MLA Compact chosen for Himeji Castle grand reopening
Published: ASIA
JAPAN: A Martin Audio sound system was deployed by Kobe International Stage Service (KISS) to support the recent grand reopening ceremony at Himeji Castle in Japan. The ceremony, held before an invited audience of 1,000 people – including government officials and politicians, saw the manufacturer’s MLA Compact multi-cellular loudspeaker array brought into play alongside the acrobatic aeroplane team, The Blue Impulse.
Started in October 2009, the renovation project has involved returning the walls to ‘the white egret’ whilst repairing the kawara tiled roof and recreating the symbolic Shachihoko (Japanese mythological animal) decorating its ridge.
According to FOH sound engineer Mr Tsudawho, the venue hosts a large number of shows and delivering even coverage to more than 100m depth using conventional point source systems has been extremely difficult to date. ‘But after using MLA Compact, I never felt any stress on the system whatsoever,’ he stated. Furthermore, the site is surrounded by a zoo and many residential properties, meaning that careful management of noise pollution was essential.
Six MLA Compact enclosures were flown in each L-R tower, with two DSX subwoofers per side groundstacked underneath.
‘The layout was decided to suit the efficiency of the staging although it was not ideal for sound engineers,’ explained the system tech, Mr Katanami. ‘I changed the coverage area of the system using different optimisations and adopted the infill system for the relevant areas. I also zoned the system to give me greater control of the downfilll cabinet.’
He confirmed that the following week there was to be another stage at the same venue — and he had no hesitation in once again fielding MLA Compact, adding that ‘not only the intelligibility, but also the controllability of any sound leakage is remarkable.’