Featuring some of the world’s premier DJs, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival Yuma Tent’s aim was to recreate the experience of a high-end nightclub. With this goal in mind, sound designer George Stavro, owner and head designer of Sonic Lab Audio and Integral Sound, chose a JBL VTX loudspeaker system.
‘This year, we were able to reorient the Yuma Tent to be more conducive to great sound and also to design a system from a clean slate,’ Stavro says. ‘I chose the JBL VTX system as I believe the V25-II is a true full-range speaker with an extremely smooth and extended high frequency response, and a LF response down that extends down to 40Hz. The V25-II stacked on top of the G28s with S28s and VRX 932s across the front of the stage formed a great system that managed very high SPL for more than 12 hours a day without becoming aggressive or fatiguing.’
Set in Southern California’s hot and dusty desert, the main festival stage employed 16 JBL VTX V25-II boxes in four platform-elevated ground stacks of four around the Yuma Tent. Twenty-four dual 18-inch subwoofers were deployed, including 12 JBL VTX G28s and 12 JBL VTX S28s, which were deployed in an EDS-array across the front of the stage and in a cardioid configuration underneath the main PA stacks in the tent. The system was powered by four Crown VRack 4x3500HD and four Crown VRack 12000HD rack packages, with the entire system using JBL Performance Manager 2.0 for system equalisation and real-time monitoring.
‘The sound system designed for the Yuma Stage by our sound designer George Stavro was amazing,’ says Hollywood nightclub owner and Yuma Stage curator Kobi Danan. ‘On his recommendation, we used the new JBL line array system that sounded great over both weekends. It was by far the best sound, and the most successful Yuma Tent to date.’
In addition to the main PA system, a DJ monitor system was designed to offer significant impact and clarity, but in a relatively small footprint. With the use of VTX-standard V5 tunings, the DJ monitor system provided a sonic signature that gave the performing artists a precise idea of how their music was translating to the audience. Onstage, two stacks were used, each made up of three JBL VTX V20 loudspeakers with one JBL VTX S25 subwoofer and one JBL VTX S28 subwoofer. After three days of performances, ‘the DJs had nothing but praise for the S28/S25/V20 DJ monitor system,’ Stavro says. ‘The entire package made for a very impressive PA system and created an incredible environment to enjoy dance music for all six days.’
Unofficially regarded as the opening event for the summer festival season, the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. It was founded by Paul Tollett in 1999 and is organised by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Live. The event features many genres of music, including rock, indie, hip-hop and EDM, as well as art installations and sculptures. Six stages continuously host live music across the grounds for two consecutive weekends. The Yuma Stage was introduced in 2013.
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