosters. An Avid VENUE Profile and a Midas XL-4 catered to digital and analog fanciers respectively at each FOH position, while default monitor consoles were an Avid VENUE D-Show and a Midas Heritage 3000. Many bands shuttled their traveling boards in and out as usual, with Midas PRO-6 and PRO-9, DiGiCo D7, and Yamaha PM5D boards among those making an appearance.
At the front of the front-end, Solotech also supplied a full kit of wired microphones from Shure (SM58, SM81, SM52, SM91); Sennheiser (600 Series and 900 Series); AKG (C414, C451 and C480); Beyerdynamic (M88); and Audio-Technica (AT 4035 and Pro 42). Wireless microphone systems were eight channels each of Shure UHF-R and Sennheiser (EM2050BW + SKM2000BW), with all wireless IEM systems from Sennheiser (EK3253A + SR3256A). Stage monitors were Solotech’s own custom wedges, the single-12 LF SLP 112 and the double-12 SLP 212, with an even dozen and a quartet of each, respectively, at each stage.
Solotech also equipped a third stage for the festivals, with 18 veteran MILO line array loudspeakers and 12 700-HP subwoofers working in tandem with Yamaha M7CL consoles at FOH and monitor.
All in all, Montreal had two great weekends of music, after which David Vincent and Patrice Lavoie were rewarded with well-deserved time off. Ian Laughton soldiered on with Florence, but regarded the time at Parc Jean-Drapeau well spent.
“The food was outstanding, the PA company people were extraordinarily nice, and the system sounded great,” Laughton summarizes. “What more does a guy want?”
Equipment List
Note: The system listed here is for a single stage. Both stages were identical, so the total number of units used at the event is double the number listed, with the exception of the delay towers, which were shared between the two stages. —ed.
Mains Speakers
20 Meyer Sound LEOs (10/side)
8 Meyer Sound MICAs down fills (4/side)
12 Meyer Sound LFC1100 flown subs (6/side)
16 Meyer Sound 700HP floor subs in an endfire pattern (8/side)
PA Drive Processing
Meyer Sound Galileo 616-AES speaker management
4 Meyer Sound Callisto processors
FOH Electronics
Avid VENUE Profile console
Midas XL-4 console
TC Electronic D-TWO delay
2 Yamaha SPX990 effects
4 Aphex Expressors
2 dbx 1066 limiters
2 BSS DPR504 noise gates
dbx 1046 quad compressor
Klark Teknik DN-360 stereo graphic EQ
Monitor World
Avid VENUE D-Show console
Midas H3000 console
Lexicon PCM90 effects
Yamaha SPX990 effects
4 Aphex Expressors
2 Drawmer DL221 stereo comps
Drawmer DL241 auto compressor
Drawmer DS404 quad noise gate
Drawmer MX40 Punch Gate
6 Klark Teknik DN-360 stereo graphic EQ
4 Sony MDR-7506 headphones
Side/Front Fills
2 Meyer Sound M’elodie (front fill)
4 Meyer Sound MSL-4; two/side (side fill)
4 Meyer Sound 700HP subs; two/side (side fill)
1 Meyer Sound MSK-6 far side fill)
Wedges/Stage Monitors
8 Solotech 112SLP w/Crown IT12000HD amps
4 Solotech 212SLP w/Crown IT12000HD amps
4 Shure P6Hw wired beltpacks
8 Sennheiser EK3253A & SR3256A IEMs
Microphones
4 AKG C-414
4 AKG C-480B
4 Audio-Technica AT-4050
1 Audio-Technica PRO 42
1 Beyerdynamic M88
2 Neumann KM-184
2 Sennheiser E602
6 Sennheiser E604
6 Sennheiser E609
6 Sennheiser MD421
4 Shure Beta 52
4 Shure Beta 57A
4 Shure Beta 58A
4 Shure Beta 91
6 Shure Beta 98
2 Shure KSM32
8 Shure SM57
8 Shure SM58
4 Shure SM81
Wireless
8 Shure UHF-R handheld wireless (four SM58; four KSM9)
4 Sennheiser EM2050BW receivers & SKM2000BW beltpacks
DI Boxes
8 Radial Prod1 passive DI
4 Radial Prod2 stereo passive DI
16 Radial PRO48 active DI
Delay System
There were two hangs, each with eight Meyer Sound MICAs, driven by a Meyer Galileo 616. This single system with two delay towers was shared between the two stages and not doubled.
