Twenty of the world’s top professional snowboarders whipped Midtown Manhattan into a winter wonderland to the sound of Peavey and Crest Audio during the JeepA® Union Square Street Sessions Action Sports Block Party.
As the competitors carved and grinded through an urban snowscape in pursuit of a $30,000 purse, a steady succession of DJs and live acts — including Trouble Andrew, led by Olympic snowboarder-turned-rocker Trevor Andrew — entertained the 10,000 estimated local spectators and an audience of millions watching on NBC’s JeepA® World of Adventure Sports.
Working with Doug Jastremski and Power Posse Productions, Michael Powell of Agostino Consulting enlisted a Peavey Versarray line-array sound system powered by Crest Audio to manage the live production at the second annual snowboarding competition, held February 7 in NYC’s Union Square. Powell said that the highly adjustable and articulate Versarray allowed him to overcome an unconventional stage setup to establish comprehensive coverage of the area.
“The stage wasn’t set up on a square, so we had to offset our setup to compensate for the awkward angle,”? said Powell, who has used the Peavey Versarray system on dozens of outdoor festivals in the New York/Tri-State area since summer 2007.
“We normally run six VR218â„¢ subwoofers to match our six-box VR112â„¢ arrays on each side, but we cut back to five subs because we didn’t have enough space—but that proved to be plenty. We ran the subs on an aux send and we had tons of headroom and clean sound. The only problem we had was the NYPD asking us to turn it down. There’s nothing within $1000 that can touch the VR218 sub.”?
Designed for extreme versatility in challenging live-audio situations, Versarray enclosures utilize an easily adjustable bracket-and-pin rigging system, coupled with highly directional ribbon drivers and 12”? Black WidowA® Neo woofers with dual 4”? voice coils, to control the sound coverage. A lineup of Peavey’s patented and patent-pending technologies, including UniVentâ„¢ and Ram Air Coolingâ„¢, boost efficiency to help preserve every component in the sound system for total system reliability.
Powell used a pair of Crest Audio Pro 7200â„¢ power amplifiers, one per six VR112 boxes, for the high frequencies. One Pro 9200â„¢ per side powered the mids, while a pair of 9200s drove the five VR218 subwoofers. He chose two Crest Audio CCâ„¢ 4000 and two CC 2800 amps for the monitors.
“We ran the entire FOH system on Crest Audio’s Pro 200â„¢ Series amplifiers,”? said Powell. “I love Crest amps going way back; we still have some 10001 Series amps in use, and we have a 4801 for some of our four-way systems. The Pro 200 is definitely one of the best-sounding amps, and the CC is literally the most power you can get out of a 20-amp plug. Crest Audio had the right amplifier for every part of this job.
“I also love that the Peavey Versarray is very feedback resistant,”? Powell added. “On our first gig with the Versarray, we were at an outdoor gospel event where half a dozen artists came off stage and sang directly in front of the speakers the whole time, but there was no ringing at all. That definitely gives us peace of mind, especially with outdoor events. When folks catch the spirit and jump off the stage, we don’t get too scared.”?
