Dual Midas Heritage 3000 consoles that handle both house and monitors from the
operator position.
with some strategic gapping between
each unit, the result is cardioid output.
“When we originally looked at how the
subs would have to fly, it was kind of ugly,”
explains Stone. “Jim suggested that we fly
them one behind the other and to enhance
cardioid principles for additional control,
and to diffuse low-end build-up down the
center of the room. It seemed kind of crazy
at first, but sounds amazing.”
Seven JBL AC28/95 compact full-
range loudspeakers were installed under
the lip of the stage to bolster mid/high
coverage to the first few seating rows,
in addition to helping to further anchor
the audio image to the platform.
Members of the audio production team at COTM. Left to right: Andrew Stone (
production manager and audio director), Jesse Burr (audio systems engineer), and Kendall
Self (audio engineer).
the finer details. “Jim was not one of
those guys that want to take over the
entire project and stay involved for the
life of the system,” Stone says. “He was
there to make sure that the arrays got
flown and trimmed and dialed in to
perfection, and that was that.”
The arrangement consists of four
arrays flown above the front platforms.
Two of the main left-right arrays con-
sist of 10 Ver Tec VT4888 3-way, dual-
12 modules flown more toward the
center region above the front platform,
tapering gently to the classic “J” shape.
Flanking them on the far sides are two
more VT4888 arrays, these comprised of
nine modules, extending solid coverage
to the widest regions of the room while
carefully positioned to keep as much
energy off the side walls as possible.
Enhanced Principles
The subwoofer complement to the
full-range arrays have an interesting
“flown and floor approach.” Six JBL
ASB6128V dual- 18 subwoofers are
positioned equidistantly in chambers
carved out beneath the front platform.
Another 10 ASB612B subs are flown
above, split into two groups of five that
are mounted in straight lines behind
the full-range arrays on each side. All
are flown on custom flybars designed by
Strategic Communications, and at the
suggestion of Brawley, each adjacent
cabinet has reversed polarity. Combined
Range Of Functions
One of the biggest parts of the remodel
was rebuilding the backstage area, which
encompasses production and creative
offices, all of the back stage space, lighting control, the amp room, as well as
all of the building’s AV and computer
interconnect.
A new AC run delivers power to the
equally new rack room carved on the
third floor of this area, right behind one
of the main arrays. It’s served by a dedicated air conditioning unit that keeps the
temperature at a constant 62 degrees.
Racks house the main system’s 49
Crown MA5000i power amplifiers and
eight BSS Soundweb London digital
processors, both of which are under
Harman HiQnet monitoring and control accessible from several points in the
facility, including the house operator
position. The Soundweb London units
perform a wide range of functions, not
only in zoning and steering the main
arrays but also in distributing audio to
numerous other areas throughout the
COTM campus, such as offices, hallways, lobbies and so on.
While the racks and stacks are new,
Stone elected to retain select components
from the previous system, most notably the
48-channel Midas Heritage 3000 house
