ANAHEIM, CA — In a high-profile tour that demonstrates the versatility and unmatched performance of JBL Professional VERTEC line arrays, audio rental company Audio Analysts is currently providing the live sound system for the Blue Man Group’s “How To Be A Megastar Tour 2.1.” The world tour is expected to continue through May 2008.
Audio Analysts has provided the live sound system for the “How To Be A Megastar Tour 2.1” since the tour began in September 2006. Now in its fourth leg, the tour has already played in countless venues throughout North America, South America and Canada. Audio Analysts, a longtime user of JBL loudspeakers, has employed VerTec line arrays throughout the entirety of the tour. Ross Humphrey is The Blue Man Group’s Front Of House Engineer. Chris Hoff leads the Audio Analysts crew as Crew Chief/System Engineer, along with Matt Fitzgerald, monitor rngineer for Audio Analysts, and Rick Procopio and Brian Post, Audio Analysts’ PA system technicians.
According to Hoff, the unique nature of the production has posed some equally unique challenges. “There are a lot of unusual instruments being used, including several made of PVC material, so there are some gain before feedback issues that you don’t normally see with conventional instruments,” Hoff said. “With the VerTec line arrays, we have good rear rejection and don’t have a lot of SPL coming off the back of the boxes, so gain before feedback is not so much of a problem as it would be with other line arrays.”
Audio Analysts’ system for the tour includes a total of 92 VERTEC enclosures, all powered by Crown I-Tech amplifiers. The arrays are configured in a left/right arrangement consisting of 16 VT4889 full-size line array elements per side and additional left-left/right-right arrays of six VT4889 elements each for increased horizontal coverage. Additionally, 32 VT4880 full-size arrayable subwoofers provide extended low-frequency support. Two arrays of two VT4887 compact line array elements provide near-throw, downfill capabilities for the system.
The system is easily reconfigurable to be scaled to the needs of each venue.
“The arenas that we play range in size from A market to B market venues, so flexibility and scalability of the system is important,” Hoff added. “Sometimes, we don’t have the trim height that we have in other arenas, but with VerTec we can easily scale the system down with good results. We are using JBL’s new VerTec v4 DSP presets, which give us even more flexibility depending on the size of the room and the array. Considering the style of the music and the way the mix is approached, this has proven to be a very effective tool.”
The Blue Man Group tour is a traveling version of the renowned theatrical production show that combines music, comedy and multimedia theatrics to create a unique form of entertainment. The main performers in the production, the “Blue Men,” are silent characters who use a variety of unusual materials to create musical tapestries that have also spawned three successful albums. The production is also supported by a full live band that plays throughout the performance.
For information, please visit www.jblpro.com.
