A crew of three technicians (including stadium technical director Harold Sexton) manages day-to-day system operations at Bryant-Denny.
It was with them in mind that Q-Sys’ managing software was devised, offering a palette of functions that can be configured to any operator’s unique needs.
“The plan when our engineers designed this software,” Matthews continues, “was that if you couldn’t take this system out of the box, fire it up, and have it running in a single day, someone had not done their job well. People shouldn’t have to spend days of their time learning something when they should be making money.
“Anyone with basic audio skills can do this simply. Q-Sys training classes are one day only. This project was no exception. The Bryant-Denny audio team took right to it.”
Like A Concert
Optimized for the intrinsic correction found within the WideLine-8 and 10s, new Q-Sys voice files are resident in the Q-Sys core.
Representing a departure from the typical Q-Sys paradigm – within which voices are kept on the DataPort cards found in the I/O frames- these latest voices, because of their presence in the core, can be used in applications lacking DataPort cards, such as when line-level output feeds existing amps within an installation.
Over 95 percent of the music heard via the system comes from prerecorded tracks. Used for special events on-field as well as play-by-play live announcements and advertising, the system is mapped into a number of zones working within a delay scheme that was carefully constructed to avoid the chaos that could easily reign.
“When we did the time correction we treated the entire space, because you’re really listening to many different zones at any given point,” explains English, who has a considerable history working with live sound. “In the live concert world, there are many times that we do large systems that are more than just a left-and-right rig. I think John (Miller) wanted me involved for that reason. I know what the system should sound like, and maybe more importantly, what it’s capable of sounding like.
“Using the right filtering and delay, we made this system sound its absolute best within this huge space. For all the live sound people out there who think this kind of work isn’t for them, remember: It’s really just like doing a concert, only there’s no band.”
Gregory A. DeTogne is a writer and editor who has served the pro audio industry for the past 30 years.