Adlib took care of the audio on the Howard Jones tour, the tour opting for a CODA Audio system based around the company’s ViRAY compact line array.
CODA has been FOH engineer Chicky Reeves’ choice for Howard Jones since he began working with the artist in 2016, he described his experience with ViRAY: “I’d initially been reluctant to stray from what I was used to, but having been persuaded to take the system out with OMD, I haven’t looked back. When we set up for our first show, which was more of a production rehearsal with an audience, I walked in as the system tech was finishing setting it up. He had a track playing that I knew quite well and I was immediately smitten with the sound. I knew the track, I knew the room, and I’d never heard this combination sound so good before. I was absolutely stunned. After that, we took it on several tours – when I started with Howard, he asked if I had a PA preference, and naturally, I told him ‘CODA’!”
The tour’s system tech, Steve Norman commented, “Howard’s material is exceptionally varied in the sense that some songs are pretty full-on with big electronic drums and huge synth sounds, and then three songs later he’s sitting at the piano playing a solo number on which a double-bass and acoustic guitar join in. Having a system that can deliver subtle nuances yet can also deliver full-power sound is critical. In my book, only one system can do it – that’s CODA Audio ViRAY.”
The system configuration on the tour was different every night to cater for the unique characteristics of each theatre. Some shows deployed the full system, whilst others saw a split flown/ground-stacked system enhanced with various fills for ‘hard-to-reach’ seats. The complete inventory comprised 36 ViRAY units, 4 SC2-F and 8 SCP-F subs, 2 HOPS12-T, 8 HOPS8 and 2 G712. The system was driven by CODA’s LINUS14 four-channel DSP amplifiers.
