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When it comes to versatility, Turbosound's Aspect® series has proved itself second to none and has now used its supreme power and clarity to deliver the pop sensibilities of former Savage Garden frontman Darren Hayes.
Hayes' UK tour began at Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium on 20th April and played in theatre-sized venues throughout the UK until early May. Supplied by Britannia Row Productions, the Aspect system was specified by front of house engineer Snake Newton. Having used and been impressed by Aspect at a Sugababes album launch and at the 2005 Roskilde festival, he was keen to explore the system's possibilities further.
The Clyde Auditorium is one of the biggest venues on the tour, for which six TA-890Hs and four TA-890Ls were flown per side, plus six further ground-stacked TA-890Hs and a TQ-425 sub per side, with TQ-308s for infill. Snake Newton mixed the tour on a Yamaha PM1D, while system control was via a pair of XTA DP428s for the ground stacked cabinets and two DP226s for the flown elements.
As well as Hayes on vocals, the live band comprised a drummer - playing a mixture of electronic pads and real cymbals - and two keyboard players, complete with triggered samples. So Aspect's ability to deliver power with clarity - what many have described as its hi-fi quality - made it the ideal system to seamlessly fuse all these diverse elements, which make up the overall Hayes sound.
"The sound was very clean, it was really smooth from bottom to top. And that's without having to touch it at all," says system tech Jonno Dunlop. "We used almost no EQ on the system and the amount of outboard gear and amps was less than half of what you'd need for other systems."
To maintain the high audio quality, the directionality of Aspect was vital to the venues being played on the tour. Whereas a line array would push sound into the walls of the auditorium, causing problems with unwanted reflections, the directivity of Aspect in both the horizontal and vertical planes ensured that the sound was directed with extreme precision to exactly where it was needed.
"Being able to steer it off the walls has definite advantages," says Snake. "It's really smooth and there's no bark to it. I was quietly confident about the sound for the whole tour." "It was a dream to set up as well," adds Jonno. "It's physically very easy on the fingers as well."
"Once again we saw the Aspect system prove itself on all fronts" concluded Britannia Row's Roly Oliver. "From clean, clear directional sound to a simple tourable package we got great results for both the production and the audience."
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