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XTA performs at Glastonbury 2007!

As the Glastonbury Festival continues to grow, so does the contribution to the sound made by XTA processors, which this year were a feature of many of the audio systems on site. The dance music side of the festival is also expanding and the main dance arena (the East Dance Stage) was one of the focal points, with high profile artists including Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox and Mark Ronson.

Audile of Manchester provided a Funktion-One PA system, comprising Resolution 5s and F221 subs, with a range of XTA units including two DP448s at front of house, with a DP324 SiDD inserted over the left and right channels being utilized for system EQ. A GQ600 graphic was also inserted at FOH for guest engineers to get their hands on. To keep the DJ’s under control a D2 was set to work which helped to get levels consistent across the whole audio spectrum with the varying material being supplied by the DJ’s.

Long-time XTA user Jon Burton mixed two sets in the East Dance Stage during the festival, notably pop singer Mika and Pendulum Live - the more ‘traditional’ live performance mode of Australian DJ/electronica group Pendulum. “In addition to what was in the Audile system, I used a range of C2 compressors and G2 gates on both the Mika and Pendulum sets,” says Jon - adding with a grin, “But that could be because Phil from XTA was standing next to me and bullied me into it!”

“Seriously,” he continues. “I have used a range of XTA equipment for years. I’ve always been a big fan of SiDD, although Glastonbury was the first time I had used the G2s for a while.”

On Mika’s set, Jon used five G2 gates and C2 compressors on guitar, bass, acoustic guitar and vocals, while on the Pendulum Live set he used five G2s and eight C2s, including frequency-conscious compression. “I was using the frequency conscious compression in order to get the maximum amount of loudness out of system, due to the noise restrictions on site,” says Jon. “It worked very well, because the noise levels were measured on an A-weighting scale, which means the mid and high peaks have a disproportionate effect on the level readings. “By having the sub-bass at a decent level and using the C2s to really hammer just the big mid- and high peaks, the perceived loudness of the show was quite high. Getting it to sound dynamic and powerful, while maintaining low noise levels, was a juggling act but, given the restrictions we were working within, I was pleased with the result.” As a pop vocal act, Mika’s set demanded a different audio discipline [use the OFF switch - web ed.], but Jon’s careful control with the XTA processors ensured that the subtleties and dynamics of Mika’s music were allowed to shine through on a system that was optimised for thudding bass. “Mika was hard work,” he says. “It was set up as a dance system, so it made it more difficult. It was quite a challenge to get the sound right straight away, but the control afforded by the C2s and G2s meant that within two or three songs I was happy.”

One audio company that had virtually its entire stock of XTA processors on site was South West Group. “We had tons of it!” smiles the company’s Mark Bott. On the John Peel Stage eight XTA DP224s and two XTA DP226s were used for FoH and monitor control, with four G2s, four C2s and two DP324 SiDDs also at FoH. South West Group was also a main audio contractor for the new Park area of the festival and deployed six DP224s and 226s plus eight GQ600 graphic EQs at FoH and monitors on the Park main stage, four GQ600s for monitors on the Radio One Introducing Stage, two DP226s at the Park Backstage Bar, two DP226s and one DP324 SiDD at the Stonebridge Bar and a similar rig at the Kata Café. “The XTA equipment performed remarkably well,” continues Mark Bott. “We didn’t have a single failure, despite the weather! Any visiting engineer always knows and trusts any piece of XTA kit, which ensures I get a quiet life! We pride ourselves on getting the job done and sounding right - and all of the XTA products helped us to achieve that.” XTA equipment was also featured on several of the festival’s other main stages.

The iconic Pyramid Stage, which saw headline performances by The Who, Arctic Monkeys and The Killers, featured a mixture of 16 DP448s and DP446s in its front of house and monitor control systems, provided by Audio Plus and RG Jones. XTA power modules were used in the Funktion-One Res5 PA system’s 32 sub-bass cabinets, with Funktion One system tech John Newsham using XTA’s AudioCore software extensively to tune the system. Meanwhile, Skan PA Hire used XTA DP448s and DP226s for control of the L-Acoustics V-DOSC PA on the Other Stage, along with G2 gates and C2 graphics, while the EV X-Array system supplied by long-term XTA user Rick Bailey of RMPA for the Acoustic Stage deployed DP226s over the main system, also using a DP324 SiDD at FoH.

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