Belfast (Ireland) PA company Wackiki recently employed its Allen & Heath GLD digital mixing system, comprising the GLD-80 control surface and AR2412 remote I/O rack, for the Arenacross UK tour, which visited seven arenas from Belfast to Wembley in showcasing an international line-up of pro racers and Freestyle motocross.
“We chose GLD because of its small footprint and I/O processing abilities,” says Steve Woods, hire manager for Wackiki. “The use of compressors, high-pass filters and 4-band EQ on each channel was a must. With some venues posing difficult cable runs, we liked that the GLD only required a single Cat-5 to connect the stage box, instead of multiple cables like most desks.
Woods adds, “The truck pack was also very tight with the amount of truss and PA involved, and the only way the tour budget would work was if all the sound and lighting production fit into one truck. The GLD 80 offers a small case for the control surface, a stage box that fit into the RF rack and a single Cat-5.”
Wackiki also utilized the GLD’s I/O in the back of the control surface for handheld radio mics and IEM systems utilized by race officials and announcers. “Having the radio mics in view of the operator was necessary to monitor the RF signal strength because of the long distances involved with announcers on the opposite side of the arena,” Woods notes. “The iPad software was also key because of the mix position. The operator was often behind the PA where it was difficult to tell what the PA sounded like to the audience.”
