Following the release of his second album “We’re All Alone In This Together” in 2021, London-based hip-hop artist Dave embarked on a UK arena tour in March 2022 that included two nights at London’s 02 areana that were supported by a system utlizing d&b audiotechnik SL-Series arrays, SL-SUB subwoofers and additional components supplied by SSE Audio.
“I’ve been involved with Dave since his ‘Game Over’ EP tour in 2018,” says front of house engineer Charles Bidwell. “This is our ninth tour together and it’s been a really significant step up to an arena show, but as always, my goal remains the same. I need to accurately represent his studio recordings in a weighty live environment; the audience are there to hear every detail with impact, so clarity and headroom from the PA is paramount. I want everyone to leave having understood every bar — Dave’s lyrical content, word play and delivery is world class, so both audience and artist deserve that.”
Bidwell has employed d&b audiotechnik numerous times over the years, and this time opted for 16 GSL12 3-way line array loudspeakers for the main hangs joined by 14 KSL12 loudspeakers for the sides while front fill was handled by a six Y10P point source loudspeakers. Twenty SL-SUB subwoofers handled the deeper lows required for Dave’s hip-hop stylings and a further eight KSL loudspeakers were employed in each of three delay hangs to provide ample coverage for the large-capacity venues.
“There’s an awful lot happening on-stage during this show,” explains Bidwell, “Dave, who raps, sings, plays piano and now guitar, a live band that consists of drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and six backing vocalists. All supported by 16 channels of playback and enormous video wall interludes. I need to glue all of these musical elements together into a show that flows perfectly from track to track and then make sure that Dave’s vocal is placed front-and-center. With the SL-Series, there’s a real sonic transparency out of the box and the workflow is fantastic, so it makes a tour of this scale as straightforward as possible.
“The ArrayCalc simulation and R1 remote control software are extremely powerful and flexible tools,” he continues. “The PA flyers were using the ArrayCalc Viewer app on iPhone to quickly reference the ArrayCalc design specifications on the fly. It works brilliantly, so once everything is designed correctly in ArrayCalc, when you unmute the SL-Series you’re immediately presented with the clarity and raging power that d&b are known for.”
The ArrayCalc Viewer app provides data such as splay angle, amplifier channel ID and cabling information, flying frame height and the height of the lowest edge, frame angle, horizontal aiming, Pickpoints, weight and load status. Any change to the system design can be distributed to each user to help ensure a more efficient approach to rigging in addition to supporting the system setup as a whole.
“The integration of the system and the software is key to delivering the kind of consistency we need on a tour of this scale,” Bidwell notes. “It’s one thing being able to get one venue to sound great, particularly if you’re doing multiple nights there. But to be able to move around the country and know that the experience you’re giving the audience doesn’t change is really important. I trust the SL-Series to deliver and that’s a huge thing – there’s so much else going on that being completely confident in the system I’m using is crucial.”
System tech Rich Kemp adds, “The fact that you get so much power from a relatively compact form factor with the GSL boxes makes them very tour-friendly. It’s pretty remarkable really. We could forklift them on and off the trucks with no messing around and were often the first department finished and ready to go. We ran the GSLs in compression mode and the arrays were very quick to get set and fly. They go up very fast, which is always really welcome on big tours like this where there’s so much going on at each venue.”
