Hayes' current UK tour began at Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium on 20 April and plays in theatre-sized venues throughout the UK until early May. Supplied by Britannia Row Productions, the Aspect system was specified by front of house engineer Snake Newton. Having used and been impressed by Aspect at a Sugababes album launch and at the 2005 Roskilde festival, he was keen to explore the system's possibilities further.
The Clyde Auditorium is one of the biggest venues on the tour, for which six TA-890Hs and four TA-890Ls were flown per side, plus six further ground-stacked TA-890Hs and a TQ-425 sub per side, with TQ-308s for infill. Newton is mixing the tour on a Yamaha PM1D, while system control is via a pair of XTA DP428s for the ground stacked cabinets and two DP226s for the flown elements.
As well as Hayes on vocals, the live band comprises a drummer - playing a mixture of electronic pads and real cymbals - and two keyboard players, complete with triggered samples. So Aspect's ability to deliver power with clarity makes it the ideal system to seamlessly fuse all these diverse elements, which make up the overall Hayes sound, says the company.
"The sound is very clean, it's really smooth from bottom to top. And that's without having to touch it at all," says system tech Jonno Dunlop. "We're using almost no EQ on the system and the amount of outboard gear and amps is less than half of what you'd need for other systems."
To maintain the high audio quality, the directionality of Aspect is vital to the venues being played on the tour. Whereas a line array would push sound into the walls of the auditorium, causing problems with unwanted reflections, the directivity of Aspect in both the horizontal and vertical planes ensures that the sound is directed with extreme precision to exactly where it's needed.
"Being able to steer it off the walls has definite advantages," says Newton. "It's really smooth and there's no bark to it. I'm quietly confident about the sound for the whole tour." Dunlop says: "It's a dream to set up as well. It's physically very easy on the fingers as well."
"Once again we are seeing the Aspect system prove itself on all fronts" concludes Britannia Row's Roly Oliver. "From clean, clear directional sound to a simple tourable package we are getting great results for both the production and the audience."
(Chris Henry)
