Japanese jazz festival solves long-term problems with K-Array
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: An annual Japanese jazz festival recently used K-Array Redline KR200 line arrays to solve long-term sound reinforcement problems caused by a lake separating the stage from the audience. Prior to the use of the KR200s the event used obtrusive large-format systems coupled to delays.
Named the Spring Jazz Festival, the event takes place every year in Ikeda, a suburb North of Osaka, using the grounds of Ikeda Castle as a venue. A lake spans the entire space between the musicians and the audience, members of which can be positioned up to 60m away from the stage. In the past, the event’s technical team has opted for a large system stacked on the stage, thereby seriously harming audience sightlines, and a supplementary delay system located 30m into the audience area.
This year’s use of the KR200 loudspeakers – supplied by Livegear Inc Japan – reportedly eliminated the need for the delay system, firing the front of house mix across the lake and reaching the 60m distance. Meanwhile the thin, 2-inch width of the arrays meant that the audience’s view of the stage was free of obstructions.
As an additional benefit, the event’s set-up time was improved as the lack of delays meant that the technical team no longer had to run cabling around the perimeter of the lake.
According to K-Array, the organiser of the Spring Jazz Festival was ‘highly impressed’, while the front of house engineer described himself as keen to use the system again.