Britannia Row supplied Outline Butterfly VLA line arrays at the request of the BBC and London’s Roundhouse for the 2009 Electric Proms season, which recently kicked off with the return of Robbie Williams backed by a 34-piece orchestra plus his own touring band.
The system comprised 12 Outline CDH 483 hi packs per side, supplemented by three Mantas “wide boxes” in each hang, as well as 12 Subtech 218 subwoofers. Outline T9 amplifiers drive all loudspeakers, with control via Dolby Lake 412s.
Butterfly has become the most specified system for the Roundhouse due to its high power and even dispersion together with its camera-friendly look, which is essential to televised performances from the venue.
Derrick Zeiba was in charge of the orchestra, while Snake Newton served as Williams’ mix engineer.
“The addition of the Mantas wide element has meant that you no longer need in fill/out fill boxes – the 120 degrees produced by Mantas does everything that you need. This was proven to great effect especially in the Roundhouse, which can be very unforgiving,” Zeiba notes.
“It’s my favorite small system – very little system or channel EQ was used to get unbelievable results,” adds Newton.
The Electric Proms continued its season with performances by Dizzee Rascal, Dame Shirley Bassey, The Doves, and Smokey Robinson, all utilizing the Butterfly arrays.
