Feb 7, 2007 12:10 PM

Milwaukee-based Logan Productions has combined ingenuity and technical expertise to create unique custom array support towers for suspending its JBL VerTec line-array elements. The towers have now been used for a variety of live-staging events throughout the Midwest.

Looking for an effective-sounding and visually pleasing way to quickly erect line arrays for live-sound applications, company CEO and Creative Director Jim Logan designed a line array support tower that is scalable for different-size venues. "I have a background in photography, and it made sense to model the VerTec array tower after a tripod," Logan says. "Tripods are inherently stable, and you don't have to worry about level ground since the legs are adjustable."

Taking advantage of VerTec's light enclosure weight, Logan built several towers using standard 12x12-inch trusses as adjustable legs. Each tower supports up to 2,000 pounds with a 5:1 design factor, to a maximum height of 50 feet. The towers are designed to suspend VerTec VT4888 midsize line-array elements or VT4882 midsize arrayable subwoofers. Logan Productions also relies upon a variety of other JBL loudspeakers, including VRX model 932s for sidefill and center fill units and TTM-149 wedges for stage monitors.

As part of the overall audio system package, Logan Productions employs Crown I-Tech amplifiers and Harman Pro's HiQnet System Architect configuration and control software. "The VerTec loudspeakers have a lot of advantages, great sound obviously being at the top of that list," Logan says. "They can handle expanded levels of sound, which make the towers all the more versatile. The engineering behind the product enables us to quickly tune the system, and the digital control networking benefits of using other Harman products allows for quick setup across the board."

After assembling the first prototype tower in the company's parking lot, Logan put the system to the ultimate test. "We left it outside during a couple of huge storms, and even with all the rain and wind, the tower didn't move an inch, so we knew it was durable," he says."

For more information, visit www.jblpro.com and www.loganproductions.com.

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