NASHVILLE, TN — Alison Krauss and Union Station have played a major role in keeping the bluegrass on its upward trajectory with a string of albums and tour dates, a schedule that includes QSC and SE Systems to provide audio support. "Touring with Alison and Union Station gets more sonically challenging every year," notes Cliff Miller of Greensboro, NC-based SE Systems, a sound company with bluegrass and acoustic music sound reinforcement experience. "The band is essentially a small group of acoustic musicians, and that type of music doesn't always translate well in larger spaces. This show is intimate and subtle, and the dynamics onstage are especially important. These are just the kinds of attributes that can get lost in big venues."
Miller and SE Systems first figured prominently in the band's travel schedule during 2002's Down From the Mountain tour. In addition to Krauss and company, the tour featured many of the other musicians heard on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, and welcomed veteran soundman Bernie Velluti to the FOH mix position.
Standing-in again at FOH for Alison and Union Station these days, Velluti is joined by monitor engineer Mark Richards and Cliff Miller's 24-year-old daughter Haley Miller, who manages stax 'n' rax. A total of 48 full-range cabinets culled from the SE Systems inventory received the call for current house PA needs, all of which receive PowerLight amplification from QSC in the form of 22 PowerLight PL6.0s for the house and a pair of PL 224s from the PowerLight2 Series, plus two PowerLight PL4.0 amps for frontfills.
"In amphitheatres we like to crank it up a little, as people listening in these kinds of environments aren't expecting a quiet show," Miller further relates. "We've actually measured 98-100 dB SPL at FOH on some occasions."
Running at 240 volts across the board, SE Systems' PowerLight collection facilitates the use of smaller-gauge cable and 50-amp connectors at the racks, plus the ability to work anywhere that has a 200-amp electrical service. "We draw more current turning on the amps than we do throughout an entire show," Miller reports. "Running at a higher voltage keeps things cooler, saves us money and gives us a good feeling knowing that we're conserving resources, too."
For more information, or visit www.qscaudio.com.
