At one of the two main stages at Milwaukee Summerfest, Clearwing Productions (Milwaukee, Phoenix) deployed EAW Anya arrays for a bill that included Bonnie Raitt, Cheap Trick, New Order, Third Eye Blind and others.
At the BMO Harris Pavilion, which offers seats for 5,000 under a wave-inspired roof lawn and seating for another 5,000, primary coverage was delivered by 14 Anya modules – seven per side – with another four per side covering the side seating. A dozen EAW SB2001 subwoofers stacked six per side behind the barricades in front of the stage delivered the low end, with four EAW KF364NTs spread across the stage lip for front fill.
Gary Brunclik, an IATSE-supplied freelance sound engineer who’s managed front of house at the stage since it opened three years ago, was responsible for providing support for visiting sound engineers as well as mixing acts without an engineer on a DiGiCo SD5 digital console. “This was my first time using the Anya system,” he notes. “I have to say, I think it’s a game-changer in the audio world. The technology it offers is absolutely amazing. I have finally won the ‘sound guy versus venue’ battle.”
Brunclik is referring to the system’s Adaptive Technology that enables each module to assess and then match the three-dimensional performance requirements of a venue. In essence, it’s an integrated system utilizing a high-resolution array of discretely powered and processed acoustical devices, along with EAW Resolution software, to generate an optimized result without need for physical reconfiguration while changing system parameters in real time.
“During the day we had to keep the sound limited to a specific area,” Brunclik explains. “At night we would open it up and cover the berm. The fact that we could do this by merely modifying the software is remarkable. I did very little EQ, set a high- and low-pass (filter), and was very happy with what came out of the box. I didn’t use any outboard gear, just came straight out of the SD5 and into the DSP with nothing in between. It could not have been simpler.”