TobyMac’s “Hits Deep” tour is playing to audiences in arenas across 32 American cities, using a Meyer Sound LEOâ„¢ linear large-scale sound reinforcement system. Supplied by White House, Tenn.-based Blackhawk Audio, the LEO system is proving to be the perfect vehicle for TobyMac’s blend of contemporary Christian music influenced by rap, hip-hop, hard rock, and reggae.
Ryan Lampa, TobyMac’s FOH engineer for the past nine years, first experienced LEO during TobyMac’s performance at a benefit concert last year.
“As soon as the quick sound check started, I was amazed,” Lampa recalls. “I could hear everything very accurately—I first thought that would be very unforgiving, because nothing would be hidden. But mixing during the show, I quickly appreciated LEO’s clarity and headroom. I knew I wanted LEO for the coming tour.”
The current “Hits Deep” tour features twin arrays of 10-each LEO-M line array loudspeakers over four MICAA® line array loudspeakers for down fill. Twenty M’elodieA® line array loudspeakers provide house outfill, and low-end punch comes from 12 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements.
“With LEO, I’m finding myself in a comfortable spot where I can trust the PA and not have to manipulate it,” says Lampa. “I can concentrate on working the console without having to compensate for what the PA might do to the mix.
“The 1100-LFC is warm, full, and accurate,” adds Lampa. “It has so much headroom that I can actually find a spot I like, then turn it down a bit.”
System drive and alignment are provided by a GalileoA® Callistoâ„¢ loudspeaker management system comprising one Galileo 616 and two Galileo Callisto 616 array processors.
“I’ve become a huge fan of Galileo lately,” says Lampa. “It’s accurate and flexible, and parametric EQ doesn’t exhibit the degree of phase shift I sometimes hear in other processors.”
Stage foldback for the tour includes four flown JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers and four 700-HP subwoofers for side fill, one 700-HP subwoofer for the drums, and two MJF-212A stage monitors. Blackhawk Audio has also provided Avid VENUE Profile consoles for FOH and monitor mixing and a Shure UHF-R wireless system with Beta 87A capsules. Shure hard-wired and PSM 1000 wireless in-ear monitoring systems are part of TobyMac’s own production kit.
The 2014 leg of the “Hits Deep” tour kicks off on February 13 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Supporting acts are Matthew West, Mandisa, Brandon Heath, Matt Maher, and Capital Kings.
