Meyer Sound supports Dolly Parton on tour

‘We insisted on Meyer Sound because of its sonic fidelity’, stated Mike Fechner, Dolly Parton’s FOH engineer and production manager. ‘A significant portion of the show is dialogue, and vocal intelligibility in these large arenas is a must. Meyer Sound shines in this department!’ he enthused.

‘Our show ranges from whispered speech, to acoustic bluegrass music, to thundering pop rock, and it is challenging to deliver every fine detail of the performance to Dolly at all of her stage positions,’ explained monitor engineer Jason Glass. ‘The highest level of quality must be maintained regardless of the venue’s type, acoustical characteristics, and ambient conditions during the performance.’

Systems engineer Patrick Johnston described the show as residing ‘somewhere between concert and theatre. There’s a lot of monologue and interaction with the crowd, and making the spoken word sound natural in larger venues can be a daunting task,’ he explained frankly.

With these high standards in mind, the Meyer Sound equipment supporting the Australian section of the tour comprises 32 Mica three-way loudspeakers, alongside 36 Milo curvilinear arrays, two Milo 120 expanded coverage curvilinear array loudspeakers, supported by 12 700HP subwoofers. 12 UPA 1P wide coverage loudspeakers are also currently being utilised, as well as 14 MJF-212A self-powered stage monitors, two Galileo 616 loudspeaker management systems, one SIM3 audio analyser, and one SIM3 3088 line switcher. A Countryman IsoMax headset microphone is provided for Dolly Parton in all of her shows
, whilst Mr Fechner mixes the show on a Midas PRO6 console, with Mr Glass using a Midas Pro9.

‘The MJF-212A is suitable for our show because it gracefully produces the fine tones of delicate acoustic instruments as easily as it can rattle your bones with enormous rock and roll mixes,’ continued Mr Glass. ‘These stage monitors give me all the punch and power I could ever need for a pop number. Then we go into a very light, quiet acoustic number, and then jump right back into a high-energy number, and the MJF-212As punch right through all the cheering from the crowd with perfect fidelity. They can reproduce vocals smoothly with excellent feedback stability at any volume,’ he added.

‘I can’t say enough about Meyer Sound,’ continued Mr Fechner. ‘It’s very high fidelity, and for this show, where a good portion is speaking and storytelling, the vocal intelligibility, especially with a headset, is critical and has been quite a challenge over the years. Milo is smooth in the midrange, and it’s perfect for this artist.’

‘The equipment has performed superbly,’ Mr Glass added. ‘I chose Meyer Sound products for the monitor system because I can count on each one performing exactly as expected, no matter where in the world they are acquired.  Their versatility is also a key factor, and their characteristics are perfect for the dynamic nature of Dolly’s show,’ he explained.

Mr Fechner described the equipment’s performance so far as ‘excellent,’ and said that he is ‘very happy with the system. It’s been over four years, and myself, Dolly Parton and Meyer are still going strong,’ he asserted.

Mr Glass reports that artists he has used Meyer Sound with are ‘consistently pleased with the systems. I have received many compliments after mixing shows monitored with Meyer Sound equipment,’ he admitted.

‘Dolly's voice has to be pristine from the front row to the nosebleed seats. This is one of the only rigs that I feel is up to that tasks,’ agreed Mr Johnston.

Thunder Audio is the worldwide audio coordinator for the tour, which so far has completed dates across Europe, the US and Australia.  ‘We've carried their control and monitor package from the beginning, as well as their system tech Patrick Johnston,’ explained Mr Fechner. Meanwhile, regional Meyer Sound companies such as Coda Audio Services and Major Tom in the UK (which provided the "racks and stacks") have been coordinated by Paul Owen at Thunder.

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