Noted front-of-house engineer Martin Frey has endorsed EAW Red Certified KF740 line arrays for main PA loudspeakers and will specify them as first choice on all technical riders.
Frey has mixed dozens of top artists from a wide range of musical genres, including Journey and Big & Rich. He is perhaps best known for his long-standing relationship with Alan Parsons, well-known as an artist with high standards for live performance audio reproduction.
The agreement comes after Frey experienced the benefits of using an expertly-implemented KF740 main PA system provided by H.A.S. Productions (HAS), with whom EAW is piloting the Red Certification program.
“Martin Frey is known for working with artists with an extraordinary commitment to delivering top-quality live sound in large-scale venues,” states EAW president Jeff Rocha. “That he chooses to specify EAW Red Certified KF740 systems shows that proper use of the complete EAW tool kit ensures that KF740 owners can deliver consistent performance that is second to none.”
Red Certification training is an on-site education and training program that includes the basics of point source and line source acoustical physics as well as use of EAW Resolution array design and modeling software, implementation of Greybox DSP settings with EAW Pilot in DSP-capable amps housed in EAW Powercube amp racks and use of EAW Powertools for on-site system optimization.
According to Frey, this holistic training approach proved more persuasive than the KF740 itself.
“The KF740 is one of the best line array loudspeakers I’ve ever used,” Frey says, “but that’s not enough to get me to endorse a product. Between Resolution software, the Powercubes with on-board DSP amps, the Greybox DSP approach and the Powertools tool kit, choosing a Red Certified PA vendor becomes a zero-risk decision. If you follow the step-by-step process to design, implement and optimize the system, you’re virtually guaranteed a good result.”
According to EAW, luck also played a role in developing the relationship with Frey. EAW technical training manager Bernie Broderick, who developed and delivers Red Certification training, recently moved to Las Vegas, NV, where H.A.S. is located.
Having known H.A.S. principal Larry Hall for many years, Broderick began working with H.A.S. to develop and pilot the training program.
“Larry and the team at H.A.S. always want to stay in front of the curve when it comes to delivering great sound,” Broderick notes. “So when Larry bought his KF740 rig, I started dropping by their shop to get them up to speed on Resolution and Greyboxes, which is the core of Red Certification training.
“Both Larry and I know Martin, so when Martin was in town for a gig using Larry’s KF740s, it all just clicked. Martin saw right away that something special was happening.”
“For me, the learning never ends,” Frey says. “Acoustical science is a complex field, and sound reinforcement technology continues to advance. Nobody can claim to be fully trained. EAW Red Certification is an approach I can support whole-heartedly. They want you to know the right thing to do, but they also want you to know why it’s the right thing to do.
“This is the future of our industry, and I knew I had to be a part of it.”
