Since throwing open its doors in 2022, the Orion Amphitheatre in Huntsville has declared itself as Alabama’s home for community and culture, and this singular focus makes it the perfect venue for a visit from British electronic music composer and producer, DJ Tipper.
With a reputation for layering complex musical textures and live cut scratching at his immersive and inclusive live shows, the artist’s three-day “Tipper and Friends” curated theatre events are renowned for bringing people together through stunning visuals and incredible sound. It meant that Tipper’s Orion shows, his first theatre event since before the Pandemic, were a big deal. Hosting a sellout crowd over three nights, the pressure was on to make the 175,000 square foot open-air venue sing. For Tipper, whose complex sonic narratives are fundamental to his performance, it meant his audio team had to be just as creative with the sound design.
Providing the audio system was Philadelphia’s One-Source Productions, accommodating a fully immersive, projection-mapped presentation of the entire stage facade from visual partners Datagramma. This complex relationship meant it was a real team effort, and it took a collaboration between One-Source owner and CEO Joseph Adkins, system technician Andrew Davidson, FOH engineer and sound designer Ron Lorman, and UK speaker manufacturer Funktion-One to make it all work.
With over 40 years of audio experience, including several years working with Tipper and Funktion-One systems from One-Source, Lorman has form and a deep understanding of the artist and audience dynamic. “My job as FOH engineer is to translate the energy produced by the artist, with clarity, foundation and sonic dignity,” says Lorman. “I listen and attempt to find the moving lines within their mix, to enhance and increase the overall excitement in the presentation. That element could be a powerful bass line, snare hits, hi hat, hand claps, or dreamy open parts with layers of pads and detail such as reverb tails. I think of it as contributing to its enhancement; it is more like real time mastering during the show.”
Of course, the quality of the source material is fundamental to the result and Tipper is in a league of his own in that department. Lorman continued: “There is no other artist that delivers that level of audio quality. Tipper’s tracks excel in detail, staggeringly powerful and clean low end, reverbs, panning, and dynamics. It is very intense, and I never quite know what to expect, but it makes every performance exciting to deliver this extreme level of audio presentation in real time.”
Funktion-One also has form, and it was the British loudspeaker specialist that Tipper’s sound team trusted to guarantee consistent sound coverage. Funktion-One’s Vero system meant that not only was Lorman able to deliver precise sound quality and an immersive audio experience for the audience, but its intuitive, modular design facilitated a quick setup to minimise installation time, sound checks and event preparations.
“We deployed twenty boxes of Funktion-One Vero for mains, 12 F124 and 12 F221 subwoofers, and Funktion-One Evo for in-fills and out-fills,” said One-Source Productions General Manager Dan Getz, who acted as both stage manager and monitor engineer at the event. “Our primary audio challenge was delivering clear, balanced audio to the top rows of the amphitheatre, and the Vero arrays were configured to accommodate this challenge. We dedicated out-fill speakers to cover the outside edges of the top rows to deliver the same sound quality across the entire amphitheatre.”
Getz continued: “The secondary challenge was that the entire venue was projection mapped by the Datagramma team and we were limited to a small space for audio deployment to not introduce sight line issues for the crowd. The ability to re-stack Vero to accommodate different spaces is advantageous in environments like this and the coverage wouldn’t have been nearly as balanced without the ability to do so. Meanwhile the angling system on the Evo line makes them more versatile, and they also provide an unrivalled visual aesthetic. At the start of each night, we would see attendees taking photos with the Evo in-fills, and that can’t be said about most other speaker cabinets!”
Much of the hard work was done months in advance, with Funktion-One’s Projection software simulating comprehensive coverage before the event. “Tipper & Friends” shows follow a trusted formula with each night bringing a different degree of musical energy, with up-tempo sets on Friday, a more downtempo performance on Saturday, and a dreamlike ambient night to round it all off on Sunday. The Projection software not only helped influence how Vero was flown and configured, but gave Getz’s team a good understanding of how the system would perform when driven under these different pressures.
