A festival to make a difference, a d&b sound system to help.
The first signs of Fall fringed the leaves on trees that framed the stage and surrounded the clearing. Christie Lake, Ontario, Canada was enveloped in warm September air and a gentle sense of anticipation. Every aspect of Greenbelt's Harvest Picnic had been carefully planned to deliver a greater message of sustainability and environmental common sense. Around the festival grounds local farmers sold their produce and other deliciously wholesome foods. Here was a festival that would make a difference.
Music industry veteran, Jean-Paul Gauthier understood that if the festival were to be a success, the concert aspects would have to be flawless. "d&b audiotechnik is a superior sound system and is always a top pick on artist tech riders," explains Gauthier, festival organizer. Last year, Harvest Picnic used the d&b Q-Series loudspeakers for the show, "This year, we were pleased to be given the chance to try the new V-Series and again we had great success."
"The V-Series excelled straight out of the box," reported Chris James, lead audio and systems technician of Harvest Picnic for Apex Sound & Light who supplied the system. "Literally hang, enter delays, and go." Apex had already seen the V-Series in use earlier in the summer, and James knew the new system would exceed the already high expectations from Harvest Picnic 2011. Using the same wire cable inventory, the same half ton motors, and even the same d&b ArrayCalc files, James was impressed how the system integrated easily into the Q-Series footprint. "The V-Series did everything you would expect from a big format line array, except that it's not a big format line array! It is a seventy five pound medium format, three way passive loudspeaker system. When you consider the performance of the system, the amount of electrical power consumed was minimal; a significant consideration for Greenbelt; but then in our experience all d&b systems have this characteristic. All of our expectations were exceeded. Times ten."
Gauthier stated, "The V-Series is an exciting system. It approaches the capability of the larger J-Series, but it's more compact. Easy in, easy out, which not only makes the crew happy but the labor bills low. Happy crew, successful show." The new d&b V-Series also made the audience happy, says Gauthier, "There was no distortion in the sound. It was clear, crisp, and could be heard well from everywhere on the festival grounds, from the lake to the produce stands. All of the audience feedback from this year agrees the sound was excellent again."
