Based in south-west England, APR Audio entered the pro-audio rental sector in some style in 2002, purchasing a substantial inventory of EV X-Line, X-Array and XLC system hardware, complete with the latest remote controlled amplifiers and Midas consoles. Owner Andy Reed has been steadily expanding the company's horizons, first with the move into dry-hire in continental Europe, and now to the independent provision of PA services for significant events in their local region.
Typical of these was the Party in the Park in Swansea, one of the premier pop events in Wales, hosted by South Wales Radio Station 96.4FM, also known as The Wave. APR Audio provided an EV X-Line array system, flying 8x XVLS and 2x XVLT either side of the stage, plus a ground stack of 10x X Subs per side. EV1152s were used for fills and EV X-array cabinets were used for delay lines. At front-of-house, an Allen & Heath console was used, with Klark-Teknik Helix DN9344 for EQ.
For the stage monitor system, a Klark-Teknik DN370 graphic EQ was used, with Midas H3000 monitor console and 16x RX115 floor monitors. Monitor engineer Laurie Brace was delighted with his KT DN370; commenting: "Obviously KT has been listening to what monitor engineers have been saying, because this is the ultimate EQ solution for monitors."
APR's Party in the Park was something of a Telex-EVI festival, as one would expect from the company's leading dry-hire source. On stage, all the wireless microphones were EV's RE-1 Series UHF mics. Swansea's public and press alike were full of praise for the quality of sound at the event, and will have the opportunity to enjoy it again, as APR pulls together a similar EV system for a forthcoming show by Busted.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
