True Blue in Virginia

January 2012
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WAY BACK IN 1976, in the days when PA systems consisted mainly of a multitude of bins and horns of various shapes and sizes and on occasions were famously placed behind the band, Soundworks of Virginia embarked on a path that has allowed it to grow into one of the state's most valued sound reinforcement service providers. The company was accompanied along the way by some blue boxes courtesy of Turbosound.

Steve Payne is Soundworks' founder and president, and along with vice president Grant Howard, handles all of the day-to-day business operations. With a substantial pool of excellent engineers and techs at its disposal - Bob Lipford, Matt Maier, Bryan Hargrave, and Gary Hudson among them - the company may have as many as 15 audio professionals out on any given weekend during a busy festival season.

Payne and Howard rightly think of themselves as innovators in an industry where following the crowd is often good enough. "Service and experience is what we're about," emphasises Payne. "We believe that you only get one shot to make it right, and that you are only as good as your last gig. Our goal is always to do the very best job we can, every time, and with no exceptions. Good enough just isn't."

But in order to excel at their craft high quality, reliable tools are essential. "I have never chosen a piece of equipment solely on rider acceptance," says Payne. "A tool must be the very best I can afford for the application - it must make my work experience better and hence the client's result better."

This philosophy has set Soundworks apart from the myriad of plain vanilla companies. "While I understand why people buy only the most rider-friendly gear, I feel these companies are always slightly behind the curve."

Payne was initially attracted to the Turbosound brand by the desire for a more ‘modern' PA. "When I started out I had a JBL rig - separate bass bins, mid horns, high horns: 4560s, 2482s, 2441s... all of that stuff," recalls Payne. "It served me well in the early days, but by 1984 I had become dissatisfied with it. There was a Meyer system in town that I was quite impressed with, and I was leaning in that direction. Fortunately for me, I had a very enlightening conversation with my good friend Peter Humphreys, a top engineer at the famed Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. He was Grover Washington Jr.'s studio engineer at the time and had been going out with Grover as his live engineer as well. They had used a Meyer rig on their previous tour, but had just switched over to a Turbosound TMS-3 rig. Peter was blown away with the new system and told me that if I was looking to buy I needed to check it out."

So based on Peter's enthusiastic reports, Payne quickly made a trip to Philadelphia to visit Carl Taylor of Crystal Taylor Systems - the company providing the Turbosound rig for Grover's tour. "Carl had a pair of TMS-4s set up for me to audition," says Payne, "and he put on a CD of the Car's Heartbeat City. I can remember that like it was yesterday - I had never heard anything sound so good. I was hooked; I still am. I left Carl's shop with four TMS-4s in the back of my van. I used to say that TMS-4s were like popcorn - you just couldn't get enough! I wound up with 16 of them." And so began Payne's introduction to the first modular virtual point source PA box, a design concept that has remained close to his heart ever since.

Soundworks went on to service hundreds of outdoor festivals with the rig, getting it to do things it was never intended to do, according to Turbosound's US distributor at the time. In time the company outgrew the TMS-4s and purchased a Floodlight rig, eventually expanding the system to 18 Floods and 24 TSW-721 subs.

The Floodlights were fielded with great success until 2005, when Soundworks made a major investment in Turbosound's latest point source technology: an Aspect TA-880 system based around a three-way trapezoidal mid-high with Polyhorn loading, and a punchy double 15" bass cabinet, both components designed primarily for ground stacking.

"We ran the 880s as our main system for a number of years," says Payne. "The 880 was, and still is, an absolutely brilliant system, especially for the ground stacked situations which had been the mainstay of our work for many years. Because of that I had resisted a move to line arrays. I had heard many of them ground stacked in the past and felt it was a very compromised solution. However, we were flying more and more, and with our growth into venues where we could fly, coupled with the unprecedented general acceptance of line arrays, it became obvious that it was time for Soundworks to put one into our inventory.

"I auditioned mid-sized line arrays from most of the major speaker manufacturers. Some were better than others. They all seemed to have their strength and weaknesses but none of them really knocked me out.

"When I enquired whether die-hard point source designer Turbosound had any plans for a line array I was surprised to learn from US sales manager Brad Stephens that if I could hold on just a little bit he would have something very exciting to show me.

