Sound.com supports Sunburn
Published: ASIA
INDIA: Sound.com was selected as the audio rental company for the eighth edition of Sunburn at Vagator Beach, Goa. Sound.com deployed solutions across the event’s two main stages, the Dance Temple main stage and the Cubezoid, as well as the Techno Stage, Live Stage, Bar Stage and the Artist Village.
‘The magnificence of the stage design at the Dance Temple Arena was slated to be second to none,’ said Warren D’Souza, founder and managing director of Sound.com. ‘This year we had an all JBL VTX line array affair for a stage of this scale. I personally enjoyed integrating the sound system for this massive stage and was totally amazed by JBL G28’s ability to reproduce EDM low frequency like no other product in this country.’
The system consisted of 24 VTX V25s for the main arrays with 15 VTX G28 and 15 VTX S28 providing low end. The outer arrays were formed of 12 V25s while 12 VTX V20s handled the delays. Completing the speaker line up for the Dance Temple were 12 VT 4887 speakers used for front fill. Power for the system was courtesy of 60 Crown ITech HD 1200 amplifiers. At front of house, a Soundcraft Vi6 provided control. Completing the system, DJ monitors consisted of six V20s and four S25s powered by a further six ITech HD 1200 amplifiers.
‘Not taking anything away from the JBL VTX V25 that has been receiving rave reviews everywhere we have successfully deployed this year, the surprise package is definitely the JBL VTX V20. Much to the amazement of engineers and aficionados who came up to the console to enquire about them,’ said Mr D’Souza. ‘I can’t emphasise how amazing these boxes are. JBL has just raised the bar in mid-size line arrays with their superior coverage, compact size and tremendous power and headroom. Due to this, I am looking forward to deploying them as much as I can. The quality of these cabinets are path breaking and my favourite JBL speaker currently.’
The Cubezoid stage saw a smaller setup. The main arrays consisted of 18 JBL VT 4889 with 15 VT 4880A and six S20s providing low end. Centre fill was via six VT 4887 cabinets, with the same number again used for the DJ monitors. The system was again powered by Crown ITech HD 1200 amplifiers.
‘The sound design for this stage was particularly tricky because the stage position is such that a lot of our smaller stages are around it, yet the sound has to be powerful enough owing to the fact that it is our second main stage,’ said Shipra Venkatesh, production manager, Percept Live and Sunburn. ‘This year, thanks to Warren and the Sound.com team, I think we achieved perfection with our Sound design. The sound of the Cubezoid stage was controlled yet powerful; there was absolutely no bleed; and it literally felt like we were walking through “invisible walls” from stage to stage. As soon as the wall was crossed- the audio and impact of the particular stage took over. We have scaled great heights this year and I am confident, it is only going to get better.’
‘Working with Sound.com has been a fantastic experience. Now in its eight edition, the festival has scaled another huge step sonically and Sound.com has been instrumental in ensuring that,’ said Vinay Agarwal, technical head, Sunburn. ‘With such an amazing line-up of artists and multiple stages, the top priority was to ensure no spill or clash between the stages, all of which was flawlessly executed and Warren personally managed the programming and angling of the systems. Warren and his team were also able to make swift changes required on the Main stage during the last minute – be it adding more subs or accommodating additional requests, only to deliver the ultimate sound experience, befitting a music festival of international standards.’
‘We had to work hard on the layout and angle of all the stages,’ added Emran Khan, production director, Sunburn. ‘It was a lot of effort but we managed to achieve zero spill-over. It was indeed the best sound of Sunburn, till date. Kudos to the Sound.com team for delivering over and over again. Looking forward to some great work and associations, in the near future.’
‘Sunburn is the numero uno dance music festival arguably in the entire of Asia and every year one has to raise the standards and push the bar into producing a sound experience that is unparalleled,’ concluded Mr D’Souza. ‘My overall experience at Sunburn has been extremely gratifying as not just the festival, but the entire year has been amazing- the gear, the team, it has been rock solid.’