Chicago, IL––SES (Special Event Services) set up what President Jim Brammer terms as “the largest outdoor MLA system deployed in North America thus far” for a sold-out Zac Brown concert at Wrigley Field of 40,000.The event also marked Zac Brown Band’s first as a solo headliner in a major league ballpark, having shared staging earlier this summer with Billy Joel at Boston’s Fenway Park. Both shows were part of the band’s successful “Great American Road Trip” tour that runs until the middle of October.
The massive Martin Audio MLA system consisted of 170 enclosures: A Main Hang of 22 MLA over 2 MLD per side; 24 MLA Compact per side for Outfill; 8 flown MLX subs per side and 24 MLX in 12 stacks of two across the entire downstage area; 4 MLA Compact in a straight array per side for Off Left/Right front fill; 6 W8LMD across the downstage edge for Lip Fill, and 24 MLA for delays.
Asked about the event, Brammer responds, “The challenge with Wrigley and most ballparks is getting sound up under the overhangs in the upper deck. We were able to solve that with a delay system that consisted of four SES audio carts, each with six MLA, arrayed at home plate, first and third base near the seats.”
In terms of audio quality, “the show was off-the-charts good,” Jim adds. “Everyone was extremely pleased and we had visiting major league ballparks to look at the MLA setup and see if they might be able to use it, and they were very happy with the way it sounded.
Tour Veteran Warren Cracknell from the SES Nashville office summed it up with one word, ”Outstanding!”
When asked what he thought, FOH Engineer/Production Manager Eric Roderick said, “It was Bad to the Bone!”
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About Martin Audio®
Founded by audio engineer David Martin in 1971, Martin Audio pioneered the use of all-horn-loaded bass designs in world-class touring loudspeaker systems for groups such as Pink Floyd, ELP and Supertramp. Located outside of London, Martin Audio now embodies a sophisticated mix of acoustic design, research, mathematical modeling and software engineering for a wide range of products in the installation, cinema and touring sound markets.
