After completing a successful sold-out tour of the U.S and Canada for much of last
year, with a Martin Audio MLA PA provided by Showtime Sound LLC, popular actor-
comedian, Kevin Hart, and his production manager, Scott Tydings, ensured they
maintained continuity by asking Capital Sound to provide a similar rig when the
What Now? tour arrived in Europe.

One of America’s fastest rising comedy talents, Hart has released four comedy
DVDs and appeared on numerous TV shows and in blockbuster films; he has over 20
million worldwide followers each on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As for Tydings he had clearly enjoyed the MLA experience both with Kevin Hart and
fellow comedienne Amy Schumer. The fit with Capital Sound, who also specialise in
providing sound reinforcement for top-drawer stand-up comedians, was an obvious
one — although as general manager Paul Timmins explained, the route was not a
direct one.

With Kenny Hoyt again mixing the house sound, assisted by experienced MLA
system tech Toby Donovan, production adopted a slightly different configuration to
that used in North America. “Our proposal was for our standard comedy touring rig
for the five arenas, which has worked out perfectly.’

In fact they rigged 17 MLA enclosures plus one MLD Downfill, each side of the stage
as the main hang, with outfills provided by 16 MLA Compacts. For the LF, eight
S218X were deployed in conventional 4+4 L/R ground stacks, with eight tiny DD6
Differential Dispersion loudspeakers mounted on top, performing frontfill duties. For
the larger arenas, six W8LM Mini Line Array enclosures provided the delays.

Stage monitoring was limited and the foldback mixes were handled from FOH on a
Midas Pro6.

Earlier, Tydings had stated that the Martin Audio MLA rig had been a big help. “We
first used it for the What Now? tour after hearing the MLA Compact at a demo.
We’ve wanted to use it for a long time and just needed this opportunity to put it out
there and showcase it.’

FOH engineer Kenny Hoyt, echoes Tydings’s impressions: “MLA is amazing, the
clarity and coverage is so much better when capturing a single voice in a large
auditorium and making sure that every word gets out to the audience than other
systems I’ve used. Other PAs are ok, but mixing with an MLA system is like nothing
else I’ve ever experienced. I just know that the sound’s going to be smooth and
consistent with all the right overtones.’

Wrapping up, Tydings adds, “For me, MLA is like having 3-D audio. Instead of
sounding like it’s coming from a speaker a few hundred feet away from you, Kevin’s
voice is right in front of your face no matter where you’re sitting.’

Timmins agrees. “MLA just continues to deliver,’ he says. “In the stand-up world it
has already proven a winner with artists of the calibre of Michael McIntyre, Lee
Evans and Kevin Bridges.