California-based audio company Waveworks has invested in Alcons Audio pro-ribbon technology that’s deployed in support of events ranging from block parties to dance gigs, which can be anything from all-night raves to multi-day festivals.
Headquartered in Oakland, Brad Katz founded Waveworks in 2016. “The dance music industry tends to stick with what it knows, and a lot of the competition is racing to be the loudest,” he says. “I’ve spent my career searching for a true ‘3D’ sound that does not hurt after hours of dancing, where there is so little distortion that you can have a conversation and earplugs are optional.”
Katz (pictured directly below) first heard Alcons Audio pro-ribbon systems at a demonstration of the VR8 compact monitor before he founded Waveworks. “The demo was great, and it really stuck in my mind,” he notes. “When I started the company I went to a lot of demos, to really prove to myself that Alcons pro-ribbon technology is amongst the best of the best out there. Every time I heard it, I was impressed.”
Subsequently he acquired a system based on Alcons RR12 point-source array modules and Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers, which he deploys with his own custom single 15-inch and horn-loaded subwoofers. “The RR12’s sound has incredible clarity and is so seamless — you can direct it very precisely and I’ve never heard another product that you literally can’t find the seam between two boxes unless you use your eyes,” he says. “But it’s not just our trained ears that hear it. It’s a whole new paradigm. I love watching the faces of people on the dance floor experiencing such little distortion, asking what’s going on?”
He adds, “They fly or ground-stack very easily; they literally just snap together and, with the asymmetric morphing lens on the ribbon, they sound right with little or no down tilt when they’re ground-stacked. They’re very loud for the size and weight; one person can rig or stack no problem and nothing else comes close to the detail at that level. I can scale up or down for all kinds of shows, use them as DJ monitors, front fill, mains, rear fill, etc. They’re incredibly versatile.”
