The system, supplied by Concert Sound and John Hornby Skewes, typically consists of 12 CDR 208 T and S mid/high cabinets per side in most of the tour's venues, with four CDR 210 Sub subwoofers per side, and two of the newly-launched CDR 210 F flyable subwoofers at the top of each array for high venues with balconies. The CDR 210 Fs can also be used with HK's new Ground Stacking Frame, and for venues where the system can't be flown, a CDR 210 F is positioned at the bottom of the frame, which also serves the purpose of adding height to the ground-stacked array.
FOH engineer Chris Madden was introduced to the system by HK Audio's Moray McMillin, himself a veteran touring engineer who convinced Madden of Cohedra's ability to provide the best sound possible for the band's mostly acoustic set. Madden has worked with The Waterboys - who on this tour comprise founder member Mike Scott on vocals and guitar, Irish fiddler Steve Wickham on violin and mandolin and Richard Naiff on piano and flute - for almost five years.
"The live show is very much acoustic, but there are also parts when it gets really rocky, where the band and I want a big, encompassing wall of sound," he says. "Cohedra is doing a perfect job in combining the subtleties needed to convey every single note from Steve's violin through to a loud, big rock and roll sound."
For the Reading concert at the 1100-seater Hexagon, Madden used three CDR 208 T (trapezoidal) units at the bottom in order to create a large curve which could easily cover the high, wide auditorium without having to push the system. The rest of the array consisted of nine CDR 208 T and S cabinets placed alternately. This configuration has been scaled down to eight per side for smaller venues, always with three CDR 208 Ts retained at the bottom of the array. Madden has been extremely impressed with the load-out time for all venues, which has been consistently accomplished in just over an hour.
The system is supplemented by an average of six compact two-way HK Audio VT112s - three per side - as infill speakers, with a further two VT 108 very compact full-range cabinets right in the centre of the stage. HK Audio 115 wedges are also being used on stage for monitoring, with Madden handling the monitor mixes from FOH.
Due to a lack of flying points at some of the tour's venues, HK's Ground Stacking Frame developed for the CDR 208 S/T mid/high units was called into use for Cohedra. "It's great to use, and makes life a lot easier," says Madden. "It has extendable feet which can be adjusted, allowing you to create the required angle very simply and precisely."
Madden has also been using HK Audio's Cohedra Acoustic Prediction Software (CAPS) software for working out the correct angles of the array, with HK's audio controller software running Digital Field Controllers (DFCs) located in amp racks on stage.
(Lee Baldock)
