The sound system installed in the Colombian music festival had to respond in conditions of sound pressure, intelligibility and coverage.
Bose
The 24th edition of the Rock al Parque music festival was held from August 18 to 20, at the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park in the Colombian capital. Famous for being the most important free festival in Latin America, it is organized by the Mayor of Bogotá and the District Institute of the Arts (Idartes).
On this occasion, the Colombian company Iluminación Jaime Dussan, responsible for offering all the audiovisual production services for Rock al Parque 2018, decided to use the ShowMatch DeltaQ linear arrangement speaker system of Bose Profesional, owned by it, to sound the Lake Stage.
During the three days of the festival, the Lago Stage received 18 bands that presented the best of their music, with genres as diverse as metal, ska, hard rock, acid jazz or reggae. Meeting the demands of this variety of artists and their sound engineers meant a major challenge for the technical team of Iluminación Jaime Dussan and his partners from P.A. Sound Colombia, who took over the operation of this particular stage.
Reviewing the space, a wide esplanade near the lake of the Simón Bolívar Metropolitan Park, and the particular style of the bands, Pablo Mateus, Head of Engineering of P.A. Sound Colombia, and who was responsible for the operation of the equipment in the Bogota festival, found that the system would be tested in terms of sound pressure, intelligibility and coverage.
So he decided to install a configuration with a pair of arrangements of 17 ShowMatch DeltaQ modules, of various models, on the sides of the stage and six more modules for the front fill. It also used 32 SMS118 subwoofers; 16 in front, located on the floor and 16 more hanging, distributed on both sides. In addition, about 70 meters from the stage, a delay system was installed with two linear arrangements of seven modules in the side towers. The system was managed through a ControlSpace processor, Dante Controller software and harmony module to control the equalization and levels of the ShowMatch DeltaQ system, as well as the operation of powerSoft amplifiers connected to the network.
"This configuration is the result of many tests in which we seek to find the best form of the system. We have worked with ShowMatch in many concerts and festivals over the last few months and it has always behaved satisfactorily," said engineer Juan Camilo Fernández, who collaborated in the design and support for the P.A. Sound and Lighting team Jaime Dussan. "During Rock al Parque the system handled very high levels of sound pressure, it was very demanding, but it gave excellent results, always above in the relationship of the noise generated by the public that filled the enclosure and with a very good dynamic range," added the Colombian engineer.
From Bogota metal to Congolese rock
The diversity that characterizes Rock al Parque is not only noticeable in an audience of all ages and the most extreme personal profiles. This variety is also found in the constant changes in temperature: a cold morning breeze to make the sound checks, heat and radiant sun at the beginning of the musical day and cold wind during the closing of the concerts. The same plurality that is discovered when knowing the opinion of the sound engineers of the Colombian, Argentinean, American, German and Congolese bands that performed on the Lake Stage.
"I had used the system for the first time at a recent festival in Neiva (Colombia) and I was surprised by its power, pressure and the color of the sound, which made my work much easier on that occasion. The subwoofers do a very responsive job, despite their small size," said Fernando Cabrera Sánchez, engineer of the Colombian band Rocka. "Today I mixed a heavy rock band (Rocka) and, as we say around here, I gave a little leg to the team, and it responded well to the technical needs. He's very versatile and it's nice to work with," Fernando said.
"Expectations were met. The system behaved very well and has a very cool headroom. I didn't have to equalize much, just a few corrections that came from the amplifiers. Really all the sound was there, warm and rich," explained renowned Colombian engineer Nicolás Romero, responsible for mixing the sound of the American bands Cattle Decapitation and Suffocation.
Suffocation, the band that closed the metal day on Saturday, summoned about 15,000 fans for their presentation. Audience similar in quantity, but very different in tastes, to which he listened to the music of the Congolese Jupiter & Okwess and the Argentines of Dancing Mood during the night of Sunday.
For Pachi Lazbal, an experienced Argentine engineer for the instrumental band Dancing Mood, the first experience with the ShowMatch DeltaQ system was satisfactory. "I'm more than happy with the sound pressure and definition of the Bose team. It has pressure and a long shot more than safe and precise, but it does not distort in the treble. Uniform is heard from the front of the audience to the back... it's super reliable," Pachi said.
The series of Festivals to the Park has three more dates during 2018: Jazz to the Park, in addition to Hip-Hop to the Park and Salsa to the Park. Three opportunities for the technical staff of Iluminación Jaime Dussan and P.A. Sound Colombia to take the Bose Professional ShowMatch DeltaQ system to new limits and levels of demand in terms of sharpness, power, sound pressure and coverage.
"Our job is to serve and assist the engineers of each band, review the values and performance of each instrument. The fact of sounding good and checking that the public receives a good sound, a good final product, is definitely a medal that we can carry with great satisfaction, "concluded Pablo Mateus of P.A. Sound Colombia.
For his part, Jaime Dussan, General Director of Lighting Jaime Dussan, commented "Rock al Parque was a major test for the team (ShowMatch), because the power that was required was very great. The team has responded so surprisingly well, that it has us very happy. We never thought it would sound so good, I think even the same Bose people who visited us are surprised!"
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