Turbosound Manchester Strikes Gold

Ballarat, as most people know, is a gold rush town with some grand old buildings. The Civic Hall isn’t one of those buildings. It emerged in the late 1950s and soon became a nexus of the city’s entertainment – everything from musical theatre to sock hops to deb balls and more.

It fell into disrepair then received a new lease on life in 2019. Now, post covid, the City of Ballarat is gradually getting the Civic Hall back on the touring map. They must be doing something right because Eskimo Joe chose to kick off its national tour at the Civic Hall in April.

ON THE MAP

The Civic Hall infrastructure has been revived and money has been spent on damping the acoustic of the main hall but no attempt has been made to spec and install a permanent PA yet.

Regional rental company, SLC (Sound & Light Concepts), has filled the breach by supplying a Turbosound Flashline Mini rig (on long-term rental) which does the job for the majority of applications. But sometimes something beefier is required for a touring band such as Eskimo Joe.

CIVIC DUTY

SLC is a regional production company taking care of the meat ’n’ potatoes audio and lighting gigs in and around Ballarat – school musicals, Ballarat Carols, council events along with AV installation work. It’s a solid business; been around for decades; survived the covid apocalypse; and has lasted because it knows the local market.

Versatility is the key for SLC’s rental stock – there’s no point investing in a monster rig that only gets used a couple of times a year. But the Civic Hall needed something punchier than the Flashline Mini system if touring bands are going to leave their PA in the truck.

Turbosound’s new Manchester line array presented as an attractive step up without getting carried away (ie. sacrificing versatility). The Manchester MV210-HC is a bi-amped three-way full-range box based on dual 10-inch drivers. SLC invested in eight enclosures. Four ground-stacked Manchester a side covers the floor of the Civic Hall nicely (640-cap seated). SLC bought Turbo’s dolly/transporter options which allows for easy packing into the truck (up to four boxes per dolly) and keeps the stack locked in position.

With four enclosures a side, SLC enjoys line array performance – creating a solidly controlled dispersion pattern and ensuring a surprisingly tight sound given just how cavernous the Civic Hall is.

STEP UP

SLC’s Aaron Rivett has been working with the Manchester system since they acquired it in 2023. “The output compared to the Flashline Mini 550s is just crazy. When we went looking for more line array, to be honest, we probably would have bought more Flashline Mini to complement the 22 boxes we already have. But that product had been discontinued, which is the reason for looking at Manchester, and we don’t have any regrets.

“We used Manchester on Ballarat Carols last year (staged on the field of Mars Stadium) and four a side of the Manchester MV210s did the job nicely, compared to eight of the 550s a side.”

Sticking with Turbosound works well for SLC and its existing complement of Lab Gruppen amps. “Moving up to Lab Gruppen PLM amps was a big step up for us. We’ve got two PLM12k44 amps to run the entire front of house PA including the subs. Four Manchester per channel is pushing the amp’s limits but this show isn’t going stupidly hard, plus the Rational Power Management on the Lab amps gives us a safety net. We keep an eye on the amp load and it’s all working well.”

When the show demands it, flying Manchester has also been a change for the better: “The rigging is so much nicer than the Flashline Mini,” commented Aaron Rivett. “Given Flashline Mini is a sub-compact box, it can be quite fiddly. Manchester’s hardware is robust and easy to work with.”