ASHEVILLE, NC 6.27.19—Reigning ACM Awards Male Artist of the Year and multi-platinum selling performer Thomas Rhett is headlining his nationwide VERY HOT SUMMER TOUR supporting his No.1 album CENTER PONT ROAD. Thomas Rhett’s crew is taking both the new d&b KSL and GSL line array systems out on the tour, supplied by Spectrum Sound of Nashville.
“We used GSL for main hangs last fall, combined with V-Series for side hangs,” states Front of House Engineer Trey Smith. “When the option to carry KSL as side hangs became available, we quickly jumped at the opportunity! It has been amazing to hear GSL and KSL work together. Our coverage on the sides after changing to KSL has been a game changer, and the low-end information is a lot tighter and punchier now. With no flown subs, this has been very helpful.”
“As a monitor engineer, I like to have the stage volume as low as possible,” adds Wesley Crowe. “Because of the amazing rear rejection of the GSL and KSL boxes, it allows me to have an extremely quiet stage so I can have a consistent and clean in-ear mix.”
Whether the show is in an arena or an amphitheater determines which system configuration is required. For amphitheaters, the crew hangs 18 x GSL8 for mains, 14 x KSL8 per side for side hangs, 6 x Y10P loudspeakers for front fills, and 18 x SL-SUBs on the ground. Arena coverage consists of 18 x GSL8, 10 per side KSL8 line arrays over 4 x KSL12, 12 x Y12 per side for a 270 hang, 6 x Y10P loudspeakers for front fills, and 18 x SL-SUBs as ground subs. Both configurations are powered by D80 amplifiers and utilize ArrayProcessing on the main and side hangs to provide even coverage across the listening field.
“When I started with Thomas Rhett in 2017, Spectrum Sound provided a large V-Series rig for the spring tour, followed by a large J-Series rig in the fall tour,” says Chris Clark, Systems Engineer/Front of House Technician, Spectrum Sound. “After our experiences with the GSL for the 2018 touring year, we knew that we couldn’t go wrong with the addition of KSL to the side hangs.”
Clark said that having both main and side hangs behave as full range directive sources has not only changed the game for consistent full spectrum coverage across both vertical and horizontal planes, it has also greatly decreased the amount of acoustic pollution to the rear of the cabinets. “This configuration gives us a much cleaner and quieter stage for our microphones to capture only desired sounds and nothing more. With GSL, KSL, and SL-SUBs, we have utilized the SL-Series benefits throughout the last two years. From a great increase in the relationship between direct to reverberant sound, which has been a huge help in problem indoor venues, to the massive amount of headroom to help us throw long distances in outdoor venues, the SL-Series has helped us walk into any venue with the confidence to guarantee the same audio experience to every audience member, no matter what seat they may be in.”
The standard d&b stage package for Thomas Rhett consists of 2 x M4 monitors and a D80 amplifier used for the performer’s wedges.For PA control, the team uses d&b R1 Control software, Newton by Outline at the front end of the system to drive four d&b DS10 interfaces via Dante, a mix of DSP between the D80 amps and Newton, with a standard L/R drive from both front of house and monitor consoles. The side-hang handles a flipped image of the main hangs.
“The deployment and packaging of the d&b audiotechnik systems is fantastic and allows for smooth and easy load in/out for the touring crew,” adds Kevin Twist, Production Manager for Thomas Rhett. “Spectrum has been a long time provider for Thomas Rhett and it only made sense that when new technology and budget became available, we would upgrade the system. As Chris Clark said, we started out touring with a V/V-SUB rig, and as that progressed and the shows have grown, we have grown the PA accordingly.”
DiGiCo SD5 digital consoles are used for front of house and monitor positions with Shure Axient Digital RF Mics used for monitors.
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Photo ID #1 Crew Standing in front of d&b rig: L to R: Wesley Crowe – Monitor Engineer, Jeremy White – Monitor Technician, Trey Smith – FOH Engineer, Ashley Burns – Patch Technician, Shawn Eacott – Sr. PA Technician, Chris Clark – FOH Systems Engineer/Crew Chief
PHOTO ID #2 Crew Standing at front of house: L to R: Chris Clark, Trey Smith, Shawn Eacott, Wesley Crowe, Ashley Burns, Jeremy White.
