Meyer Sound Panther roams North Georgia
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“We supply the ‘stacks and racks’ of the system, while most touring acts bring their own front end and monitor packages,” notes Music Matters senior account manager David Lowell. “All acts are required to use our house system, so our new Panther rig will be up for every show until the summer series ends in October.”
The 2023 summer shows kicked off on 6 May with the multi-talented Jill Scott, but no other Live Nation shows were scheduled until singer-songwriter Charlie Puth on 28 May. In the interim, Music Matters’ new Panther system travelled to the University of Georgia at Athens for commencement ceremonies at Sanford Stadium on 12 May. On 20-21 May, the rig was deployed at the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta for back-to-back concerts, first with Hank Williams, Jr. and the following evening with the Atlanta Symphony performing the works of John Williams.
One reason for selecting Panther line arrays for Atlanta’s Chastain Park venue, according to Lowell, is the touchy issue of noise control in a largely residential area. “It’s a delicate balance, getting enough level for rock and R&B acts while containing most of the sound inside the venue,” he says. “The precise pattern control was a big selling point for Panther. We’ve only done a few shows so far, but at this point, everybody is pleased with the results.”
As configured for the Cadence Bank Amphitheatre, the system comprises left and right main arrays of eight-each Panther loudspeakers with two Leopard compact linear line array loudspeakers per side. For centre coverage, they are using two short arrays of three each Leopard loudspeakers flown with four Leopard loudspeakers being used as front-fill. Deep bass is augmented by four flown 1100‑LFC low-frequency control elements per side. The speaker system is driven and processed by two Meyer Sound Galileo Galaxy 816 processors via the AVB Milan protocol.
For the events at the larger Ameris Bank Amphitheatre and at Sanford Stadium, the system was expanded to 12 per side Panther arrays and, for the music shows, 12 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements.
Prior to the opening shows at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre, Meyer Sound tech support came on-site to assist in initial system tuning. “That’s one thing I love about Meyer,” says Lowell. “You don’t have to beg them. You know they will come in and be there for the first gig to make sure everything is right from the start.”
A cross-section of other concerts scheduled for the Cadence Bank Amphitheatre in 2023 includes The Indigo Girls, Barenaked Ladies, John Fogerty, Jason Mraz, The National, Sting, and Chicago.
