Solotech System Technician Frédéric Cantin (left) and Bette Midler’s FOH Engineer, Steve Guest, at the tour’s house mix position.
New York, NY (June 30, 2015)—Bette Midler’s “Divine Intervention” arena tour—her first global tour in 10 years—is currently in the middle of its North American leg, carrying extensive audio production from Montreal-based Solotech, including DiGiCo SD7 consoles and a sizable L-Acoustics K1/K2 PA.
Because of the complexity of the production, the sound system has to be flown higher, and the left and right hangs of the system need to be positioned wider apart, than would be typical for these types of arena shows. “The show has some physical requirements that cause us to have to position some elements of the PA system in order to accommodate sightlines,” said FOH Engineer Steve Guest.
Guest noted that he and System Technician Frédéric Cantin use the time before and during soundchecks to fine-tune the system in each new venue, using the wireless capability of L-Acoustics’ LA Network Manager and its Array Morphing tool for tonal balance adjustment. “After I get the sound exactly as I want it at the FOH position, we can move to different seating areas and tune system to allow each area of the venue to experience what I experience as I mix the show,” said Guest, who has mixed Midler’s live shows in the past, including some during her 2008-2010 residency at Caesars Palace, as well as tours for artists including Janet Jackson, Ricky Martin, The Backstreet Boys and David Bowie. “I can’t put the boxes exactly where I’d want them on this show, but L-Acoustics gives me the tools to compensate for that.”
Cantin adds, “The great thing about the L-Acoustics enclosures is that they sound great right out of the box. They are very, very musical, and that helps us with challenging situations like these can be.”
The system is comprised per side of 14 K1 and four K2, as well as eight flown K1-SB and four SB28 floor subs, 16 additional K2 as side hangs, three coaxial 8XT and one 12XT front fills, three Kudo side fills, and three more 12XT for onstage monitors, all powered by 51 LA8 amplified controllers loaded into 17 LA-RAKs.
Solotech
www.solotech.com
L-Acoustics
www.l-acoustics.com
