RMPA rock the Grosvenor with EV

27 October 2003

UK - The Mirror Mirror Ball is one of the annual fund-raising events underwritten and primarily sponsored by high street retailer Next. This year's event was in aid of The Healing Foundation, and was held, as usual, at the Grosvenor House in London. Rick Bailey of RMPA was responsible for the Electro-Voice XLC PA system which carried the performances of Bryan Ferry, Liberty X and Robbie Williams' Swing Band to the furthest corners of the Great Room, and the 1000-plus dinner guests.

The event was notable for its comprehensive use of the latest Electro-Voice RE-1 microphones. FOH engineer Rick Bailey said: "We used the EV mics exclusively, the 767 heads are brilliant, offering far more separation and definition than other well-known models, also the RE-1s are very easy to set up; even with 20 channels of RF in the room, including eight IEM systems, the ClearScan software quickly finds an available channel."

In the wide but shallow Great Room, Rick Bailey had set up two compact hangs of six XLC127s. Mounted on the eight floor-stacked X-Line subs, four 1152 infill speakers took care of the guests on the far sides of the room. The rig was driven by 12 of E-Vs Precision Series remote-controlled amplifiers, and mixed from a Midas Legend buss-linked to a Venice stretch console and Bryan Ferry's own production system. Ferry's FOH engineer 'Pickle' mixed his set from a Midas XL4 with a further XL4 in use on monitors. Bailey explains: "We linked all the boards, using the Legend as master control over the K-T Helixes. More Helix channels were used for EQ on the lectern mics and outfills. Control was simplicity itself! The XLC system gave us very good coverage. With the venue being so wide, you feel you're halfway across the room before you start, but I was pleasantly surprised by how linear the coverage was from the XLC cabinets."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)