Since taking delivery, Audio Valencia has used its new Adamson Y-Axis system for all of its A-list events, which has included recent Venezuelan concert dates by the Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, and Spanish superstar Miguel Bosé.
Sound engineer Daniel Fernandez provided technical training on the new system for the Audio Valencia staff; and assisted Luciano Pavarotti's FOH engineer John Pellowe for the 2 March concert date at Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Venezuela.
"For the Pavarotti concert, we used an array of eight Y18s and two Y10s per side," said Fernandez. "That gave us more SPL than we needed for that particular venue, but provided enough coverage for all of the balconies. The theatre required an accurate prediction because of its four levels with uneven balcony."
Adamson Shooter software was used for system configuration. "It is the best tool," explained Fernandez. "We worked with the AutoCAD files of the venue and got an appropriate splaying of the array; in practice, we achieved full coverage on the four levels of the venue." SIA Smaart was also used to tweak the system.
"The amp racks were loaded with Lab Gruppen FP3400 and FP6400 amplifiers, driven by four XTA DP224 processors - all of them controlled via RS485 from the FOH position," said Fernandez. A Yamaha PM5000 console was used at FOH, and Fernandez noted that the concert - part of Pavarotti's Farewell Tour - was recorded on multitrack hard drive for possible future broadcast.
Spanish superstar Miguel Bosé also performed in Caracas using the new Adamson rig provided by Audio Valencia. "Each time I go to South America I'm happy to see that Adamson use is growing," said Fernando Diaz, front-of-house engineer for Miguel Bosé. "Just a few years ago, to work in these countries was a hard and stressful job, but step by step we're finding professional systems to make it happen."
In the midst of a South American tour to promote the new Miguel Bosé album Velvetina, Diaz was at the FOH position for two concerts at Teatro Teresa Carreño. "Bose's shows in Caracas were great," reported Diaz. "We did a very powerful show, and it was the first time at Teresa Carreño theatre where we had amazing SPL and coverage in all places. It's a pleasure to find an Adamson system wherever I go because it is one of my favorites, and it's very easy for me to set up and tune."
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
