The recent iteration of IrishFest, an annual celebration of Irish music and culture that spans up to 18 stages on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee, saw the Cider Boys Rock Stage outfitted with a large-format PA headed by dBTechnologies ViO line arrays and a range of supporting components deployed with the support of local rep firm AudioBiz.
The system, serving the event’s premier stage that’s named for the headlining sponsor, comprised two main hangs of nine L212 three-way boxes per side supplemented by three L1610 downfills flown on the bottom of each array. Meanwhile, new ViO C12 constant curvature loudspeakers served as sidefills to fire sound across the stage, backed by X206 point-source cabinets as frontfills. S118 and S218 subwoofers handled the low-frequency extension, and W15T powered wedges performed monitor duties onstage.
IrishFest production manager Rick Bauer, his colleagues Brian Christ and Shawn McLoughlin from AudioBiz as well as various front-of-house engineers from individual bands, discussed implementing the system and its performance
“Honestly, the system performed perfectly,” Bauer states. “It was the second year we had dBTechnologies on the main stage, which is the loudest stage at the festival in terms of the type of Celtic rock acts. The sound was always clean. Everything I could hear was a pure representation in terms of placement of instruments left to right but also with a sense of front-to-back depth. The subs were powerful but clean. Everything just felt right. I’ve been to concerts where there are bad systems and your ears hurt, even at lower volumes. Even when the engineers were pushing things, the sound was never fatiguing or brittle.
“Importantly, I didn’t feel like I was hearing a ‘line array,” he continues. “I just felt like I was hearing the band. The most important thing I can emphasize is that we used a similar dBTechnologies system last year, and I had several engineers from bands ask me, ‘Are we going to have the same setup we had last year? Because we loved it. We had multiple engineers asking if they were going to get the same ViO system as before. When I said yes, they got excited. Engineers being excited makes my job easy.”
Paul Hoolahan, who runs front-of-house for Skerryvore, a headliner act that plays traditional Celtic instruments alongside synths, driving bass, and drums, says of the system, “It’s been great. I have to say that last year, working with the ViO rig for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised. There’s so much headroom. It’s also nice and flat, which I really like. It gives me a blank canvas for doing what I want to do with the digital console and all the instruments.”
Mack Long, engineer for folk rock band Hermitage Green, adds, “The ViO system is very clear. Any EQ moves I make sound very natural and accurate,” he notes. “Nothing sounds harsh; it’s all very pleasant. We also had no separate subwoofer mix, just the main left-right mix feeding the subs, and they took whatever I threw at them! I’m mixing at about 98 dB and there was no ear fatigue. It’s a beautiful rig for sure.”
Shawn McLoughlin and Brian Christ of AudioBiz also offer their perspective. “For us it’s the quality and horsepower delivered at their price point,” says McLoughlin. They’re competitive with the big dogs, but dB are the new kids. Well, they’ve been around for 50 years, but in terms of U.S. brand perception, they’re a fresh name.”
“That’s changing, though,” notes Christ. “This is our second year at IrishFest with this system, and we’ve had several clubs and production companies check it out at the event, and a lot of them are blown away at what dB has to offer. Then you tell them the price and they go, ‘Wow, this is really affordable given how much technology and power it packs.’”
