Formed back in 1980 Depeche Mode have had an incredible career. Since the release
of their debut album Speak & Spell in 1981, they have had 50 songs in the UK Singles
Charts, 17 top 10 albums in the UK chart and have sold over 100 million records
worldwide. For their current Depeche Mode Global Spirit Tour, Front of House engineer
Antony King has chosen an L-Acoustics K1 system, supplied by UK rental company
Britannia Row Productions.
Depeche Mode has worked with Britannia Row for more than a quarter of a century.
Their longstanding relationship with the company and the equipment it provides gives
peace of mind to both the band and their engineers, who are certainly putting it
through its paces, with the stadium tour starting this past May in Europe and
concluding in March 2018 in South America.
With the tour playing over 90 dates in stadiums and large-scale venues around the
world, a system that provides accuracy and reliability was needed. L-Acoustics K1 was
the ideal choice, and Antony specified a main system that comprises 14 K1 per side
with four K2 as downfills. Side hangs are a further 14 K1 plus six K2 downfills, to
account for the throw distance needed and the large amount of vertical coverage
required. There are a total of 46 KS28, with 12 of them per side flown next to the K1,
while four hangs of 12 K1 are used for delays, all mixed via an SSL L500 Plus.
Depeche Mode’s set design always includes a thrust that sits to one side of the stage.
Because of its asymmetrical construction and the position of camera platforms, there
are restrictions to where the ground stacked subs can be placed.
The solution is to have 18 of the remaining KS28 configured as six stacks of three
sitting in front of the stage, arrayed as a sub arc. Three ARCS per side are stacked on
the outermost KS28 stack, and four stacks of two Kara each on the innermost KS28,
which are deployed as front fills. Two Kara per side are used for stage infill and, while
the band are all on in ear monitors, a further two KS28 per side are sited on the stage
to provide them with a little movement. Delays are four hangs of 12 K1.
“There was originally talk of flying some K1SB as well as the KS28,’ explains Terence
Hulkes, FOH tech and crew chief. “However, because of rigging points and weight
loadings, that wasn’t possible, but the flown KS28 spread the power around the venue
better and keep it above the heads of the audience. For overall low end and extra
register, the KS28 is amazing, and it’s incredible how much the low end will travel.’
“K1 itself isn’t lacking in the low-end department, so in this instance, we went for
resolution rather than moving the air,’ adds senior systems technician Richard Trowe.
“For the really trouser flapping stuff, the KS28 is the one to have.
“Antony wants consistency,’ he continues. “He likes to have a similar volume at the
furthest seat as at FOH, and he likes to walk the arena from top to bottom to make
sure he’s got that. That’s where the FIR filters and LA Network Manager really help;
when you’re a distance away from FOH, and you need to increase the HF with the air
compensation, you can do it using a tablet. Obviously, we can’t always achieve
perfectly even coverage, in these large stadiums but we get pretty close. For example,
there were legal noise restrictions in Switzerland, but even there we had 0.7db
difference between the front row and FOH and the same between FOH and the back of
the arena, which is next to nothing.’
The team also appreciates the speed and ease of the L-Acoustics rigging system.
“The rigging on the KS28, in particular, is very fast,’ smiles Terence. “The way it goes
up and down is the fastest of any PA I’ve rigged. Because the stages are high enough,
we have big amp carts that hold all the LA12X amplifiers, mains, controllers etc.,
there are 32 LA12X on one side and 33 on the other, in two carts that roll in under the
stage. We plug in the mains, link the audio networking inputs into it and away we go.’
The newly launched LA12X has made a noticeable difference to the sound of the
system, particularly when it is being driven hard. “Running the system on LA12X gives
us so much extra headroom and great sound, all the way from the beautiful round low
end to the precise and crystal clear highs,’ Terence adds.
“For me, K1 is the only serious choice for stadiums, given its superior throw capability
and high directivity control,’ Antony concurs. “K1 on the new LA12X amps takes the
system to a new level.’
To make life even easier, L-Acoustics’ David Brooks provided the plans of venues for
which there was no information.
“Having David send the plans so we can prepare the design using L-Acoustics
Soundvision in advance enables us to do a better system design, as well as be a bit
more relaxed and better prepared,’ Terence concludes. “The combination of the
system’s ease of use and sound quality, along with the help that L-Acoustics has given
us is making the tour a breeze, which is exactly what we like.’