"In July of 2008 Brad showed up on our doorstep with the very first Flex Array rig in the US. We took it to an outdoor venue that we worked regularly, hung six boxes aside and put it through its paces. We also ground stacked our Aspect rig just under the Flex so that we could A/B back and forth between the two systems. The performance of the Flex Array was little short of astounding.

"Flex manages to maintain the essence of the Turbosound character that I fell in love with in the TMS boxes over 25 years ago," confirms Payne. "The paper mid range philosophy has been consistent through every Turbosound system since day one. The low mid warmth is also still there. This is a characteristic I find lacking in a lot of the mid-sized line array systems out there today. In short, it is a very good sounding system with terrific detail. We closed the deal over supper that night and took delivery less than 2 months later.

"The rigging systems are really beyond clever," he says. "16 boxes on a single point hang from a one ton motor with the ability to adjust the entire array angle under load give us endless possibilities..."

Soundworks' owners quickly saw the potential to combine the on-the-fly adjustment facility with the SSE Prosight Laser system. Grant Howard explains the equally clever remote gadget he designed and that has been dubbed the ‘Tilt Assist': "After finding it a challenge to reach the worm gear adjustment while in the air, I thought it would be helpful to have a device that would let us make the adjustments remotely from the ground.

"We also realized that the angle of the boxes while on the ground is going to be slightly different to when they're 40 feet in the air with all of that extra cable weight hanging off the back of the flybar. Being able to make the adjustment after the speakers are at trim height would let us be more precise with our angles. The SSE Prosight gives us accurate readings while we make angle adjustments from the ground. The device itself is just built around a high torque variable speed drill that I did a bit of Frankenstein surgery on. The modified drill is fitted with a 13/16 socket and then permanently mounted inside of a custom box which attaches to the back of the flybar at the rear shackle point and locks the socket onto the adjusting screw.

"It takes about 15 seconds to mount or un-mount it from the flybar. Once in place a simple control cable attaches via a small screw-type locking connector and hangs with the rest of the speaker and motor cables. The drill trigger mechanism which was removed during my Frankenstein surgery connects with a small multipin quick-lock connector to the control cable on the ground. Once the array is in the air and at trim height, a little bump on the trigger forward or back while watching the ProSight Laser readout will let you absolutely nail any angle you need. It works perfectly."

Early adoption of any new PA system naturally comes with an element of risk, but Soundworks' innovative approach has remained true and allowed them to set themselves apart from the crowd.

"Both Aspect and Flex Array are absolutely top notch performers," says Payne. "They are as good as anything out there and better than most. Because of that 99.9% of techs walk away from our gigs with a very positive memory."

Collaborating with other Turbosound rental companies in the US has reaped major benefits, according to Payne. "We have had a strong collaborative relationship with Southard Audio for over 20 years. They are a Turbosound company as well, and we support each other frequently by trading gear - in fact most of our major system elements are configured to interchange readily. Because we agreed to structure our inventories similarly and share information on infrastructure, we also agreed not compete one-on-one for the same client or event, and this has proved to be a great asset for both of us over the years, effectively doubling our available inventory and the size of events we could service while maintaining manageable individual inventories.

"A more subtle advantage is that Mike Southard, president of Southard Audio, and I are able to talk completely candidly about our business approaches. We don't need to always agree, because at the end of the day we are totally separate companies, but we both definitely gain perspective and valuable input from the exchange that we can carry forward and apply to our own situation. It's definitely been a win/win situation for both of our companies.

"Flex Array has proved to be a great system for us," emphasises Payne. "It is compact, powerful and sounds exceptional. We can hang just a few boxes in a hotel ballroom for a corporate, or a long line in a shed or an arena for a full-on rock show. It is perfectly happy in either environment. Also, much to my surprise, I have found that I can ground stack six Flex in a straight column on sound wings and they sound great. This is a situation where just about every other line array box I have heard falls short and starts to sound very beamy. I have no idea why the Flex boxes sound so good when used in this configuration - I just know that they do!

