Brantley Gilbert’s “Let It Ride” spring tour marks the christening of the new Meyer Sound LYONâ„¢ linear sound reinforcement system from Nashville-based Digital Console Rental (DCR).
“LYON is extremely smooth and linear, and has power for days,” says Andy Wacker, FOH engineer for Brantley Gilbert. “It just keeps on going. It’s also easy to work with—there’s no need to manipulate the sound, to pull tricks from up your sleeve. It’s all straightforward, so I can concentrate on my mix.”
LYON incorporates the technology of theA LEOâ„¢A Family in a more flexible and compact package, and extends the advantages of highly linear self-powered systems to a larger range of venues and applications.
“Brantley has been a DCR client for more than six years,” says Howard Jones, owner of DCR. “For the bigger arenas this year, we needed a lot of horsepower that would still fit into a tight truck pack. LYON arrived just in time. The sound quality and the power-to-size ratio are absolutely the right combination for us.”
For the larger arenas with capacities up to 20,000, the system comprises arrays of up to 12 LYON-M main line array loudspeakers and four LYON-W wide-coverage line array loudspeakers. For the smaller venues, the system is cut back to 12 LYON loudspeakers total in each array.
The tour also carries 24 MICAA® and 12 MINAâ„¢ line array loudspeakers for out fill and front fill, respectively. Six 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements in cardioid or end-fired configuration provide low end, while a GalileoA® Callistoâ„¢ loudspeaker management system with two Galileo Callisto 616 array processors and a Galileo 616 processor handles drive and optimization.
With only six 1100-LFC loudspeakers up front, the audio team has been asked if the tour has enough subwoofers. “I just say, ‘Wait until you hear them,’ and that settles it,” says Wacker. “The 1100’s have an amazingly high output, and supply more than enough low end for the venue sizes we’re playing.”
The tour audio package also includes Avid VENUE Profile consoles for FOH and monitor, while the band usesA Shure PSM 1000 personal monitoring systems. A Shure UHF-R wireless microphone system with a KSM9H mic capsule is used for Gilbert’s vocal. DCR also supplied the tour’s lighting and video systems, with overall show design by Howard Jones. DCR’s system techs are Chris Wilhelm and Patrick Johnston.
“LYON is what I’ve come to expect from a Meyer Sound product,” Jones continues. “It does all they say it will do, and more. For one thing, the new rigging hardware is exceptional—it makes the arrays so much easier to fly. The whole package is a great step forward for Meyer Sound, and for us.”
