Britannia Row used the L-Acoustic L-ISA system to provide a unique listening experience for the Classical Brits 2018.
“It came about because we were keen to try the L-Acoustic L-ISA system,” said Head of Live Sound for the Brits, Colin Pink. He continued: “And the Royal Albert Hall were also keen to hear it. Initially, myself and Brit Row MD Bryan Grant went to L-Acoustic’s place in Highgate to hear a demonstration of the system. We suggested to them this could be a good introduction for all concerned; a win, win situation.”
The project required a different approach to rigging a system, no simple left-right stereo deployment, the multiple loudspeaker hangs would be right across the top of the performance platform. “It worked very well and scheduling was on our side,” explained Pink. “Angus and Julia Stone were due to perform on the Sunday before the Classic Brits and as a Brit Row client this meant we were able to pre-rig the L-ISA system and have a good work-out with it.”
“It could have been tricky otherwise, Classic Brits leaves little room or time for experimentation, the load-in is Monday with PA normally going in first, but you can’t do a lot with it until everything else is in and up, which could be all day. Then rehearsals all day Tuesday, and show on Wednesday. It was Lez Dwight at Brit Row who suggested we stretch the time by putting the system in for Angus & Julia, their management were in agreement and L-Acoustics were supportive of that idea.”
The changes wrought to the rigging of the system proved a boon in one aspect, in that it greatly reduces the problem of sightlines for cameras. “Fundamentally it goes across the front of the stage. We had five main hangs across the top of what you might consider the prosc’ position and two side hangs. All loudspeakers were Kara with a centre cluster of KS28 Subs. Normally you might do two long hangs of K1 Left & Right, maybe eighteen cabinets a side, with the corresponding pair of side hangs (maybe K2). This, in contrast, was more hangs but shorter arrays and over-all less kit, and more distributed weight loading for the same energy of sound delivery” commented Pink.
The resulting performance proved groundbreaking. Pink added: “It’s all about separation, the L-ISA system provides a better means of placing things within the audio image. Extra headroom is another benefit; you’re not stuffing everything down an L/R system. The amazing thing is the off-axis imaging; you get the sense of the placement across the whole of the stage from most positions in the audience bowl that in turn, improves clarity. To be honest the benefits were even better than I had expected.”