Canegreen and Meyer Sound - Good For Business
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Canegreen is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and the London-based sound rental company is busier than ever. Its list of credits has expanded to include guitar greats George Benson and Joe Satriani; legends Lou Reed and Joe Jackson; popsters The Enemy and Sugababes; indie darling Morrissey; hip-hopper Kanye West; and veteran thrashers Megadeth. Canegreen has also supported the NME Big Gig, the Wychwood and Cambridge Folk festivals, Michael McDonald and long-standing client Paul Weller. The diverse requirements of Canegreen's customers and the company's busy schedule have placed heavy demands on the sound equipment. With a full palette of tools from Meyer Sound, Canegreen has sailed through the years and is now larger and stronger, while consistently providing exceptional audio solutions and services. The association between Canegreen and Meyer Sound goes back to 1986, when the company acquired its first MSL-3 loudspeaker for a Richard Clayderman tour. "The Meyer Sound brand had picked up a lot of support from artists and engineers," says Yan Stile, Canegreen's founder and managing director, "particularly those coming over from the States. People were making these claims that they could play the Albert Hall with just two MSL-3s! George Benson was one of (Canegreen Director) Pete Edmond's clients and he wanted to try the Meyer system, so that was part of our motivation." According to Stile, the decision to purchase Meyer Sound equipment opened a new path for the company: "With regards to profile and attracting clients, the investment did have a significant impact on our business, we immediately increased the inventory, and haven't looked back really." Since then, Canegreen's hire inventory has steadily grown to include the majority of products introduced by Meyer Sound in the intervening years. In fact, Canegreen is one of the first companies in the UK to own MILO and MILO 120 line array loudspeakers. "We now have almost every tool in the Meyer toolbox, and we use them all, including large quantities of UltraSeries products, MSL-4s, 700-HP and 650-P subwoofers, plus legacy DS-2s and MSL-2s and 3s. We are also a very enthusiastic owner of MICA (line array loudspeakers), of which we've just ordered 16 more cabinets." The toolbox analogy is apt, as Meyer Sound products are designed to seamlessly integrate with each other. They are also built for extended product life and remain largely immune to the vagaries of fashion. Stile testifies that loudspeakers that were bought almost two decades ago are still well maintained and in regular use. "The MSL-3s, for example, have been a great purchase for us from a pure business point of view," continues Stile. "How many other assets could one acquire for a business that would have such a long and productive working life? Meyer is a family-run business with a vision and passion. Everything they do is for the sake of the product and the users. Product owners like us benefit from this approach." The touring sound rental business is very different today from 1986. An upsurge in live sound tours and events driven by falling recording sales has made it ever harder for production companies to distinguish themselves in the increasingly competitive business. Consequently PA rental companies are seeking ways to operate more efficiently - use less crew, shorten prep times, reduce truck space and weight, and trim load-in/ out times to the minimum. Equipment has to be rider-friendly and easily adaptable for an assorted mix of applications to ensure maximum utilization. Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeaker systems fulfill all these requirements for Canegreen's projects, including the much-anticipated tour of Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. "Over the last few years Meyer has been acknowledged as the ultimate multi-application system," says Stile. "My customers regard Meyer products as probably the best for different projects regardless of size, venue configurations, musical styles including even the heavier rock acts. There definitely was a time when such perception didn't exist. I'm glad to say that this is no longer the case!" Meyer Sound self-powered systems have enabled Canegreen to operate at an unmatched level of efficiency. "The systems are flexible, modular, and can be re-configured on the fly as necessary," says Stile. "Compared to conventional systems, Meyer Sounds systems are lighter, faster to get in and out, easier to rent and sub-rent, take less truck space, and produce more consistent results night after night. They are well accepted by production managers and engineers alike so the utilization is consistently high." FOH engineer for multi-platinum all-female band Sugababes, Andrew Thornton, is one of Canegreen's many happy customers that depend on a Meyer Sound system. Thornton is carrying a large assortment of MILO family loudspeakers on the widely-received tour. "The Meyer MICA system we've been using has been great," says Thornton, "and has really come into its own when we've been obliged to reconfigure it depending on the venue. We've had to ground stack once or twice in places where it was not possible to fly them. We have used eight or 12 per side and it's no problem at all, as the fundamental tonality of the system is unchanged." Over the years, Stile has developed a high level of confidence with Meyer Sound tools. Stile believes that Canegreen's success is due in part to the partnership between the two companies. "My job as MD is to run the business profitably and efficiently and Meyer Sound products are one of the keys to helping me achieve that. They are simply great tools for our business." May, 2008 |
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