Wall of KV2 for the Derry Tattoo

Entering it’s second year it was one of a vast number of events benefiting from KV2 Audio products courtesy of Irish partner Just Lite. Featuring traditional favorites including the Massed Pipes & Drums and Highland & Irish Dancers, The Walled City Tattoo was a fast paced show also featuring world famous motorcycle display team “The Imps” and rhythmic comedy from Swiss group “Starbugs”.

Audio reinforcement the previous year was provided via an “industry leading” Line Array system but according to the shows organisers the change to KV2 Audio’s True Point Source approach significantly improved the experience for the 15,000 strong audience. 

Aside from Point Source’s obvious and proven benefits in signal integrity the key improvement owed much to Point Source’s superior handling of adverse wind and weather conditions – of which the event was subjected. The event had three main grandstands that had to be covered and Just Lite used their formidable stock of KV2 Audio equipment to provide VHD Systems, ES Systems and EX speakers carefully chosen to cover the various areas.

Evin Doyle - Just Lite’s Head of Audio - undertook the unenviable task of integrating the audio system which in addition to the KV2 equipment included 30 band inputs, 8 rifle microphones, 4 choir channels, 5 actors headsets, radio microphones and 12 individual monitor mixes – again reproduced by KV2 Audio courtesy of 12 ESM 12’s. The main Front of House system saw one VHD 2.0 flown stage left and right at a height of 5 metres. Evin employed a significant down angle to focus the system to the first half of the left and right grandstands and the performance area.  A total of six ES 1.0’s were used on 3 metre poles and angled using KV2’s bespoke vertical flying frames to cover the second half of the left and right grandstands as well as the rear grandstand. A single pair of active EX 10’s were installed as spot fill for the main VHD System and a combination of 14 VHD 4.18, ES 1.8, ES 2.5 and ES 2.6 subs were housed beneath seating at each mid/hi location.

Evin explains, “For me, at the planning stages, this was the most challenging and difficult show I have ever designed for or mixed. The audio results we achieved were also some of the finest of my career. The mixing was a dream. I could lift any source to where it needed to be in the mix. We mixed the audio through a matrix individually retaining a stereo image with less going in to the nearest speaker mix. For this show no time delay of the system was used as the stereo image had to be retained. The focus and clarity of KV2’s speakers helped to eliminate any discernible arrival time issues from the 10 audio sources.” Paul Smith, Just Lite MD commented, “What a huge difference the KV2 Audio system made.”

The feedback from organizers, audiences members and performers during the event serves as further proof that the common misconception that taking an event outside means you have to use Line Array is false.