Hillsong Young & Free inspire with Adamson
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To support their most recent studio album, III, the group spent the majority of 2019 touring Canada and the U.S. with a production package supplied by Canada’s Soundbox Productions, including a versatile audio system anchored by Adamson Systems Engineering’s sub-compact S-Series loudspeakers.
“The Canadian leg of the III tour was the second time we deployed a complete Adamson S-Series system with the Soundbox crew, and for the U.S. run, we decided it was too good not to use it again,” begins Y&F FOH engineer Nate Balderston. “The S10 is a fantastic product. The mid-range and clarity really make creating space within the mix so easy.”
Considering the wide range of venues the group visits - from churches to theatres of varying sizes – the fall U.S. dates made use of a variety of set-ups from a total of 24 S10 two-way, full-range enclosures and 14 complementary E119 subwoofers.
“Our biggest hurdle each day was obviously coverage,” Balderston adds. “Some days, we had 120° seating; other days, we had three-tier-balcony theatres. What we loved about using the S10s was we always had a solution for whichever configuration we might encounter.”
As Soundbox Audio head and systems tech Jamal Bleasdell explains, in most churches, they didn’t have access to a rigging point for the PA, so they carried Sumner Eventer 25 stage lifts. The typical set-up for these shows included eight S10s per side for main-hangs, two S10s for front-fill, and three ground-stacked S10s per side for out-fills.
“The Adamson S10 system is very easy to deploy thanks to the Slidelock rigging technology and S-Series Extended Beams,” shares Bleasdell. “Sonically, the proprietary drivers make the mid-range sound so much warmer and respond to low end really nicely. Also, Adamson’s Blueprint AV software has great tools like the Mirror Functions and Vertex/Edge Link that allow me to build for each venue very quickly. Bottom line, I know when using Adamson, I have nothing to worry about.”
Balderstone concludes: “The comments we received from audiences across both tours, and from many house audio techs we had the pleasure of working with, was fantastic. The Adamson S-Series being so easy to deploy and configure, as well as its sonic consistency from venue to venue, really made for an amazing experience.”
(Jim Evans)
