Selena Gomez recently completed a successful U.S. tour of 25 cities that required a cost-effective sound system with a small footprint that had to deliver uniform coverage and exceptional sound quality in a wide variety of venues.
As front of house engineer Jason Moore explains “We were looking for the best possible sound we could get in a small, powerful package that would allow us to find a happy medium between amphitheaters, theaters and arenas.”
Production manager Javier Alcaraz adds, “Delicate Productions, one of the companies competing to provide audio for the tour, had asked me to listen to the Martin Audio MLA system. So I went to a demo in North Carolina where I listened to MLA and was floored. I called Jason and told him, ‘I think this is the rig for you, where we are, and what we need to do with the tour.’”
Initially drawn to another system, Moore says “Javier really opened my eyes to what MLA could do in terms of controlling the sound, a key factor in theaters with balconies and sheds with aluminum roofs and other kinds of problems.
“As it turned out, the MLA system we were looking at could perform the way we needed it to, no matter what type of venue. Plus I was pleasantly surprised with the rig. I’d never been on the MLA before, but it wound up exceeding my expectations.”
According to Alcaraz, size was also a factor: “For the tour, they gave me three production semis for all the sound, video, production, backline––everything. And with the rig coming in as small as it did in the truck—the footprint was ridiculously tiny––that was a big help.”
The actual MLA system supplied by Delicate consisted of 11 MLA enclosures, one MLD Downfill, six MLX subs per side and Display 2.0 software. The audio setup also included Martin Audio WT2s for front fill and LE1200S stage monitors. Avid Profile consoles were used for front of house and monitors.
As compact as the system was, there weren’t any problems in terms of getting the levels they needed. As Moore puts it, “It was fine for the decibel level I need with this artist and demographic. I ran 102 to 104 dB peak with no problems whatsoever.”
