Ten Powersoft X4 amplifiers have been chosen to power each of two, dual, leapfrogging monitor systems for the most recent series of Red Hot Chili Peppers shows across the USA and Europe.
All 40 amp channels of Powersoft power are contained in two equipment racks under the monitor console.
“The Powersoft X4 was chosen because of it extremely high power density of four channels capable of over 5000 watts each (2 ohms) in a single rack space, combined with the versatility of input matrixing, powerful processing and five high quality limiters per output,” explained Dave Rat of Rat Sound, regarding his decision to personally use Powersoft. “I originally chose the X4 to power the new Rat SuperWedge, then, after seeing and using the X4 amps and SuperWedges, Mark Vanderwall, monitor engineer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, requested X4 amps to power the entire monitor system.
“He proposed Rat build two racks that fit under his console that contain all sixteen mixes of amplification. Jon Monson, head of touring at Rat Sound then designed the racks with custom panels. Each fourteen space rack can hold six Powersoft X4 amps, and offers a multiple input and output options to power a wide variety of loudspeaker types and configurations. It’s hard to imagine that each of these racks can hold 120,000 watts of 4 ohm power with twenty-four inputs and twenty-four outputs.”
“In total, X4’s are powering six of our newly designed quad amped Rat SDW22 wedges in each of the monitor systems along with EAW MicroWedge 12s, dual drum thumpers, a drum sub, two Rat L-wedges and side fills. So far we have done two shows with the “A” rig while the nearly identical “B” rig was being used for rehearsals,” added Rat.
“We will continue using the A rig for festivals and promo show in Europe until we start leapfrogging the two systems for some July and August dates. Thus far, both systems are running exactly as planned. Since each of the two systems has a spare X4 loaded with all the settings that allow it to replace any other X4 in the system, and we have not had any issues with amp failures, we feel quite confident about the integrity of the setup; Much more so than if we had a mix of amps powering the various wedge, sidefill, subs and drum thumper brands we are carrying.”
The Powersoft X Series features two models; the X4 and the X8. Each featuring multi-channel amplification at 3000 watts into 4 ohms, premium DSP processing and Analog or AES digital input as standard. The x4 boasts 4 channels in a single rack space; the X8 8 channels in 2 RU. Computer control, programming monitoring and preset development is done via the Armonia Audio Suite. Optional DANTE digital network input available.