"Acceptance of the system has been excellent. Our long-term clients totally trust our judgement and to be honest, pay little attention to what brand of anything we use. They just know that when they hire Soundworks, it's going to be a very easy day for them, and the sound will be great. Flex Array make it possible for us to continue to produce those results for our clients. When advancing shows with band engineers and tour production managers, those that have not used Flex Array have heard good things and are willing to give it a go. Those who have used it before are enthusiastic about spending another day with it. I will say that it is always fun watching the look of surprise that comes over a mix engineer's face when they first hear the very large, loud and clear sound that a physically small Flex Array rig will produce.

"Flex has allowed us to offer a high quality line array system to our customers. From a marketing standpoint, it had become essential for us to be able to do this. The line array has really captured the imagination of the general public and the perception seems to be that it is the best thing to ever hit the planet. The reality of course is that it is another tool with strengths and weaknesses, depending on the situation. There are still many situations where a high quality point source system provides the best solution. At Soundworks, we can offer the absolute best of both worlds - Flex Array and Aspect. We pretty much have all the bases covered."

A case in point is the recent Chili Cook Off, an annual event that Soundworks has done for the past 10 years or so, held at the amphitheater of the Richmond International Raceway NASCAR facility. In essence a chili cook off competition for local restaurants accompanied by an all-day concert featuring a number of on-the-rise national recording acts, the typical overall attendance is around 20,000, with 10,000 or so people packed, standing room only, into the amphitheater for the show. The predominant musical genre is new alt rock, and when mixed with a healthy dose of favorite golden beverage the crowd becomes pretty enthusiastic, so the PA had better be stout.

"Our Flex rig was more than up to the task," says Payne. "We hung 12 Flex over six TSW-218 subs per side. Add to that TQ-445DPs for audience front fills, Aspects over TSW-721s for stage side fills, Turbosound LMS-D26 processors and 100kw of Lab.gruppen amplifiers, it all made a very compact, powerful PA that produced all of the level any of the engineers wanted and actually had about .025 db of headroom left before we touched any limiters!"

The bands on this year's Cook Off included: Seether, Sick Puppies, Saving Abel, and Dirty Heads, while previous years have played host to Pappa Roach, Chevelle, Skillet, Crash Kings, Hollywood Undead, Trapt, Anberlin, Framing Hanley, Pop Evil, Puddle of Mudd, Theory of a Deadman, and 10 Years.

The Soundworks crew of system tech Grant Howard; monitor tech Matt Majier; stage tech Bob Lipford; and crew chief Wally Sparzak was, as always, absolutely top notch and remains the cornerstone of the company's success, according to Payne. "The very best gear in the world will get you nowhere if you don't have the very best people to run it. And I don't just mean smart or talented mixers. I mean ‘dedicated, hard working, great attitude, whatever you need and whatever it takes I already did that' people! That is my crew and I love them!" he enthuses.

The day was a total success. The client confirmed Soundworks for the 2012 Chili Cook Off even before the crew had finished packing up. The bands and their crews likewise all left smiling, having had a good show and knowing they had been well represented to their audience.

"The level of factory support I have gotten here in the US has been fantastic. Dom Harter, Chris Kmiec, and Dan Orton have always been available whenever I have had an issue. Many years ago Danny Cooklin flew over and spent a couple of days with us commissioning our Floodlight rig, really giving us an appreciation for how much enthusiasm and knowledge there is within the Turbosound engineering staff.

"I did express a little concern over a recent personnel change in the US sales structure but got an immediate personal email from Simon Blackwood (president of Turbosound). He assured me of Turbosound's strong ongoing commitment to the US market, and to the wellbeing and continued health of my company. He encouraged me to contact him personally if I had any issues or problems whatsoever that were not being handled to my satisfaction. I am pleased to report that I haven't had to call the president once!

"And while Turbosound is of course a company, I have to tell you that I think of it more as family. I have been in this business for a pretty good while now. Interest in many of the things that first attracted me (sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll!) has long since faded. These days, even the music and the technology take second place to relationships. I find there is more value and reward and personal satisfaction to be had from forming strong relationships than from pretty much anything else I can invest my time in. I believe if one invests in developing strong and genuine relationships, pretty much everything else will take care of itself.

When choosing a supplier for any major system element, Payne says that he looks closely at the product, the people, and the support: "I am happy to say that for me, Turbosound has excelled in all of these areas - for more than 25 years now!

"It seems that Turbosound is on the brink of another major innovation. I've just heard about Flashline - I really need to check this out..."

http://www.soundworksva.com/