Upsize, Downsize

QSC rolls with R.E.M. tour

 

21.03.2005 

With client R.E.M. now winding their way across Africa and the Far East, Mark Carlson of Seattle-based Carlson Audio Systems can safely give pause and reflect on the nature of the band's North American tour just past.

 

"It was a theatre tour for the most part, but it did a lot of upsizing and downsizing," the concert sound veteran acknowledges. "On any given night, the band could find itself in a venue ranging from 1,400 to 10,000 seats. To compensate, we sent out a lot of mix 'n' match components. Some of the gear we used one day, some of it we used on others. There was always a fair amount of change. If we needed something extra, we called on outside vendors."

 

Giving power to whatever came along, a total of 8 racks travelled with the Carlson Audio crew housing amplifiers from QSC including PowerLight PL6.0 II and PL4.0 models, as well as PowerLight2 PL236s.

 

Relying on an alternative power source for many years, Carlson Audio made the switch to QSC in 1997 and never looked back. "We run our PowerLights at two ohms across the board, and have never had a problem," Mark Carlson adds. "We've also found that since we made the change, our power consumption has gone down dramatically, our truck packs have gotten considerably lighter, and our road cases last longer because the gear inside our amp racks doesn't weigh the same as a boat anchor anymore. Pound for pound and dollar for dollar, we can't ask for more out of an amplifier line."

 

Continuing on their worldwide tour until March 27th, R.E.M. kicked off the eastern leg of their world tour in Cape Town, South Africa's Bellville Velodrome on March 4th. Moving on to shows in Durban and Johannesburg, the legendary alt-rockers took the stage at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan on March 16th. With them throughout the tour will be Carlson Audio Crew Chief Allan Bagley and Assistant Tech Mike Scerra.

QSC Audio Products, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of power amplifiers, loudspeakers, signal processing, digital signal transport, and computer control systems for professional audio markets worldwide.

 

For further information in the UK, contact Shure Distribution UK on 020 8808 2222, email info@shuredistribution.co.uk or visit www.shuredistribution.co.uk


Release 16