Anaheim Convention Center's New Grand Plaza Outdoor Stage Kicks Off Winter NAMM 2013 with Harman ProfessionalWinter NAMM 2013 marked the debut of the Anaheim Convention Center's new 100,000-sq.-ft. Grand Plaza outdoor space, where Herreman Productions coordinated a Harman-equipped stage to present numerous acts including Tower of Power, The Living Legends Jam, and CTA. Rental sound specialists Meeting Services Inc. of San Diego, California and VER (Video Equipment Rentals) collaborated to field a comprehensive Harman Professional concert sound system for all performances held at the temporary production facility during the NAMM show. In its fifth decade of entertaining crowds around the globe, Oakland, California-based Tower of Power entertained an enthusiastic convention crowd of approximately 5,000 persons at the Grand Plaza main stage while kicking off activities as the trade show's opening headline concert. Veteran front-of-house mixer Mike Droke was at the controls of a Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console. "This is my first time mixing on both Soundcraft's Vi6 and JBL's new VTX line array system," noted Droke. "This system has plenty of punch and tons of low end. This band has a lot of low-mid energy with our five-piece horn section, particularly the baritone sax, and the system handled it with ease. I particularly noticed the extended high frequency response and the musical detail in the VTX rig." Headed by independent engineer Eric Stahlahmmer, the audio crew deployed nine JBL VTX V25 line array enclosures suspended from each side of the Stageline SL320 mobile stage, with 10 VerTec VT4886 subcompact line array elements arranged on the lip of the stage for front fill. Twelve VTX S28 cardioid-arrayable subwoofers were ground-stacked for extra low-frequency reinforcement. Eighteen JBL STX812M stage monitors were distributed across the stage for the performers, while six STX835 loudspeakers and five STX818S subwoofers handled side fill requirements. Eighteen Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers in VRacks utilizing BSS Omnidrive HD processing powered the loudspeakers, while the Soundcraft Vi6 was complemented by a Vi1 digital console at the monitor position, manned by independent engineer Clayton Green. Harman's AKG vocal and instrument microphones blanketed the stage: 10 C518m clip-on mics for toms, two D12 VR's on bass drums, two C430's, four C451's, six C214's for overheads, two C414's, 10 D40's, 10 D5's, two C3000's, four C5's, two C4000's, three C4500's, two custom gold-colored DHT 700 C5's, one C411, and numerous gooseneck microphones were in use, with two HELICAL long distance range-extending wireless antennas located at the front-of-house position. "Taken together, the AKG mics, Vi consoles, Crown VRacks, and the JBL VTX line arrays make a really powerful combination," observed Stahlhammer, who with his crew manned the stage system for up to 12 hours a day. "With JBL HiQnet Performance Manager software tying it all together, the process of configuring the system and monitoring its performance during the show has really been streamlined. The application has been laid out to follow our normal workflow processes, and it really saves me time and effort." 
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