SOLOTECH SELECTS SHURE AXIENT® AND PSM®1000

Kirsty Lamport
UK Head of Marketing
T: +44 (0)1992 703026
E: [email protected]
SOLOTECH SELECTS SHURE AXIENT® AND PSM®1000 SYSTEMS FOR
TIMBERLAKE TOUR
Eppingen, Germany, March 20, 2014—Justin Timberlake has again selected Montreal’s
Solotech as the audio provider for his “20/20 Experience” world tour. To ensure the tour’s
success, the sound company has in turn designated Shure as its primary wireless supplier.
The 2014 tour, which began in January, is currently in its second leg with dates across
North America.
Solotech RF Technician Éric Marchand is currently on the road with the band. “I’ve been
working as a touring wireless specialist for the last six years,” he says. “A major tour uses
so many frequencies these days, and production designs have become so demanding, you
don’t want to leave anything to chance.”
The tour employs ten channels of Shure Axient® wireless for backing vocals and the horn
section, plus four dual-channel Shure UHF-R® bodypack systems on all guitars and bass.
With the exception of Justin's vocal microphone, Shure gear was specified for the entire
band, dancers, and much of the backline crew, who were covered by 26 channels of Shure
PSM®1000 personal monitors, with 24 of them running through a single pair of antennas
using a series of four Shure PA821A wideband antenna combiners.
The production design of the tour is a demanding one. The concept was a completely bare
stage with a huge video projection screen behind; the performers make their entrances
from beneath the stage by elevator platforms. It was mandated that nothing interfere with
the audience line of sight, severely limiting the options for antenna placement. A secondary
“B” stage located beyond the FOH mix position offered another wireless reception
challenge.
“The arenas we play are always sold out, so there was no way I could bring cables and
antennas out closer. It was crucial to get good line of sight to the B stage, for both the
receive antennas and the transmit antennas for the IEMs. So we designed the system to
cover everything from antennas discreetly hiding in plain sight on stage. The actual wireless
racks, along with me and my scanners, all live under the stage.”
This tour is Marchand’s first time using Shure Axient. “A friend of mine was out with Bruce
Springsteen for Solotech last year. That was all Axient, and he told me it was great,” says
Éric. “Plus, I’ve been trained on Axient, so I was excited to use it.”
The system’s usefulness was immediately apparent. “We did rehearsals in Memphis, which
is where we got everything properly tuned and working together,” continued Marchand.
“The ShowLink access point made it easy to make quick adjustments on audio and RF
levels. Very accurate and efficient. It also saves me a lot of time when I do my RF
coordination in the morning. I don’t have to sync a single Axient pack. I just turn them on
and, boom, they’re done.”
Axient’s full remote control of all transmitter functions through ShowLink comes into play
when Timberlake moves to the second stage, which is more than 100 feet from the
antennas. To compensate, Marchand boosts the output power of the Axient transmitters.
“That allows me to optimize my system for Justin’s mic on the B stage. I keep an extra
transmitter on an alternate frequency for him, just in case. I know if I can get that
happening, everything is going to be fine, because the Shure systems, both Axient and
UHF-R, plus the PSM 1000s, are all going to be solid.”
Marchand is also clearly a fan of the PSM 1000, which offers the security of diversity
receive antennas on the bodypack and precision front-end filtering for maximum range and
signal reception. “The RF stability is outstanding, and I really like the CueMode feature.
That allows me to walk both the stages with just one pack and listen to every frequency,”
he explains. “It shows that Shure really designed the system for major tours.”
To ensure that everyone hears what they need to hear during the show, 20 monitor mixes
are required. That includes Timberlake, two guitars, bass, two keyboardists, percussion,
four backing vocals, and the four-piece horn section. In addition, the six dancers share a
mix, while the drummer uses a Shure P6HW hardwired system. PSM 1000 systems are also
in the ears of the key backline techs: the monitor engineer; instrument techs for guitar,
keyboard, percussion, and drums, and two more audio assistants.
Axient’s interference detection and avoidance system and frequency diversity feature have
proven helpful, even though Marchand routinely uses two scanners to monitor the RF
landscape. “My main attention is on Justin’s mic, so I have the Axient channels set up in
Prompt mode instead of automatic. That way, it alerts me whenever there’s a channel with
issues,” he says. “I also use the Spectrum Manager, which has a listen option, which is
really helpful. That way I can check it personally and decide whether to change channels. I
like to have my hand on the wheel.”
Another of Marchand’s responsibilities as the tour’s RF specialist is power management. And
that means batteries. Axient and PSM 1000 make that job easier with their optional lithiumion rechargeable batteries. “I did tests, and the Shure rechargeables actually last longer
than they claim,” says Marchand. “I love being able to see exactly how much time is left as
well, although that’s never been an issue. I keep two sets, and change them out every day
after sound check and before the show. On a long tour, it really saves a lot of money.”
Carrying about 60 channels of wireless from city to city is a significant challenge, because
large cities are almost certain to offer significant RF challenges. “On tour, there is a huge
trust issue between the gear you are using, the company you are working for, and the
people you are working with. If the equipment fails, everyone is affected,” says Marchand.
“When you have a tour like Justin Timberlake, you want to make sure the tools you’re
working with are top of the class. The fact that Solotech chose Shure Axient and PSM 1000
for this tour tells me they’ve earned that trust.”
About Shure Incorporated
Founded in 1925, Shure Incorporated (www.shure.com) is widely acknowledged as the
world's leading manufacturer of microphones and audio electronics. Over the years, the
Company has designed and produced many high-quality professional and consumer audio
products that have become legendary for performance, reliability, and value. Shure’s
diverse product line includes world-class wired microphones, wireless microphones and inear personal monitor systems, headphones for performers, presenters and recordists,
award-winning earphones and headsets for use with MP3 players and smart phones, and
top-rated phonograph cartridges for professional DJs. Today, Shure products are the first
choice whenever audio performance is a top priority.
Shure Incorporated corporate headquarters is located in Niles, Illinois, in the United States.
The Company has additional manufacturing facilities and regional sales offices in China,
Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, and
the United States.
About Shure Europe GmbH
Shure Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shure Incorporated. Established in
Eppingen/Germany the Company’s regional headquarters provides sales, marketing and
technical support for its distribution and channel partners within Europe, the Middle East
and Africa.