Usually held in Canada, the organisation's proposal to hold it in Turkey posed an interesting situation for Scott Murley and Mark Lasebnik, technical director and FOH engineer respectively, who have been supporting the C&MA Assembly for more than 16 years.
The five-day event includes business sessions, break-out seminars and evening plenary events incorporating a live band, on-stage choir, string section, spoken-word teaching, dramatic elements, pre-produced video, all requiring production equipment and staffing.
The C&MA's assemblies in Canada is known for its quality of production, especially audio, so it was deemed that Murley and Lasebnik find a Turkish company which could supply the manpower and gear - including an L-Acoustics PA system - to make the event come to life so far from home.
L-Acoustics sales manager Tim McCall contacted Elit, who recommended Bari? and Ba?ar Kalem of Bros Technic. Murley travelled to Turkey to outline the requirements for the event and was reassured that Bros Technic could provide a complete audio, video, lighting, staging and backline system.
The PA system included 18 dV Dosc cabinets (a hang of nine per side), six SB28 subs and four 112P front-fills, powered by six LA8 amplified controllers. The monitor system, managed by engineer Nathan Picklyk, included six 115 XT Hi Q coaxials powered by LA4 and LA8 amplified controllers, to supplement the in-ear monitor system used by the Jon Buller Band. The system was designed to achieve up to 105 dB SPL at 0 dB at FOH mix position, as calculated on L- Acoustics' Soundvision acoustical simulation software.
The venue had a closed, 6m high ceiling with no rigging points, requiring the entire PA to be flown on a ground supported truss system. Despite the low ceiling, which put the trim-height for the line arrays at just 5m above floor level, the PA delivered very even coverage throughout the entire 1,000-seat convention hall. The sound engineers received numerous compliments from delegates, technical personnel and musicians regarding the high fidelity and clarity of the music and spoken word.
"Dealing with Bros Technic was an absolute pleasure for the C&MA staff and their professionalism was greatly valued," says Murley. "They were very accommodating of any request the staff had for them, and were very knowledgeable about the gear. They provided the equipment that was requested and did an excellent job of setting it up, even though the site-conditions and timing on load-in at the venue were less than ideal.
"We have nothing but the highest praise for Tim McCall, Bari? and Ba?ar Kalem and the entire Bros Technic crew, and of course the L-Acoustics PA."
(Jim Evans)
