The new system was used for the 37th Annual CMA (Country Music Association) awards, which aired live on 5 November. The show featured Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Travis Tritt and Hank Williams Jr in a special tribute to Johnny Cash.
Installed during a week in September without interrupting the Opry's busy schedule, the project involved coordination among many players. Noted engineer George Massenburg was engaged by the Opry as audio quality consultant, and veteran studio musician and producer Steve Gibson was involved as music quality consultant. Sam Berkow participated as acoustical consultant and Jon Mire, technical services manager for the Opry House, coordinated system evaluation and changeover activities. Dan Heins of Clair Brothers Systems, the installing dealer, led the engineering design and installation team.
The new speaker system for the Opry consists of various JBL products including Vertec line array speakers and subwoofers and additional loudspeakers from JBL's AE Series, Control Series, and Marquis Series product lines. All loudspeakers are powered by Crown MacroTech Series amplifiers.
The broad product line offerings from JBL and other Harman Professional companies like Crown and dbx complemented not only the needs of the sound system upgrade for the Opry House, but also the facility's new gift shop and outdoor plaza stage system. "All of us at JBL Professional are thrilled to be associated with the Opry," said JBL's Tom Weeber. "It's an American institution. The history, the quality of the music and broadcasts, and the production expertise available within the Gaylord organization make the Opry a perfect fit for showcasing JBL's sound reinforcement products."
(Lee Baldock)
