EAW KF740 System Makes Avril Lavigne Sparkle at Mistletoe Meltdown

	Jason Decter, front-of-house engineer

Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) KF740 system powered the sound for the A-list acts at the sold-out Mistletoe Meltdown show, held on December 13 at the SECU Arena outside of Baltimore. Event production company Showtime Sound configured a KF-series loudspeaker rig that assured the all-star artists -- Avril Lavigne, The Backstreet Boys, Sara Bareilles, Gavin DeGraw, and Plain White T's -- sounded their best.

"When I walked up to the KF740 rig and put some playback music on, the mix translated perfectly," said Jason Decter, the front-of-house mixing engineer for headliner Avril Lavigne. "Usually I have to struggle a little bit to get what I want." It was the first time that Decter, who also mixes for Blink 182 and Weezer, had used the KF series. "Never did I get into any soft limits or compression or limiting," Decter continued. "The rig was open and airy and had great detail to it. What impressed me the most was just how clear and detailed the rig was."

Shawn Hocherl, a vice president at Showtime Sound, designed the sound system for the night with 24 KF740 cabinets configured in two 12-cabinet side arrays, with several EAW KF300, KF750, KF755, KF850z, and JF80 cabinets for front, side, and out fills.

"The intelligibility of the KF740 and also the power it puts out for a medium-sized box blows us away," Hocherl said. "They're easy to fly off all our mobile stages, and they're so light."

Because the Mistletoe Meltdown stage was oriented sideways in the SECU Arena, Hocherl needed plenty of vertical, as well as horizontal coverage from the KF-series system he configured. "It covered the venue extremely well," he said. "The versatility of the KF740 is awesome. We use them more than any other cabinet we have."

Decter hopes to work more with the KF-series loudspeakers, as well. Their instant usability made his job that much easier. "They took the stress out for me that day," Decter said, "which was a nice change. We started the show, and it was over before I knew it. It was a little too fun that night!"