There can be no doubting the influence that a sound system can have on the mood of a dance event and its ultimate success. And there can be no better proof than the contribution that Turbosound’s Flex Array has played in this year’s week-long Winter Music Conference, held in the stunning surroundings of Miami’s South Beach at the end of March.
The Shore Club hosted some of the most popular events of the well-established Winter Music Conference – now in its 25th consecutive year – with the main focus of attention being the Pool and Patio venues, where a stellar line-up of DJs such as Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson, Theo Parrish, DJ Hell, Peter Kruder, Metro Area, Christian Prommer, Roberto Rodriguez, Mark Farina, Jay-J, Sharam of Deep Dish, Chuck Love, Ken Jordan (The Crystal Method), DJ Harvey, Crazy P, Dubtribe Soundsystem, Aeroplane, Tim Sweeney, Alex from Tokyo, Jazzanova, and many more entertained the crowds of between 1,500 and 2,000 over four intensive days.
Following on from the excellent results achieved at last year’s WMC, The Shore Club hotel and Miami-based event producer Tomas Ceddia of The Loud Minority were keen to bring Turbosound systems back again, knowing that the brand has developed an awareness amongst hard-core partygoers.
“The WMC event is all about dance music and the club scene,” says Brad Stephens of Turbosound’s U.S. distributor American Music & Sound, “and Turbosound has long been an elite brand in that world.”
Miami Beach-based Audio Video Lighting Innovations, a full service custom audio, video, lighting design and integration firm, aided by Brad Stephens, and Clinton Muntean from Turbosound’s Florida rep company Mainline Marketing, fielded a Turbosound Flex Array for the main Pool system, consisting of six TFA-600H three-way mid/highs flown each side, together with six TSW-218 double 18” folded horn subs, the latter chosen for their great definition and punch combined with the extended LF response demanded by today’s high energy dance music.
AVLI’s James Reed explains the setup: “Turbosound was chosen again this year for WMC because of its proven reputation for superior sound quality in this demanding application, and we knew this alone would draw the crowds. The flown Flex Array over three 218 subs each side completely covered the pool area, and then some. I think the boxes really excel at electronica and dance music because the clear, smooth high-mids and highs, and big, punchy low-mid and bass are voiced perfectly for that sound. And the 218’s sounded massive. They really put serious bass the length of the venue, without being obnoxious up close.”
Brad Stephens agrees with Reed’s assessment: “In the dance music world, it is amazing how much the sound quality affects the mood and overall success of an event. Sound is always important on any music event of course, but it is especially critical in this arena. People will stay or leave based on the sound system.
“Sound quality is right at the center of WMC,” he continues. “The sound system is critical in determining the success or failure of these types of events.”
Turbosound’s new Milan self-powered portable loudspeakers made an impressive debut at WMC this year in the role of DJ booth monitors. AM&S’s Brad Stephens: “This is a brutally harsh environment. We had major names using them at full tilt for hours at a time, and we had no issues at all. For DJ monitors at an event like this to go for that long without failure, or even an adverse comment, is an outstanding success! The guys we talked to were surprised they could get so much from a little powered-speaker-on-a-stick”.
Positive comments about the sound quality from the public, Shore Club employees, promoters, and DJs alike were much in evidence. Kevin Crew, Sky Bar manager at the Shore Club, believes that the quality of the sound system has also had a beneficial commercial impact. “It made the event,” he emphasises. “Our bar sales were significantly up. The better the sound quality is, the more successful the event is.”
With expectations running high this year, The Loud Minority’s Tomas Ceddia was delighted with the result at the Shore Club: “The Flex Array systems were fantastic! Superb clarity, punchy bass and smooth throughout the whole frequency range. It’s always a pleasure to work with the Turbosound crew, and I know I can rely on them to produce top quality sound. I personally made it a part of all my promotions to reinforce the public’s perception within the educated electronic dance community that Turbosound is a mark of high quality.”
And what did Tomas think about the Milans used as booth monitors? “Well, I’m buying six for myself,” he confirms, “I think that speaks volumes…”
Leave a Reply