Getz explained: “Each night delivered music with different degrees of energy, so our main adjustment was simply level. Up-tempo night called for higher SPL, especially from our subwoofers, while ambient night required a more open sonic profile. These SPL variations influenced how the signals were processed at front of house, but the music will quickly tell you how it wants to be presented, and it’s our job to honour that.”
Like the sound design, the mix was also a team effort, with Davidson managing timing and alignment and Lorman performing FOH duties. “He might periodically yell at me if I push the rig a bit too hard, but Vero can be deceptively loud without it sounding like it is due to its reduced distortion,” smiled Lorman. “Often, distortion tends to make things sound louder at the expense of overall signal degradation and severe listening fatigue, but it’s easy to push the Funktion-One Veros from time to time because the rig takes it with such ease.
“Clean audio is what we all strive for, and the gear I use to achieve it is deceptively basic. I only use CADAC consoles and used the CM J50 at the Orion Amphitheatre. I generally mix around 98dB at the mix position and monitor multiple audio references, such as the artist input versus system output, as well as calibrate SPL. Additionally, I make use of dynamic EQ to help smooth out the performer’s tracks and reference the artist’s incoming signal to be aware of individual trends. For Tipper I incorporated the Weiss EQ-1 to deliver variable attack and release times, dynamics and M/S capacity, as well as some on board compression while paying attention to the attack to not muddy the signal’s rise time. This gave foundation and solidity while keeping the tracks “alive”.
“In addition, Tipper’s Manager Dave Veler and I work very closely together during a performance. He has a crazy keen ear and knows exactly what he wants from his artists. Dave Veler keeps me honest!”
All this doesn’t mean that the sound design team didn’t take the opportunity to implement a couple more experimental tweaks, both of which delivered big results. “As the system technician, it’s important to be able to make adjustments quickly,” said One-Source’s Davidson. “At the Orion we implemented Globcon as the central hub for our amplifier network, which enabled us to route signals to different locations, control the processing on each amplifier, and monitor output levels.”
Designed to enable users to share control of connected devices across a standard Ethernet infrastructure, Globcon is an agnostic control software platform for the management of production equipment. “The introduction of Globcon to our network streamlined the efficiency of my work, and network connectivity, stability, and speed were all improved by this implementation,” added Davidson.
Secondly, the event was also the first time that One-Source had paired the Funktion-One Vero with XTA amplifiers, which according to Getz resulted in an impressive improvement to fidelity. “Funktion-One speakers are already efficient,” he said. “Their design and configuration allow for versatile control of the PA which results in less demanding processing at front of house compared to other PAs, while being horn loaded makes them far more capable in terms of coverage. These features mean you can do more with fewer drivers and amplifiers, but pairing the Vero with XTA amplifiers delivered an even cleaner sonic profile. The PA sounded more detailed and balanced, and the small details in the music became more apparent. The overall fidelity is significantly improved.”
It is a view shared by Lorman: “There is no other system that even approaches the solidity, transients, torque, and non-fatiguing presentation of Funktion-One’s large-format Vero,” he says. “The latest system settings offer additional clarity and improved horizontal dispersion and can deliver unprecedented audio to a very large audience. Vocals, piano, percussion, drums, and horns all punch through with all their proper fundamentals in place.”
Ultimately, it’s about giving what is a very discerning audience, with an appreciation for the art and the importance of dynamic and engaging audio, the best possible performance. “My responsibility is to both the audience and to the performers to deliver an audio experience that is energetic with involving moving lines to keep the pace exciting. I strive to provide an audio event that some may remember for the rest of their lives. I believe that goal is achieved, hopefully often, as the Tipper fan club tells me in detail after every event. And I do listen to the fans and watch to make sure they are having a great time. I’m grateful for them appreciate their enthusiasm, support, and dedicated love for an amazing show.”
