DONETSK, Ukraine – Donbass Arena, open since late 2009, was designed and built to meet UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) regulations for soccer stadiums. It's now also hosting mega-concerts, starting with a show called The Hits of the 80s. Indigo Music Company, Ltd. supported that event with a sound system that included gear from D.A.S. Audio.
From France's salsa-funk band The Gipsy Kings and the British R&B/dance band London Beat to Greek-Egyptian singer Demis Roussos and the Spanish vocal duo Baccara, there was an eclectic mix. Close to 40,000 people attended the event.
"One of the biggest obstacles we faced on this concert was the relatively short amount of time between the performances of the different artists," said Dmitry Lokshin, Indigo's president. "There really wasn't time to make major system changes between each act. For this reason, we needed a versatile sound system that had the long throw and broad horizontal dispersion characteristics required to cover a crowd this large that was capable of handling a wide range of musical styles. The D.A.S. system we assembled, which used Aero 48 line array elements as the centerpiece, was the ideal choice for this concert."
Lokshin and his crew used a system that included 32 D.A.S. Audio Aero 48 line array cabinets flown 16 modules per left-right side at a height of 12.5 meters. Lokshin noted that his company installed the D.A.S. high frequency upgrade kit which includes the new M-75N drivers in all of the Aero 48 systems. Designed for use in applications where high SPL and low distortion are required, the new drivers had a noticeable impact on the sound.
"The upgraded Aero 48s sounded terrific," Lokshin said. "The sound was clean and powerful-and both the spectators and the various sound engineers quickly took notice."
Along with the Aero 48s, 24 D.A.S. Audio LX-218 subwoofers, positioned across the front of the stage, provided low frequency support. Storm-Line & Miraldi V.S.'s crew also used 12 Aero CA-28A powered, 2-way mid-high line array modules-six per side-as an outfield system for supplemental coverage.
For side fills, the setup included four D.A.S. Audio Compact 2, 3-way mid-high enclosures, four Compact 218 Sub 2K powered subwoofers, four of D.A.S. Audio's new Sub 18G passive subwoofers featuring a bass reflex enclosure and an 18-inch driver, and two Rf-15.64 2-way enclosures.
Stage monitoring systems were assigned according to the technical rider from the individual artists. There were eight available monitor lines for use with various combinations drawn from six D.A.S. SML-15 2-way stage monitors and six SML-12A powered monitor systems. Both FOH and monitor systems were mixed using Yamaha M-7CL digital consoles.
"After this concert, our client was extremely happy, and has since contracted with us for a few events this coming August and September," Lokshin said. "When one project leads to repeat business, that's as good as it gets."
For more information, please visit www.dasaudio.com.
