As an American living in the Great Britain, I can objectively state that England’s festivals are far better than those held in the US. Perhaps the riots and fires that erupted during 1999’s Woodstock festival created a more conservative festival atmosphere in America, while UK promoters continue to deliver well-organised events with a friendly and accommodating atmosphere.

 

Between the bands and the pissed punters at these festivals lies the most important part of the show: the sound systems that make them come to life. Sound companies push their gear to the test all summer long to bring sound to the herds of people who gather in fields, tents and huts around Great Britain.

 

Possibly the most publicised festival in the world, Glastonbury faced a huge amount of criticism for its unlikely line-up of performers chosen in 2008. Despite Noel Gallagher’s opinion that rap did not belong at the event, Jay-Z and other big artists pleased the press with their main stage performances.

 

Organisers of the main stage opted for a Martin Audio line array for the Pyramid stage, abandoning the Funktion-One system used for many years prior. Supplied by South London-based RG Jones, the system comprised dual 15-deep left and right hangs of Martin Audio’s W8L Longbow high power line array, each with W8LD downfills and complemented by W8LC stereo infills. RG Jones dry-hired the Martin Longbow packages from London-based Capital Sound Hire.

 

System eq was achieved using XTA digital eq controlled by a wireless tablet and Klark Teknik DN360 for grab eq. Three delay hangs of Martin’s Synco W8LC-based line array hangs, with eight WLX units forming steered sub-bass arrays from RG Jones’ rental stock also employed to help ensure clarity across the 80,000 capacity arena. Acoustician Andy Pardoe devised a special bass array configuration made up of a row of 54 WS218X subwoofers, arranged in blocks of three (two front-facing, one rear-facing)to provide directional control.

 

The main stage FOH setup featured a range of digital consoles including a pair of

Digidesign Venue consoles in an A/B flip-flop set up, with a D-Show Profile as a FOH matrix. It was linked to the stage via an Optocore DD32E digital fibre-based network system via AES to the XTA loudspeaker processors. This maintained a digital signal path all the way to the DP226 outputs. The consoles’ integral processing and plugins eliminated the need for effects racks.

 

Another unlikely act for the bill was the legendary crooner Neil Diamond. Any preshow scepticism was turned into elated screams from main stage audiences when Diamond took the stage and cracked out smash hits like Forever In Blue Jeans and Sweet Caroline.

Diamond’s FOH engineer Bernie Becker used TL Audio’s Ebony A2 stereo processor for the gig. Becker commented: “We inserted the [Ebony A2] on the outputs of the DM1000 before Neil’s transmitter for his belt pack. The A2 really did the trick. The compressor worked really well with the adverse levels we threw at it and the tube stage and eq shined.”

 

The Jazz Stage featured an Electrovoice PA system chosen by APR Audio, while Chris Fitch of Skan PA chose the d&b audiotechnik J-Series system for the Other Stage, with a L-Acoustics V-Dosc as a centre line array, all amplified by d&b D12 amps with a Midas XL4 in place at FOH.

 

The John Peel stage featured possibly the most exciting line-up of bands for those looking for an escape from the mainstream artists on the Pyramid Stage. Spiritualized, MGMT, The Futureheads and The Kills were mixed by 24-bit/ 96kHz digital audio from microphone to amp, the first stage in UK history to use this spec.

 

Yamaha technical sales specialist and freelance sound engineer, Nick Pemberton employed a PM5DRH at both the FOH and monitor positions with a DSP5D. A dual Neutrik Opticon fibre optic trunk linked FOH and mons, while a digital audio EtherSound network linked the control, via an MY16ES64 interface card and three DME8o-ES satellite interfaces, to 16 of Yamaha’s T5N amplifiers powering a large EAW PA system.

 

“With monitors being mainly in-ears, there was no analog in the system at all,” said Pemberton. “All signals were split to monitors and FOH at the stage box, with a further set of splits taking the signals to the BBC for broadcast and a recording truck.”

South West Audio provided a VMB Lynx V8 line array for the Park Stage at last year’s Glasto. With bands like Franz Ferdinand, John Cale, My Morning Jacket and Battles performing, the stage used eight Lynx V8 active top boxes, with six Lynx active 218 subwoofers used per side, which were driven through VMB’s ARK 48 system processor.

Operations manager, Mark Bott explained: “We were allocated a very limited weight to fly from the speaker towers on the Park Stage and the Lynx line array meant we could get everything we wanted into the air with very little flying equipment.”

South West also used Sennheiser’s Evolution 300 Series IEM's with 500 Series radio mics, all with 935 capsules on The Park, John Peel and the BBC Introducing stages. It also used Roland Systems Group’s RSS M-400 desks for FOH and monitors on the BBC Stage and the RSS Digital Snake on the Park Stage.

