•home
Photo Files
(Click for high-res
JPG images)
 |
 |
 |
 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
15th annual Lone Star Jam employs TT+ AUDIO GTX system
—As the new flagship TT+ AUDIO GTX line array system from RCF makes a tour of the USA, it made new friends at the two-day Lone Star Jam Texas red dirt country festival—
InfoComm, Las Vegas, NV, June 12, 2024 — The Lone Star Jam, now in its 15th year, is a two-day Texas Country Music Festival that takes place a half-hour outside of Austin at the Round Rock Amp in Round Rock, TX, over the Memorial Day weekend. The 2024 festival featured performances by 16 Texas red dirt country singers and bands, headlined by Lee Brice and Robert Earl Keen.
Thomas Smith, co-owner of Show Gear Systems (SGS), a Cedar Creek, Texas-based Professional Production Services company specializing in live event production, has been involved in the festival for ten years, and SGS has provided a wide range of production gear including PA, front line, back line, monitors, lighting, event power and more. This year, the PA employed was the flagship TT+ AUDIO GTX PA system from RCF, consisting of 12 GTX 12 three-way line array modules per side as mains, six GTX 10 two-way line array modules for front fill sitting atop six three-high ground-stacked GTS 29 high-performance subwoofers (a total of 18 GTS 29s), three GTX 10 for outfill, and 18 XPS 16K four channel DSP amplifiers in three racks of three amps per side.
“When our local rep began talking to me about the flagship TT+ AUDIO line,” Smith recalled, “I was interested, but what really caught my eye was when Wayne Pauley, production manager and front-of-house engineer for Lee Brice, shared his enthusiasm for the TT+ AUDIO GTX line array system.” Pauley had arranged for the system to be in Texas for the Jam. “I was then able to work out that we had the PA for Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” said Smith. The Friday load-in gave Smith ample opportunity to talk in depth about the rig, the cabling, software, how it flies, and more with veteran live sound specialist Michael Lawrence, who worked as TT+ AUDIO’s GTX system tech for the show.
Smith discovered how easy the system was to set up with confidence as the critical parts are color-coded to show visually when not engaged. “You can simply look at the system and make sure that everything’s been pinned correctly because if it isn’t, there’s either a big yellow dot on the side or a big yellow stripe on the back,” said Smith, who also appreciated that the hardware was captive, “It is all recessed and all protected for transport. I really like that too,” stated Smith. The GTX 12s can be flown in a standard or compression mode, Smith noted, and added that for audio connections, “I like that they are using the LK connectors where it’s a nice quarter turn, it locks in, it’s secure, and you don’t have to worry about anything coming loose.”
At the heart of the system are 18 of RCF’s XPS 16K high-power four-channel amplifiers with advanced DSP processing. XPS series amplifiers are intended for use with high-performance speakers and provide ready-to-use configurations and presets for RCF passive speakers, including the flagship TT+ AUDIO GTX series. The XPS 16K amplifier features two 40-bit floating point SHARC DSP chips that operate at 96 kHz for audio processing and two 32-bit DSP chips dedicated only to routing. The XPS amplifiers have tremendous processing power, all managed and monitored through RCF’s RDNet software, which was designed to be user-friendly. “I got a crash course on the software, says Smith, “and it’s very intuitive.” In addition to the RDNet control, the XPS 16K features a large touchscreen. “I really like that it's a full color display and you could read it in the middle of the day and understand it. No problem. It will color-coordinate things for you to help make it easier to understand what’s going from where to where, and manage those connections.”
In Texas, the concept of a passive line array has appeal for blistering hot summer days that leave powered cabinets with passive cooling in danger of overheating, shared Smith, plus the ability to assign amplifier resources to ensure ample clean headroom. “The big thing a lot of times is the weight, especially when you're doing smaller shows,” he adds, where the rigging capacity can limit what you can hang, and lighter passive cabinets can allow more speakers to be hung.
