Berlin-based Complete Audio recently provided sound reinforcement for a concert by Sting at the 24,000-seat Waldbühne Berlin in the Olympic Park, with equipment from Martin Audio being central to the set-up.
As this was not a full production tour, PA and lights were sourced on a local basis, with Martin Audio’s premier rental partner on hand to provide its MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array.
While the system was delivered ‘flat’ as requested – enabling Sting’s FOH Technician to handle fine-tuning and final EQing – the challenges for the PA related to the contouring of the venue, which was extremely steep and high. “We had to work with lots of throw to get to the top of the seats,” reported Complete Audio MD André Rauhut.
To mitigate this, Complete Audio designed the main system hangs with 13 MLA elements and an MLD downfill per side. Outfills consisted of four MLA Compacts, and frontfills were composed of eight MLA Compacts, distributed alongside the stage in stacks of two. Subs consisted of 24 MLXs set in left/right stacks, to get a better coverage of the sides, with a further seven packs of two MLX along the stage.
Complete Audio also took advantage of the in-house delays, which were set around 80 metres from the stage. The company’s tech team comprised Benny Franke, Martin Eckert, Niko Fuchs and Nils Uhthoff.
