Taking place for the fourth time in California’s Napa Valley, the BottleRock festival combines live music on multiple stages with the region’s tradition of wine, brewing and food.

Additional attractions for the discerning music fan were the live debut Alcons LR18 pro-ribbon loudspeaker system on the Lagunitas Stage and the inaugural use of Vue Audiotechnik’s al-12 on the Miner Family Winery Stage.

This year’s BottleRock was headlined by Steve Wonder, Florence and the Machine and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Iconic in their own way were the headliners on the Culinary Stage – chefs Gordon Ramsey, Masaharu Morimoto and Tyler Florence. The sound, meanwhile, was handled by Delicate Productions, who provided staging, lighting, video and audio on all five stages.

The Alcons LR18 system was used for around 25 artists over the three days of BottleRock, with genres ranging from country, bluegrass and soul to rock ’n’ roll and EDM. The position of the Lagunitas stage also meant that containing the sound was critical. The LR18 is a three-way ‘compact mid-sized’ line array combines the highest possible sound quality with very high SPL capabilities and throw. The Alcons’ pro-ribbon technology used for the mid and high frequencies offers a super-fast impulse response with up to 90% less distortion than conventional drivers. This enables the LR18 to offer a fully intuitive linear response, with very high intelligibility and non-compressed, identical tonal balance at any SPL.

The system comprised nine LR18 per side and eight BQ211 subs, plus a pair of VR12s for front fill. Power and control came from six Sentinel10 amplified loudspeaker controllers and ALControl remote control software.

‘There were strict noise restrictions, so we needed to contain the sound. Because the stage was in a comparatively tight space, the wavefront had to be tightly controlled. The stage also had many artists who went out in front of the main system and fill,’ says David Rahn of Alcons US, who was there to support Delicate Productions.

‘The system coped incredibly well with all of these factors, it really was the hit of the show. Delicate really liked the fact that the entire sub system only used eight cones and that just two VR12s covered front fill for a 40-ft stage really nicely.’

‘Whenever I encounter a new PA there is always a bit of trepidation,’ confesses Andrew Freid, who mixed many of the artists for Delicate. ‘But this was erased once I started using the LR18 system, mixing on it was a real pleasure,’ he says. ‘The LR18 has an extremely smooth response, right across the spectrum. It has a clarity and punch which was very noticeable, while the upper midrange doesn’t become increasingly harsh as overall volume is raised, making it easier to mix at higher SPLs. In fact, it almost begs to be driven louder and louder.

‘The subwoofers also were very punchy and clear without being overbearing. You could feel the low end without it taking over, which is not always easy to achieve. Coverage was also very good, especially considering the relatively small size of the boxes. I would definitely be happy to mix on the system again in the future.’

Vue at Bottlerock

Delicate Productions chose the Vue Audiotechnik al-12 system for on the Miner Family Winery Stage – a 20-box main system supported by 16 double 21-inch, self-powered ACM subwoofers serves the likes of Buddy Guy, the high energy world-beat-metal band Diego’s Umbrella, New York’s soulful Pimps of Joytime, and sharp-edged Australian indie rockers Atlas Genius.

The main setup was straightforward for the mostly covered outdoor stage – 20 al-12 elements were flown in slightly curved ten-box stereo arrays following Ease Focus 3.0 prediction design, and only minimal EQ points were added to balance the covered outdoor venue ceiling and reflections off the concrete building lining up the length of the audience area on one side.

‘They pack a punch,’ reports Sebastien Poux, Delicate Productions FOH Engineer for the Miner Family Winery stage. ‘There’s plenty of power out of the box, which basically lead to a lot of headroom on my master fader.’ This should not be surprising as each of the al-12 drivers was designed from the ground up for higher efficiency increased power handling and reduced power compression.

Every individual component development project in the al-12 has carefully weighed the design trade-offs — optimising parameters for maximum output capability and heat dissipation, frequency response linearity, duty-cycle reliability, and minimum size and weight.

‘I was particularly impressed with low-mid response of the boxes, lots of warmth and punch, without feeling boxy or muddy,’ says Pimps of Joytime FOH Engineer, Stephen Asafano. ‘I never felt like I was fighting with the system to get a desired result.’

Sixteen hs-221 subs were placed in a cardioid pattern on the ground along the stage, bringing the low-end coverage down to 25Hz and providing powerful, dynamic low-end. The user-selectable low-pass filters for the hs-221 Sub can be adjusted in the SystemVue software for any venue setting, with the hs-221 default being set at 70Hz. It is remarkable that the hs-221 subs are only slightly larger than most dual 18-inch subwoofers, thanks to Vue’s ACM technology, which combines both band-pass and vented alignments into a single, compact footprint providing more output and definition. These subs provide 143dB peak SPL in free field and 149db peak SPL in a half space environment.

‘Vue Chief Designer Michael Adams and Vue have outdone themselves with the al-12 system and the new 21-inch hs-221 sub,’ Edwards says. ‘The system has all of the features that any touring engineer would expect. The fly hardware and dolly carts are self explanatory and easy to deploy, which is integral for a touring system. The audio quality is easily in the top five systems.’

Additional front fill was provided by four single al-8s spread out on top of the hs-221 subs. Sound on-stage was also an all Vue offering with hm-112s and hm-212s stage monitors extending the Vue sound for the artists, and hs-28s with two hs-12s placed atop per side as side fills.

‘The combo of the dual-21 subs with the al-12s was really nice – the al-12 gives you all the range and power you need. Looking forward to hearing them again,’ Poux says.