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| Lazy Bones |
The mother of all stereos
Vast system must allow for the speed of sound
Last-minute schedule suits expert just fine
CHRISTOPHER HUTSUL
STAFF REPORTER
There's a hint of mad scientist in Mike Wolf's voice.
The man responsible for making sure the audio at the upcoming Rolling Stones concert is as clear as it is loud, talks about sound in terms of watts, delays and lost waves in the wind.
"Sound is physics," he says.
Wolf is the director of special events for Clair Brothers Systems, the company hired to design and install the sound system for the July 30 concert at Downsview Park. From his office in Pennsylvania, Wolf calls it a "typical festival situation."
The plan — involving six or seven big rigs' worth of sound equipment — seems deceptively simple.
There will be a wall of speaker cabinets on either side of the stage, and 36 speaker towers — known as delay towers — dispersed throughout the park grounds.
Why are they called delay towers? Let the expert explain:
"When somebody hits a kick drum on stage, it takes a certain amount of milliseconds, or in this case seconds, to get to the back of the audience," he says.
"The signal from the delay towers starts at the same time as the sound from the stage arrives. ... It takes a lot of calculations."
The towers will also compensate for any sound that's lost to wind.
In other words, the delayed sound delivery is an elaborate way to make sure Sass Jordan doesn't end up sounding like a foghorn in a safety deposit box.
The day before the show will be one long sound check. The crews from each band will have their turn at tinkering with settings and preparing their equipment, all of which will be on wheeled risers. That way, no one will have to waste time setting up drum kits in front of half a million people.
"At show time, the stuff just rolls on, plugs in and goes," he said. "It's going to be fast moving."
To some, engineering a sound system for concert catering to a vast audience in a matter of weeks would be a daunting task at best.
But the last-minute preparations suit Wolf just fine.
"A lot of the logistics and final details always come down to the few weeks before the event anyway," he said.
"The more lead time there is, the more changes people can make. With this short notice, you can say `This is what's happening, quit changing it.'" |
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