D.A.S. Road Series Monitors at UK Festivals Given the unpredictable nature of the British climate -- with its deluges of rain from above and the resulting mud below, festival stages provide one of the toughest environments for sound reinforcement systems. Wellington, Somerset, UK-based rental company APR Audio braved the weather with D.A.S. Audio's new Road Series stage monitors at three major UK festivals: London's Feis, the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury, and the Hop Farm festival in Kent. APR's Andy Reed, who serves as technical director with the well-known audio services company, reflected on his decision to deploy the D.A.S. Audio Road Series monitors after chatting with D.A.S. Audio's UK distributor. "We had never used D.A.S. before;" says Andy, "but Sennheiser UK's Nick Pemberton suggested we have a look at them. My monitor engineer, Fabrizio, checked them out and suggested, 'Take these on; they're going to be great.' I took him at his word and they've performed way above our expectations." "We chose them because they're light, they're active, and they're absolute dynamite," says Reed. "They sound fantastic, the power is incredible, there's no weight to them at all, and we get very high volumes with no feedback at all. We're also taking very little out on EQ, which saves a lot of messing around." The Road Series proved their versatility by being used with a wide range of artists at each festival. These included Thin Lizzy, Christy Moore, Clannad and The Cranberries at Feis; every act on the John Peel stage at Glasto, including Glasvegas, Miles Kane, Example and Warpaint; and most of the Main Stage acts at the Hop Farm, including Tinie Tempah, Eliza Doolittle, and climaxing with that notorious perfectionist Prince. "We were told that Prince was very pleased with the stage sound, which was fantastic," notes Reed. "At Feis, Thin Lizzy's guys thought they were outstanding -- they said the stage sound was unbelievable. And on the John Peel Stage, it was the best stage sound we've ever had. The stage technicians were equally pleased. On a festival stage, it's important to have really light and compact monitors. When you've got a lot of acts, you don't want to have to keep moving big heavy wedges. But with the Road Series, it was very easy." "They stood up fabulously well at all three events and we're continuing to enjoy great success with them," Reed continued. "They are already our first choice monitor and we've got a number of other open air shows coming up that they'll be used on this summer. I am also going to see the D.A.S. folks in Spain soon, to listen to their other products." The Leftfield stage at Glastonbury also featured D.A.S. equipment, in the form of a line array consisting of enclosures from the company's Aero Series 2 catalog. Supplied by SouthWest Audio of the UK, the self-powered system was comprised of twelve Aero 12A two-way, mid-high line array elements, four Aero 8A two-way, ultra-compact enclosures, and twelve LX-218A subwoofers. Artists using the system included Billy Bragg, Paul Heaton, Reverend & The Makers, and Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly. "We'd done a gig with Newton Faulkner in Bath the week before Glastonbury using the D.A.S. system," says SouthWest's Mark Bott. "I was really impressed with it. It's a really well rounded system and it sounded fantastic. "We were so impressed, we were keen to get it out in the right place and, although this was the first year we'd done the Left Field stage, we decided to go for it. It was a great success and a variety of bands really enjoyed using it." "It's proving a very successful summer for both our own equipment and the brands we distribute in the UK," says Sennheiser UK's Mark Saunders. Dave Wooster, Sennheiser UK's live sound specialist, was equally complimentary, "We have been really pleased at the impact the D.A.S. Road Series monitors have made on the guys at APR Audio and the artists and crews who have used them. There is no better recommendation than a positive response from end users. With the number of UK festivals of all sizes continuing to increase, we are sure that other rental companies will be interested in monitors that address all the requirements of festival stages so perfectly. That is in addition to them being ideal for a wide range of multi-purpose indoor venues." 
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