Nelly's Electrifying Where The Party At Tour Delivers Unmatched Low-End and Consistency With d&b audiotechnik SL-Series

Philadelphia, PA – Rap superstar  Nelly is bringing the heat to North American audiences with Ja Rule, Chingy, and Eve, among other acts for the Where The Party At tour, powered by a comprehensive d&b audiotechnik sound system featuring SL-Series KSL line arrays and SL-SUB subwoofers.

Event production company Synergetic, based in Bensalem, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was contracted by 900 Entertainment to provide audio for Where The Party At after successfully working together on previous events for Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne, where d&b systems were also deployed.

“Like all our engagements with 900 Entertainment, the objectives for the Nelly tour were clear: to give every audience member the same experience,” shares Synergetic system engineer, James DeWit. “The d&b audiotechnik SL-Series sound system that we deployed achieved this with exceptional clarity, dynamic headroom, and massive low-end."

"One of my core system design philosophies is to give the front of house engineers a consistent starting point, night after night so we can deliver the same experience to every seat in the venue,” said DeWit. “We’re hitting numerous music sheds, pavilions, and arenas on this tour, and d&b audiotechnik ArrayProcessing combined with SL-Series’ tight pattern control enables us to have tonal balance from zone to zone and front to back without low or mid drop off.”

Crucially for hip hop, ample headroom is a must, especially in the low end. "We're managing to push sub bass all the way out to the lawns in these massive sheds. The SL-SUBs don't even struggle and I'm not seeing any gain reduction,” commented DeWit. “The amount of headroom and bass you get out of an SL-SUB is unmatched for hip hop. I don't think anyone else can do it.”

With many tour dates occurring on consecutive nights, streamlined deployment and load out has also been paramount. “It’s crazy how fast we can safely deploy this system,” said DeWit. “Everything is remarkably efficient. The team starts at 8 AM and often has the PA flown by 11:30. We’re usually off to lunch long before our 2 PM soundcheck. We use tension mode on the KSL boxes and SL aiming plates on everything. If I have the need to change anything, I can quickly aim the boxes once they're in the air. d&b's three-point rigging is super easy and understood by stagehands without the need to give them much direction. Loading out goes the same way, it's really simple."

Feedback from the tour has been overwhelmingly positive. “Nelly’s getting the volume levels he wants on stage. Both mix engineers have been super happy, they’re getting what they need at front-of-house and their mix is being translated throughout the venue,” DeWit concludes. “This has been especially amazing in the music sheds, with their different roofs and combinations of inside and outside reflections. There is so much variation from venue to venue, but even when we’re playing outdoor shows, with d&b audiotechnik, we’re able to put the sound exactly where we want it and keep it away from where we don’t.”

About The System Configuration

The tour’s comprehensive d&b audiotechnik system, deployed by Synergetic features 14 x KSL8 and 4 x KSL12 loudspeakers per side for the main PA line arrays, 12 x V-Series V8 line arrays per side for the outfills, with additional V8 sometimes deployed for 270-degree or upstage hangs in arenas. The low-frequency foundation is provided by 20 x SL-SUB subwoofers on the ground and 6 x – 8 x flown J-SUB per side, depending on the venue.  6 x V10P point source are used as front fills. The monitor rig comprises 4 x J-Series J8 per side for artist side fills, 2 x J-SUB subwoofers per side, and numerous M4 monitors. The entire system is powered by 48 x D80 amplifiers.

About d&b audiotechnik.

d&b audiotechnik provides professional audio technology and solutions to accurately transfer passions through high-end quality speech and music reproduction. d&b audiotechnik is internationally regarded as a leading company for sound reinforcement systems in installed and mobile applications, with a reputation for quality of construction, standard of service, system integration principles, and pioneering technological development.

Founded in Germany in 1981, d&b audiotechnik headquarters are located in Backnang, near Stuttgart, where research, development and production take place. With sales offices in major cities around the world, the d&b audiotechnik team numbers more than 600 co-workers. www.dbaudio.com.

d&b audiotechnik is part of d&b group which provides professional audio technology and AVLM solutions to create memorable, multisensorial experiences.

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