SHOWTEC and Meyer Sound Bring Controlled Audio Coverage to Museumsplatz Concerts

Share:

Photo credit: SHOWTEC

"We are using MSL-4s to cover the first 12 meters of the audience while the remainder is covered by MICAs. Together with the 700-HPs in a cardioid setup, we are able to target the sound towards the audience only. The audience experiences clear and powerful sound, the musicians have less low frequencies on stage and we have also successfully avoided spilling sound towards the residential areas." - Helge Schäffer Sound Engineer and Designer, Museumsplatz Bonn

For Germany's Museumsplatz Bonn music festival this year, SHOWTEC of Cologne has provided a custom configuration of Meyer Sound loudspeaker systems featuring subwoofers in a cardioid formation. The application serves as a convincing showcase for how a loudspeaker system can achieve even, transparent audio coverage at an open-air event, while keeping the sound to designated audience areas and within the city's SPL limit.

Each year, from July to September, the Museumsplatz hosts a series of outdoor concerts with an international line-up that includes Norah Jones, Buena Vista Social Club, Billy Idol, Status Quo, and Roxy Music. The 8,000-capacity concert space is partially covered by a tent and is neighbored by office buildings and residential areas, making volume and coverage control a priority for the audio crew. With the consistency and predictability of Meyer Sound's low-distortion subwoofer products, SHOWTEC specified a configuration that has allowed them to steer sound where it is needed and avoid all unwanted areas and surfaces. The result is confirmed by Bonn's authorities, who stated that the Museumsplatz concerts are within the city's decibel limits.

SHOWTEC's Meyer Sound system features two arrays of eight MICA line array loudspeakers each, four UPJ-1P VariO loudspeakers as frontfill at stage lip, and one UPA-1P loudspeaker as outfill. Six MSL-4 loudspeakers are used as underfill while two arrays of four 700-HP subwoofers in a cardioid formation provide powerful, yet controlled low-end support for the viewers.

"We are using MSL-4s to cover the first 12 meters of the audience while the remainder is covered by MICAs," says Helge Schäffer, sound engineer and designer. "Together with the 700-HPs in a cardioid setup, we are able to target the sound towards the audience only. The audience experiences clear and powerful sound, the musicians have less low frequencies on stage and we have also successfully avoided spilling sound towards the residential areas."

Martin J. Nötzel of KultEvent GmbH, the festival's promoter, adds: "Compliance with the legal requirements is our top priority. This is the only way to ensure the future of an open-air site in the middle of a city. An accurate sound reproduction is also important for the audience's concert experience. Meyer Sound and SHOWTEC delivered on both counts 100%."

For details and tickets, visit: www.museumsplatz-konzerte.de

August, 2010

MICA

700-HP

MSL-4

UPA-1P

UPJ-1P