FOH Engineer Wilberto Madera and Audio Systems Engineer Jimmy Ibanez recently deployed a full JBL by HARMAN VTX Series system for Pitbull’s The Bad Man tour. With more than 25 U.S. dates on the tour and limited setup time before each show, Madera and Ibanez needed an easy-to-deploy system that could reproduce Pitbull’s unique blend of Latin rap, bass and crunk music with consistent, full fidelity results from venue to venue. JBL VTX V25-II line arrays and Crown amplifiers provided powerful output, transparent sound quality and rock-solid performance throughout the tour, helping Madera to win the 2016 Pensado Award for “Excellence in Live or Front of House Sound.”
“The JBL VTX system delivered consistent sound and performance every night,” said Engineer Jimmy Ibanez. “On a nationwide arena tour, it’s challenging to achieve the same sound in each different venue. With the VTX system, I didn’t have those worries. Performance Manager 2.1 gave me the flexibility I needed to optimise the sound for every section of the venue. I was able to achieve the same overall results every afternoon, and after a few tweaks I could confidently hand the PA over to Will. The outcome was a great sounding, very detailed and extremely dynamic mix at every show.”
New York-based audio production company AVS Production Group supplied the VTX system for The Bad Man tour, which included two main arrays of 18 VTX V25-II loudspeakers and four ground stacks of 3 G28 subwoofers per side. They also used delay steering to achieve the most even sub coverage. Crown iTech HD amplifiers powered the entire system, and JBL HiQnet Performance Manager 2.1 software helped the team configure the speaker arrays and ensure optimum coverage for each venue.
“When we were planning the rig for this tour, the highest priority for us was sonic quality,” said Abraham D. Viera Jr., Vice President of AVS Production Group. “We wanted a system that would sound great, go up quick and be consistent in every venue. The sonic quality of the VTX boxes trumped everything.”
During pre-production for the tour, Madera began looking for an audio system that would enable him to reproduce the sound of Pitbull’s studio recordings on stage. When he heard a VTX Series system while on tour in Australia, he immediately called AVS Production Group and requested VTX for the Pitbull tour.
“When I heard the VTX Series system for the first time, I knew I had found my new preferred PA,” said Madera. “The clarity, body and energetic low end are unmatched, and the VTX system delivers exactly what I expect from JBL. I can open up my mix each night without having to touch my graphic EQ. The consistency allows me to give the audience the best concert experience each night. I’ve received many compliments from the artist, crew and audience.”