Richard Willis of Showcom Audio has recently completed a significant installation in top West Midlands live venue ‘The Shed’ with a Nexo Alpha E loudspeaker system, Vortex amplifiers from Camco, Klark Teknik signal processing throughout and cabling from Kelsey Acoustics, plus a GL4000 mixing console from Allen & Heath. The owner was looking for a complete upgrade to increase capacity and improve the facilities of the venue, so Willis was effectively given carte blanche to specify whatever he chose. He specified a total of six stacks of Alpha E driven by Camco Vortex amplifiers with a Nexo NX241 digital processor for the main system. Eight Nexo PS-15 cabinets with the requisite TD controllers serve as monitors driven by Camco DX Series amplifiers. Willis describes the combination as both powerful and efficient. "The Alpha E is ideal for venue in terms of its dispersion characteristics, its versatility, and the fact that it is so ergonomic in combination with the Vortex amplifiers. We're driving six stacks of Alpha E with just two Vortex 6s with headroom to spare, giving a total system capacity of 12.8K. In my book that's pretty impressive. In fact I think the Nexo/Camco combination is pretty well unbeatable in terms of price, power and performance." The console is an Allen & Heath GL4000 which Willis described as a "sensible board for sensible money and lots of facilities."For signal processing, Willis opted for Klark Teknik throughout, choosing a DN3600 on main system EQ with a DN514 quad gate and a DN504 compressor/limiter. Monitor EQ is taken care of via a couple of DN332 dual channel graphics. However, as Willis pointed out, the best was yet to come. "I could hardly believe my eyes when I discovered that the current owner had inherited a DN780 that was mouldering away in a rack somewhere. These things are like gold dust! The DN780 is the CLASSIC digital reverb of which there were less than two thousand made. As you can imagine, most of them are jealously guarded possessions, so when one becomes available it’s a true rarity. Anyway, we refurbished this one and we've reinstalled it for reverb on the main system with remote control. It's great! In fact, the whole system works superbly well. The owner is delighted, and so am I."
In addition, Willis specified Audio-Technica microphones as the perfect complement to the equipment supplied by Fuzion. The A-T mics called into action were ATM63HEs on backing vocals, AT4054s on lead vocals, AT3525s on guitar cabs and overheads, an AT4055 on kick drum, ATM23HE on snare top and a number of AT3527s, which were supplied as versatile multi-purpose performers.
