X-Line the brand new line array system from Electro-Voice made its UK debut with Richard Ashcroft at the Brixton Academy recently. Robbie McGrath was engineered the nine-piece band on his console of choice a Midas XL4, accompanied by his custom-built front-of-house and effects racks courtesy of ML Executives. The system comprised a J-hang of five XVLS and three XVLT cabinets at a trim height of 25ft, plus five ground-stacked sub units per side. Infills for close audience coverage were provided by EV X-Array Xi-1152 cabinets, and the whole system was driven by EV P3000 amps. Processing was handled by three Klark Teknik DN9848s, while mic splitting was dealt with by five DN1248s.

This was the first time Robbie McGrath had used the new system. He commented: " . . . as with every first show, there were a couple of adjustments to make before it really started to purr the way I knew it would. But the beauty of these systems is the learning curve is so fast . . . For the second night we made a few adjustments to the angle of some of the speakers, ran the house EQ virtually flat and approached the desk EQ from more of a ‘studio’ aspect, and immediately started hearing dimensions with the reverbs that hadn’t been apparent before."

In conclusion, Robbie said: "I have no hesitation in saying that I think the X-Line will be in the top three contenders in the world for at least the next decade. It brings so much to the table that is lacking in other rigs. . . But above all, it’s a truly musical system."


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