The venue’s technical manager David Mead says that the new facilities at the venue, where the floor has a natural rake, will create more entertainment options. "In the past we have always had to sub-hire in equipment for any band requiring a PA."
Mead confirmed that while the old PA system, which had served the venue for 15 years, had been ripped out in favour of a Nexo PS15/LS1200, the existing Soundcraft Spirit Live 16/2 has been retained.
The Nexo enclosures have been installed as a conventional proscenium arch system, with a pair of PS15s and a single sub on each side (EQ’d through a BSS FCS-966 Opal Constant Q graphic). Three PS8 delays have been hung on the lighting gantry and a further pair of PS8s provide image shifts. The system is driven by a combination of Crown CE400 and CE2000 amplifiers. With so many different styles of presentation, Watersmeet seemed a natural choice for the BSS 9088 Soundweb digital matrix device. "We were unsure at first, but we saw it demonstrated by Marquee Audio at the ABTT Show on a plasma screen, and we could see that the facilities would rally work for us." Soundweb programming was undertaken by Marquee Audio’s Scott Wakelin.
Soundweb will come into its own when the sound is reconfigured for cinema mode. The Nexos will be used for the left and right cinema sound, the auxiliary JBL speakers will be trolleyed in to provide the centre image and the Soundweb will cut the delays to allow the Dolby surround sound to function properly. Other audio equipment supplied to Watersmeet by Marquee Audio includes Turbosound TFM-212 floor monitors, with GQ2015A dual-band graphic, and Drawmer DL441 comp/limiter providing the front-of house control. A new lighting dimmer system is simultaneously being fitted by the Watersmeet’s technical team.
