Live production company Creative Audio (Rockford, IL) provided sound reinforcement, including Harman’s JBL VTX line arrays driven by Crown I-Tech HD power amplifiers, for the recent Alice In Chains tour of North America, which saw the band performing in theaters and arenas.
A month-long endeavor consisting of four to five shows a week, the tour served up the band’s trademark heavy rock music with high SPL. To deliver it in full, Creative Audio deployed 24 JBL VTX V25 loudspeakers, 16 VTX G28 subwoofers, 12 VerTec VT4888 loudspeakers and 28 Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers.
“We’ve recently graduated from VerTec to the VTX line arrays, and so far the results have been positive,” notes Chris Mentzel, owner of Creative Audio. “These boxes are absolutely comfortable with reaching the high SPL levels of heavy rock music. The sheer output is amazing, and thus we can use fewer subs and have twice as much low end when compared with the older boxes. The high end is great, because it’s so smooth without sounding piercing at all.”
Two Creative Audio technicians traveled with the band, utilizing JBL HiQnet Performance Manager to help with system configuration and other key details.
“When we started getting into Performance Manager, we liked it so much that it has now completely replaced our old system. It’s a real lifesaver,” Mentzel says. “Combined with the I-Tech 12000HD amps, everything is easier to navigate. The amps are so powerful that we no longer need an external processor in line.”
Creative Audio currently plans to double its VTX inventory within nine months.
Creative Audio
JBL Professional
Crown Audio
Harman Professional