But the bottom line is how the system sounds. “No matter how loud you got it, it was still very clean and very smooth and natural sounding, with even coverage front to back,” commented Smith on the GTX 12 mains. “If I went from the front of the stage all the way to the very back bar, which was around 300 feet, the vocal range of the system was very, very smooth front to back. I was really impressed by the off-axis performance. There’s a lot of shows we do where I wouldn’t feel the need to hang an outfill because of the way GTX covers.” As additional GTX 10s were available, three were deployed for a beer garden off of stage right. “And I’m glad we did,” said Smith. “It gave me a way to really listen to the 10s and then step into the main hang and just hear how smooth it was transitioning from the 10s to the 12s.”
On the second day of the Jam, Smith asked that the subs be configured cardioid. “When the first band started on the second day, I thought there was a problem in front of house. I didn't think the PA was on. I was standing on deck and all I could hear was drums and guitar amps and bass rigs. Even the first day you could tell the subs were banging, but the tops, the way that box is designed, you don’t get that blow back on the stage I’ve experienced with other manufacturers.” In addition to the superlative directional performance, Smith pronounced the subs as sonically “Awesome.”
TT+ AUDIO’s GTX PA system is next set to appear in a GTX 10/GTS 29 configuration at the Montauk music festival, Montauk, NY, June 29 and 30. Also on June 30, a GTX 12/GTS 29 rig will be employed at the An Evening of Love Tour stop at Miami’s Kaseya Center.
Links:
TT+ AUDIO: https://www.ttaudio.com/en/
GTX 10: https://www.ttaudio.com/en/web/tt-audio/products/product-detail/gtx-10
GTX 12: https://www.ttaudio.com/en/web/tt-audio/products/product-detail/gtx-12
GTS 29: https://www.ttaudio.com/en/web/tt-audio/products/product-detail/gts-29
XPS 16K: https://www.ttaudio.com/en/web/tt-audio/products/product-detail/xps-16k
###
Photo File 1: GTX_LoneStar_Hang.jpg
Photo 1 Caption: The TT+ AUDIO rig at the 2024 Lone Star Jam festival deployed two hangs of 12 each GTX 12 line array modules accompanied by GTS 29 subs and GTX 10 front fills, all driven by 18 XPS 16K four-channel amps with advanced DSPPhoto File 2: GTX_LoneStar_Subs_FF.jpg
Photo 2 Caption: Six three-high stacks of TT+ AUDIO GTS 29 dual 19-inch woofer-loaded subwoofers handled low-end extension at the 2024 Lone Star Jam and were topped with GTX 10 line array modules for front fillPhoto File 3: GTX_LoneStar_Brice.jpg
Photo 3 Caption: Country artist Brice Lee, one of the 2024 Lone Star Jam headliners, performs using the TT+ AUDIO GTX line array system for the second time this summer upon request of his FOH engineer and production manager Wayne PauleyPhoto File 4: GTX_LoneStar_Crew.jpg
Photo 4 Caption: The TT+ AUDIO GTX system at the 2024 Lone Star Jam was used for 16 artists and driven by engineers including (L-R) Michael Lawrence, RCF Systems Engineer; Wayne Pauley, Lee Brice FOH Engineer; Sean Walker, RCF PA Tech; and Steve Wallace, Eli Young FOH EngineerTT+ AUDIO – Profile
As an independent brand within the RCF family, TT+ AUDIO embodies Italian expertise and creativity for the most challenging audio applications combining innovative engineering, tour-proven experience, and a comprehensive approach to product design to set a new benchmark for professional audio systems. All TT+ AUDIO products are engineered from the ground up to withstand the rigors of the road and extreme weather conditions, with optimal consistency and interoperability, while providing ground-breaking performance and sound quality.
#ttaudio
www.ttaudio.com
Media Contacts for TT+ AUDIO
Robert Clyne, President, Clyne Media, Inc. • robert@clynemedia.com
Anthony Errigo, Digital Marketing Manager, RCF USA • anthony@rcf-usa.com
Tarik Solangi, VP Sales and Marketing, RCF USA • tarik@rcf-usa.com
RCF USA, Inc. 101 Circle Drive North • Piscataway, NJ 08854 • 732-902-6100
Web ttaudio.com • facebook @ttaudio.official • twitter @ttaudioofficial • Instagram @ttaudio.official