 

SSE Audio Group was the provider for numerous festivals in 2008 including Bestival, Rockness, Cream Fields, Global Gathering Reading and Leeds. It has confirmed that it will provide gear for this year’s V, Oxegen, Download, Global Gathering, LoveBox, T4 on the Beach, Hop Farm, Summer Sunday and Cropredy gigs, with others still to be confirmed.

 

SSE switches between L-Acoustics’ V-Dosc and Kudos systems and a Nexo’s GEO system for its festival PA. Last year it used XTA’s DP226s and DP448 to control the V-Dosc systems. Spencer Beard, operations manager at SSE Audio, stated: “The audio quality is very good and, most importantly, XTA is accepted by a lot of engineers. The processors are also very easy and intuitive to use.”

 

Smaller boutique festivals like Bestival offer an escape from the huge crowds by capping attendance numbers around 35,000, compared to Glasto’s 170,000. Despite its smaller size, visitors were not spared great sound as SSE, Audile, Production Hire and Full Fat Audio provided top end gear for the various stages and tents at the festival.

The main stage at Bestival consisted of two drops of 11 L-Acoustics V-Doscs hanging above two ground stacks of 12 Nexo CD18 subs. Front fill was provided by 60 additional VDoscs, while side fills were combinations of Arcs and dV Subs. SSE used its own stage boxes and MB4 wedges for monitors.

 

The FOH position hosted a variety of analog and digital consoles throughout the weekend. The main boards were two Soundcraft Vi6s and two Yamaha PM5Ds on stage for monitor mixes. SSE also provided Underworld with a Midas Venice desk and Grace Jones used a PM5D.

 

Miles Hillyard of SSE Audio Group stated: “We do quite a lot of outdoor festivals and Bestival and the Rockness festival are our favourites to work for. Bestival has decent quality food stands and it is less commercial than other festivals. It is also more accommodating to the punters, especially those who bring their families.”

The Big Top stage at Bestival included main hangs of ten Funktion-One Resolution 5 point-source loudspeakers on each side, all powered by Full Fat Audio amplifiers. Project Audio in partnership with Production Hire of Northants, UK provided the gear for the stage. The company also used 24 F121 bass enclosures and ten Resolution 4 speakers for downfills. Martin Audio’s Le700s wedges were also used on stage for monitors. Production Hire chose a Midas XL3 because it favours an analog board over digital in festival situations.

 

Full Fat Audio provided 60 of its 10,000, 36,000, 2000 and 6000 model amplifiers between the Big Top and Bollywood stages at Bestival 08. The company will have many of its amps at Bestival 09, in addition to debuting its new four-channel FFA 4004 and 6004 amps and other models on the stages of this year’s Glastonbury, Trash City, Rockness (main stage), Camp Bestival, Jersey Live and Workhouse festivals.

 

Manchester-based Audile is another big player in the UK festival scene. It is a member of the Funktion-One Rental Network, carrying the largest hire stock of F-1 speakers north of London. In 2008 it provided systems for various stages and areas at Bestival, Creamfields, Camp Bestival, Glastonbury, Beachbreak Live, both V Festivals, The Isle of Wight festival, Escape In The Park and the Gatecrasher Summer Soundsystem.

 

Audile’s festival rig featured Funktion-One self-powered Resolution 5s with F-221 subs (the latter featuring Funktion-One/XTA A6 amp modules) and passive Resolution-5s/4s with F-218 subs, driven by MC2 amplifiers. XTA DP448s and GQ600s controlled the systems, with C2 compressors, G2 gates and a D2 dynamic EQ in the insert rack. It also used the XTA's GQ600 dual 30-band graphic eq at FOH and on monitors, as well as DP224s and 226s for controlling Turbosound TFM-450 wedges. “We strongly believe that an audio system should be transparent, from the signal entering the drive to sound exiting the speakers,” states Audile director, Rob Ashworth.

 

“The sound of a particular music style is shaped on the mixing console, so a correctly specified and set-up system will cope with any style. Our gear is chosen for its transparency and XTA drive is the best there is. It sounds great with any music.”

Ashworth also feels that the XTA SiDD and D2 processors were invaluable tools for its festival kit. “Their exceptional compression, limiting and dynamic EQ capabilities make it easy to stay within the limits we have to work to. And where those limits are particularly low, they make it possible to gain in perceived level,” Ashworth notes.

Funktion-One will be featured at many festivals this year. Audile will be using using its gear on the Glastonbury Dance Stage East, Camp Bestival Main stage and Creamfields. Taylored Sound will also use its speakers on all stages of the Wickerman Festival. Ward Steedsy will use its speakers at Solfest in Cumbria.

 Funktion-One recently released the new RM18 tripl concentric stage monitor that is suited for use on festival stages. Its 700Hz crossover point and natural materials used in the mid-device were engineered to give it clarity and definition in the vocal range, while its 18-inch driver make it suited for use as a drum monitor.