The new Canal Turn live performance space at The Island Quarter in Nottingham, UK, the cultural centerpiece of a regeneration project that has transformed a 36-acre former industrial site into a mixed-use entertainment and residential location, is equipped with a sound reinforcement system headed by Electro-Voice X2 line arrays driven and by Dynacord amplifiers and electronics.
The system was designed by local AV integration firm Music Gear Installations, part of the MGD Group and needed to provide the flexibility to support smaller spoken word applications up to dynamic full-range concerts. “We’ve pushed the boundaries of technology a bit and everything is built around being futureproof,” explains Mick Whittemore, from Music Gear Installations. “The idea was the owner could put anyone on – we had to get to a certain level for the tribute acts and mid-level touring bands, but also have the infrastructure to enable major acts to play there. It needs to handle literally anything from a solo acoustic performer who can simply plug and play (with their own mixing desk if required) to a potential full on music festival.”
Music Gear Installations enlisted the support of Bosch consultant Neal Allen on the project, who suggested the X2 line array. “I know the product really well,” says Allen. “The owners liked the heritage of where I had been with it and what I had done with it. When they heard it, they really liked the sound of it too.”
The open-air venue at Canal Turn is covered by six X2-212/90 line-array elements per side with two X12-128 subwoofers delivering the low frequencies. “X2 provides the detail this kind of project needs,” Allen states. “It’s a nice sounding box that can do multiple styles of music. They can run it full range, which sometimes they do when they are just doing the screen and it will cope well with whatever they need it to do.” On stage, artists are supported by eight Electro-Voice MFX-15MC multi-functional coax monitors.
Dynacord IPX amplifiers power the venue’s MFX stage monitors while TGX models are responsible for the main PA. An MXE5 matrix mix engine delivers the routing and mixing capabilities while SONICUE sound system software provides user control and configuration.
“It was simple to tune the system with SONICUE and the latest upgrade version has also made it very user-friendly for the venue staff and students, especially for general system operation,” says Allen. “They only use the parts of SONICUE that they need – such as presets and level changes – which means that the system can be just as easily run by a sound engineer or by students on a day-to-day basis.”
Whittemore states that he is pleased with the result of the project: “The whole feel of the place is great and they have some really big plans. We’ve made a futureproof venue that integrates well into the surrounding environment and the plans for this area. Most importantly, everybody is pleased with the way it sounds.”
