E (165)

81

LIVE!

March - April 2015

Martin Audio Tames Taronga

AUSTRALIA

T

he Twilight at Taronga concerts in
Sydney have become a summer family-
outi ng staple, since they began over ten
years ago. This year there are 17 weekend
concerts over a two month period, featuring
acts such as Rufus Wainwright, Belle &
Sebasti an and Conor Oberst, along with a
number local Australian arti sts.

For the last three years, Entertainment
Installati ons has been tasked with setti ng up
the concerts, which take place in the middle
of an open and crowded Taronga Zoo. The
performances will see around 1600 concert-
goers each night, picnicking as the sun sets
behind the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

The zoo itself sits facing the harbour, within
the leafy suburb of Mosman, which means
the event planners need to ensure off -site
noise doesn’t become an annoyance to
neighbours.

“Being a Sydney Harbourside locati on there
are a lot of local residents who you don’t
want to disturb with noise. Being located
within a zoo, we are also sensiti ve to the
animal residents, which is why we started
using [Marti n Audio’s] MLA Compact,”
observes Entertainment Installati ons’ MD,
Neale Mace.

The company had initi ally invested in the
Wavefront W8C Compact system, but

eventually moved onto Marti n Audio’s W8LC

line array, which Neale says has solved any

off -site noise issues.

“[The noise management protocol for

the locati on] asks for an 85dB limit at the

perimeter, but we can achieve this and sti ll

reach 100dB at the FOH desk,” he said. “[Due

to its] ability to fi t the audio to a designated

area, with very litt le audio beyond that

space, I don’t believe there’s another PA on

the market that can deliver the coverage and

level that’s required without causing off -site

noise.”

Neale and his crew have rigged 8 x MLA

Compact elements per side in the PA towers,

on 1-tonne chain blocks. Along with two

Yamaha CL5 consoles, a number of Marti n

Audio LE1200 wedges and three DSX subs

stage-stacked on each side under the PA

hangs.

“This, along with the large complement of

W8C, WSX, W8LC and WS218X means we

have the biggest Marti n Audio inventory in

Australia,” Neale boasted.

The MLA system has left a good impression

on Twilight at Taronga audiences and (most

importantly) with the neighbours.

“I’m told by the Zoo and the promoter that

the fi rst year we were involved was the best

result they’d had in terms of audio quality,

with no noise complaints,” he said.

“We’ve built on that experience over ti me

and tried to make it bett er every year. Now

they are starti ng to book bigger and bett er

internati onal acts, boosti ng the popularity

of the event, we are getti ng more promoter

representati ves, tour managers and other

industry people,” Neale conti nued. “The MLA

system is instrumental in that success.”

marti n-audio.com

“[Due to its] ability to fi t the audio to a designated area,

with very litt le audio beyond that space, I don’t believe

there’s another PA on the market that can deliver the

coverage and level that’s required without causing off -site

noise.”

• Entertainment Installati ons’ MD, Neale Mace