AV Unlimited who recently won the TPSA’s Favourite AV Rental Company award has expanded their audio inventory with the acquisition of eight Alcons Audio VR12 speaker enclosures. Matrix Sound has supplied four stereo pairs of VR12’s which ensures that the speakers are aesthetically matched when used as PA and provide a balanced stereo image for performers when used as foldback monitors. The VR12’s will be powered by Alcons Audio ALC2 power amplifiers containing Signal Intensity Sensing which results in cable-length independent damping and a virtually infinite damping factor.

AV Unlimited has also acquired their first batch of Digital Drive Processors which will be installed in the amplifiers of their Alcons Audio LR16 line array system. The DDP unit is pre-loaded with settings for all Alcons Audio enclosures maximising the flexibility of amplifiers in rental stock. Other features include parametric equalisation, system delay function and limit log, enabling the ability to monitor usage.

Congratulations from all of us at Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound.

Isuzu’s recent 72 hour endurance record breaking attempt was a tremendous success with new speed and distance records being set by the KB300’s and KB250’s and 15 records being broken in total. It was a tough week for the drivers, from practice sessions to driver briefings culminating in three days of driving in shifts. Matrix Sound supplied the technical requirements and was also challenged with staffing the event for the week and 24 hours a day for the final three days. It was imperative that all technicians were on top of their game at all times so there were three crew shifts per day with the graveyard shift – 2am to 7am -being the shortest.

The Gerotek high speed track and surrounds became a small village with it’s own power supply in the form of five generators, a camping facility, a driver and crew living area, operations centre, press venue, timekeepers enclosure, workshop, tyre shop, massage marquee and entertainment Bedouin tent with adjoining beach bar and beach volleyball court.”The technical delivery was not particularly taxing, what was nerve wracking was ensuring that everything ran 24/7 for the duration of the record attempt. Trevor Peters “We could not afford to lose power to Motorsport SA, or to the pits, workshops and ops centre – ever.” The power design re-defined the word contingency with back ups for the back ups ensuring that critical areas had the three different power sources at their disposal. The event ran smoothly and the vehicles proved on the track exactly what they were capable of.

The Technical Production Services Association awards were held on 19 April 2010 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound won the Favourite Sound Rental Company award and with just about everyone else out on events, Pam Potgieter was there to represent us and to receive the award for the company.

In the past 18 months Matrix Sound has undergone considerable change and this award is testament to the fact that we have maintained and in some instances even improved our product and service delivery in the events industry. We are very proud of our new piece of glass and more driven than ever to have a matching pair this time next year. A big thank you goes out to the individuals and companies that voted for us.

Matrix Sound undertook the technical direction and supply of all equipment and personnel on General Motors South Africa’s dealer convention which took place in Sun City in February this year. With multiple venues and very tight turnaround times it was by far one of the most challenging events in the company’s history.

The Superbowl was divided into three different venues, all with their own sound, lighting and video set-ups and the delegates journeyed through these venues at the opening of the event before enjoying a party at the Valley of the Waves. Jesse Clegg and his band performed at the gala dinner event in the Royal Ballroom and delegates took part in a mass Thai Chi exercise routine on the lawns outside the Cabana’s. The Hall of Treasures was also converted into a party venue and on the final night at Sun City Johnny Clegg performed under the stars at the Baobab Outlook next to the Palace of the Lost City.

From a technical perspective all credit on this event goes to the technicians who put in hours above and beyond what was anticipated at the outset. Our thanks go to the staff of Matrix Sound as well as all of the highly professional freelance engineers and crew who assisted us in making this event the huge success that it was.

Matrix Sound was contracted by Collyer Lessick and Associates to supply the sound requirements for Vodacom’s Year end parties in Johannesburg in November and Cape Town in December 2009. The JHB venue was the Coca-Cola Dome and 36 Alcons LR16’s, 12 LR16B.s and 12 Alcons LR14’s were flown from the mother grid with 12 BF362’s stacked on the deck and hidden by a custom designed stage front. Trevor Peters was technical director on the event and tasked with ensuring that the three technical supply companies, responsible for supplying sound, lighting, video and staging all worked together seamlessly. The show was called “Flawless” and that is precisely how it ran in JHB and at the CTICC in Cape Town.

“A special word of thanks to each of you and your teams for the success of the Vodacom 2009 Year End functions. Your efforts, hard work and commitment to Vodacom are very much appreciated.”    
“It was an absolute pleasure working with each of you and your teams and I thank you for your professionalism, support and attention to detail.”

Gary Gatter
Executive Head: Office of the Managing Director
Vodacom South Africa

JHB Left Hang	CT Left Hang

Marius Marais was entrusted with supplying the audio requirements on Skouspel 10 by Frontline Productions. He once again specified the Alcons Audio LR16 System for the Sun City Superbowl with LR14 outfills and LR14 fills for the upstairs bleachers. The most noticeable difference in the system running on Digital Drive Processors is the response of the LR16B, which becomes even more punchy and tight. Once the system had been “Smaarted” by Marius the results achieved exceeded all previous outings of the LR16 system to date. The power of the system relative to its size and the coverage achieved in the venue was very impressive. Eddie Sithole once again headed up the “A-Team” on stage who were responsible for managing over fifty radio systems, the orchestra and the rhythm section requirements.

