The SD7 is accommodating a total of 70 inputs and works in tandem with a d&b J Series system, comprised of 16+2 J8/12 mains, 10+2 J8/J12 sides, 5 JSub flown subs, 9 B2 ground subs, 2 JSub center subs and 3 Q7 front fills.
As for external source material, video feeds, etc, they’re managing an audio feed from a video server for the AT&T Sponsorship Video ads that run before the show, plus an audio-for-video feed for the special effects that start as well as end the show.
In addition, they’re implementing one of the new DiGiCo SD racks, as well, run at 96kHz, of which Cubby says, “They have a crystal-clear response and improved dynamics.”
“We are using Lake Processors to interface between the SD7 and the d&b D12 digital amps,” Verta explains. “All amps are networked, with control at FOH. The d&b PA is really consistent and versatile. Both the software and hardware are rock-solid. The SD7 is providing digital feeds with analog backups to our Lakes onstage. It also feeds a Lake processor at FOH for TV and media feeds. The signal path is 100% digital with analog redundancy at all stages.”
“My work with Eighth Day, touring with artists like The Killers, Chayanne, Seal, LCD Soundsystem, Jay-Z—and with quite a few Latin acts in big outdoors stadiums—gave me the opportunity to explore different setups and work with large PA configurations and compare the results through time. Juanes is particularly big in South America, where he plays at big outdoors soccer fields pretty much all the time.
“The challenge at those locations is to have a powerful yet crystal-clear PA response even when many times we have to supplement what we carry with us with local PA add-ons. We would have Mains and Sides arrays, maybe a 270-degree hang, flown subs, four to five main ground subs stacks, plus two to six delay towers with distributed subs stacks, depending on the venue.
“Cubby runs subs through an aux send and sometimes we had three different aux sends for the different subs zones. Phase is very important to us as we carry a heavy loaded sub-bass PA but one of our goals is to have the right balance all throughout the bass guitar range. At certain points we spent a lot of time playing a bass guitar track through the PA, making sure all the notes had the right presence at different places in the stadium.
“Cubby is very focused not only in having a powerful PA but also an accurate one in the low and sub-low range. He looks forward to a system with enough dynamics to get the impact he likes but also very clean all throughout the spectrum. The d&b J series is really up to the task and we have been using it with great results at many different locations.”
Onstage, the look is very clean with all guitar amps in ISO cabinets located offstage.
“The majority of the mics that are being used are fastened to the drums and large percussion set up with the very best ISO adapters that minimize any unwanted noise,” Verta says. “This was well researched by Cubby and his relationship with all the different microphone manufactures that are on the tour, and this attention to the details is what gets us the best end results possible for the artist and the fans. There is a very small number of mic stands. The concept of this show is to have a clear stage, huge LED screens, big PA.”