“My band is about to play some dates in the midwest and we’re in the early stages of trying to decide between a few different sound companies. They all seem to have a good reputation, but one (the most expensive one) says they use ‘state of the art’ line arrays. What is this and why should I care?”
Putting together a PA system is no longer as simple as setting up a bunch of boxes and connecting power amps to them. Today’s best PA systems are designed from the ground up as a “system,” with many aspects of their performance specifically accounted for and under careful control of the engineer. For your convenience, the term “Line Array” has been defined in today’s WFTD above. The whole line array concept is somewhat controversial. A properly designed and configured system is not cheap (which is no doubt reflected in the bid you got from the company that uses them), and not all engineers agree about the relative benefits, but the majority who do like them really swear by them. In the early days some people reported that the sound and coverage in these systems was inconsistent compared to systems with fewer, but larger, enclosures (though in really large venues it has never been a contest – line array wins hands down). Since then there have been many improvements in the technology and implementation, most of which have been driven by results and feedback garnered from using systems out on tour. Now all you have to do is flip through the pages of any publication directed at live sound engineers and you’ll see many different variations on the line array theme. Systems are widely available, and the results that can be achieved with a properly set up and configured system are pretty amazing (in this writer’s opinion). Almost every major touring sound company has a few systems based on this concept, and at this point the majority of established live sound engineers prefer them. The major benefit most people report is, in layman’s terms, a tighter and more focused sound overall. There’s also significantly less reverberation generated in large halls due to this focus. If you’re playing big, concrete concert halls this is a huge benefit. If you’re doing smaller venues or outdoor shows it may not be as important.