Sage Gateshead upgrades main auditorium with RCF

The concert hall has been renovated with the replacement of the line array RCF HDL 20-A for an HDL 30-A, y, besides, a revision has been made to the subwoofer design which now comprises 10 SUB 9006-AS.

The complex Sage Gateshead, composed of a concert hall and a music education center, has been standardized for a long time RCF systems at its headquarters in the north east of England, en Gateshead, on the banks of the river Tyne.

The main auditorium of the concert hall, Sage One, has required a complete overhaul in response to the removal of its stall seats on certain stages. This has led to the line array RCF HDL 20-A be replaced by a HDL 30-A, more robust, along with a review of its subwoofer design which now comprises 10 SUB 9006-AS. Equipment that has been supplied by Ingram AV.

The technical director of the place, Graham Orchard, explains how the capital project to change the functionality of the room's seating came about and how it affected the public address system.

“The original seats were never designed to be removed”, admit. “We had only done a permanent event once, for him BBC 6 Music Festival in 2015. It was a major job and it damaged the inserts they were screwed to. The goal of the capital project was to change the release mechanism so that the seats could be removed easily and in less time..

At the same time, Sage Gateshead knew that if they wanted to organize permanent events they would have to address the public address system. A standing concert would offer a different type of experience to the audience, while significantly increasing capacity in the stalls.

With extensive experience in both location and HDL features through his previous company, Andy Magee, de RCF Engineering Support Group, had already recorded numerous measurements for different scenarios (For example, with the stage extended). I had spent a week with 24 reference microphones distributed throughout the room and, consequently, advised on the new configuration, which included fill speakers from RCF's TT range, with the entire system now controlled and networked via RCF's proprietary RDNet.

In the new configuration, L/R panels 12 HDL 30-A active line array cabinets of 2×10” collect the coverage of row F at the level of the cubicles and extend to the levels 2 y 3 of the balconies, while a floor stack three additional HDL 30-A and a single RCF SUB 9004-AS per side cover the audience in the first four rows.

Four HDL 26-A at the front of the stage provide edge padding, while two TT 10-A provide fill coverage at stall level and another four TT 10-A perform the same task at the balcony levels..

“The group of two TT hangers 10 covers the boxes on each side, each of which has capacity for eight seats. The other four, that leave the PA, are aimed at level balconies 2 y 3”, explica Graham Orchard.

As operators struggled with the inherent problems of the inclined and curved contour, and the subsequent construction of new flat platforms for the FOH control position, It was the deployment of the subwoofers that was causing the biggest problems.

Initially they placed three SUB 9006-AS per side in cardioid configuration and later increased to four. However, the cardioid was later removed due to the contours of the room and because it was decided that it sounded better without it.

“The rejection we got from the cardioid was not that significant”, admite Graham Orchard. “The ideal would be to have the subwoofers under the stage in a linear pattern; but that was impossible, since the stage is in an elevator, so the subs have to stack on the floor. They also have to be placed very far from the stage due to line of sight problems..

As a precaution, two more SUB 9006-AS have been added as utilities, as while they can be used to reinforce existing artillery as needed in the main auditorium, They can also be transported on dollies to another space and used with the house. HDL6.

Control is equally vital and with the move to HDL 30-A Andy Magee has now integrated RDNet and RCF software to provide greater capabilities. While the system itself was tuned and time-aligned using RDNet, Control tablet gives engineers access to trim and adjust EQ for all zones via custom BSS Soundweb platform.

Through the control panel there are now several settings for step reduction, the standard stage extension and the full stage extension (that affect delays) primarily enabled through RDNet.

But no matter how great the achievement of this elegant integration, The need for HDL 30-A to be compatible with the requirements of classical concert halls was paramount, especially as Sage Gateshead is home to his orchestra, La Royal Northern Sinfoonia. RCF worked to create a custom preset in RDNet that optimized performance, ensuring that the low noise level existing in the place was not exceeded in any way.

The final pieces of the puzzle were budget compliance and visual continuity. “Having something that didn't completely change the visual representation of the boxes in the room was a key factor. Sage One is a 'shoebox' setup, so with the footprint suspended in the air and on the stage, simply switching from HDL 20-A to HDL 30-A was a huge benefit”.