Mainline Show Productions, based in Manchester, UK, recently invested in both Martin Audio Wavefront Precision WPS and WPM rigs, both part of the platform that was recently recognized with the Queen’s Award for Innovation.
The event providers, described as a one-stop shop for most technical aspects of live production and dry hire, decided to extend their capacity rather than simply replace existing PA. “We saw WPS opening up more possibilities for us on small to medium festivals, so went for 16 boxes. WPM will give us flexibility on smaller gigs in its own right, or as fill for WPS-rigged stages, so we opted for eight enclosures,” states Director Rob Lorton. He confirms that the company will also be pushing further into corporate and installation work as the industry emerges from lockdown.
Addressing festival work, he adds, “We’re confident the kit list should double our capability for a reasonably sized independent festival stage or major festival supporting stage. We’ll now be able to supply to multiple smaller stages. The ability to pole-mount [Martin Audio] LE100 or LE200 wedges will be useful too. Murphy’s Law normally sees us split across multiple jobs on a weekend, having to divvy up boxes, amps and cross-hires.”
The search for new systems began at the beginning of 2021. “We were soon well down the line considering a rival system that ticked so many boxes for us,” he notes. “We tested the water with our good friend James Jewry, who suggested Martin Audio might suit us better, with more immediate appeal.”
The company’s front-line system was nearing end of life: “It was tired and never had the live sound industry appeal we hoped for. We realized we didn’t have a PA that would suit an AV package, i.e., more compact, better sightlines, better audience coverage. Any new system needed to give us better market reach. Having Authorized Retailer status is also a great opportunity for us.
“But most importantly, a replacement had to be flexible enough to cover the wide range of our existing event and client demands, while also enabling us to grow, not just a like-for-like replacement of our old PA. It would need to handle smaller bar gigs with a band, indoor raves for 1,000-plus, and outdoor music festivals. We’d need great manufacturer support and a network of other suppliers for cross-hiring and collaboration.”
The search for a system to meet all the criteria had been an exhausting one and the Mainline team thought they’d found the answer until a Martin Audio demo was arranged with CS Audio. At that demo the sound crew immediately noticed the audio quality, according to Lorton. “It really upheld the Martin Audio brand reputation we’d read about. We were so impressed with Wavefront Precision and subwoofers—a big step up from our previous position. With out-of-the box cardioid sub options, that’s now a great selling point for clients with a design challenge for controlling spill into non-audience areas.”
Finally, he says, the clincher is the new iKON amplifiers that enables full box resolution control. Implementation of the advanced DISPLAY software will initially be supervised by experienced system techs James Jewry and Alan Lee. “However, I see most of our team being involved,” concludes the Mainline director. “Even our lighting guy, Mark, is excited as he can import his SketchUp files into DISPLAY.”