With all concerts over two weekends selling out, the client was happy as were members of the audience, evident in the number of compliments that were paid to the sound team.

Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound was contracted as the technical equipment supplier on the recent GM Chevrolet Cruze media launch which took place at Zimbali Lodge in KZN. Delivering on the lighting, sound, video, stage and technical direction is par for the course, what made this event a little more challenging was “floating” a Chevy Cruze on the water of Zimbali Lodge’s infinity pool.

In actual fact getting the car in the pool was the easy part, what provided the real challenge was getting it to the pool. This involved assembling and dismantling a series of ramps in order to drive the car from the road, down the foot path, through the myriad of pillars in the cocktail area, between the garden features and palm trees and over the pool patio to the water. Some steely driving and direction by the Driving Dynamics team got the car in and out again sometimes with only millimetres of clearance between the shiny new paint and various other structures.

The impact of the final product was breathtaking with the Cruze upstaging everything and stealing the show.

Jozi Ma Sweetie, a “home grown musical of sorts” is being staged at the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre Theatre in September and October. The show created by Rocco De Villiers, Emma Bekker and Alby Michaels taps into the lives of various women, some famous and others not, who live and work in Johannesburg (Jozi) providing an insight into this alluring city.

The in-house speaker system is being used with no further supplementation whatsoever. Trevor Peters “The Alcons LR14, VR12 and TS3 sound system with the BF181 subs provides the power required for this punchy musical with the finesse that we have come to expect from the product. We have plenty of gain on the microphones, even when the entire cast is huddled in a group downstage.”

A Soundcraft MH3 mixer was supplied at FOH and the cast are singing into Countryman E6 capsules.

Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound had a strong presence at Mediatech this year. The exhibition proved to be very successful for the company with a range of product on the stand indoors and regular demo’s happening outside in the demo zone. Once again the Alcons Audio QR36 piqued everyone’s interest with its three degree vertical dispersion creating a focussed beam of sound over an incredibly long distance. This was demonstrated outdoors together with an Alcons Audio LR16 line-array system which truly did provide hi-fi sound at concert levels. The recently released Alcons Audio LR7 micro line-array caused quite a stir on the stand with a number of audio visual companies expressing interest in the compact, lightweight system.

Tom Back from Alcons Audio in The Netherlands spent a week in Johannesburg and at Mediatech. He presented the outside demos as well as a seminar on Pro-Ribbon transducer technology. Tom also took time at the Matrix Sound offices to meet with the crew and explain some of the technology behind the product.

Trevor Peters “It was a good week for us. The staff thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to listen to a range of sound systems and see exactly where our product fits in. It reinforced for everyone what we already knew – that the Alcons Audio LR16 Pro-Ribbon system not only holds it own with regards to SPL’s but does so while delivering astonishing quality.”

Alcons Audio LR16 and QR36 in the Demo Zone

The Matrix Corporate & Theatre Sound Stand

As a result of the tremendous commercial success of the production last year, the musical Ons Vir Jou returned to the State Theatre opera stage for a second run in May and June 2009. Packed House Productions once again approached Trevor Peters to design the show and Trevor used the Alcons Audio LR16 line-array system with VR8’s as front fills and the dual eighteen inch BF362’s as the sub bass system. The run was extremely successful yet again and the show received standing ovations every night.

The other stars of the show

“The orchestra pit was lowered but empty, bar the musical director as the show runs off multi-tracks. The subs were positioned in the pit and the VR8’s were positioned just below stage level on the apron effectively firing across, up and out of the pit. These powerful little speakers allowed us to create a “virtual orchestra position” as well as a more credible vocal image. The three drops of LR16 speakers positioned in a left, centre, right configuration provided great balcony and stall coverage but the VR8’s were the key part of the design, delivering quality audio all the way up to the lower rows of the balcony, fifteen meters away.”
“Not all venues afford you the luxury of designing your system around the front fills. When you get the opportunity their can be no compromise on the choice of speaker.”

The new season of IDOLS South Africa will take place at the Mosaiek Teatro in Fairland, Johannesburg. Matrix Sound will be supplying an Alcons Audio LR16 system as the main PA with Alcons Audio LR14’s as a delay system. Gerhard Du Plessis from Matrix will once again mix the house sound on a Yamaha M7 digital mixer. One notable difference to the sound design this year is that the entire band will be using Shure hard-wired in-ear monitors supplied by Matrix Sound while the IDOLS contestants will all be fitted with custom ear moulds in order to use Shure wireless in-ear monitors. This year the contestants are required to play a musical instrument and already the fourteen finalists are proving to be among the most talented in the history of the show in South Africa.