ADLIB Provides Sound for The Script's World Tour

Liverpool, UK-based ADLIB supplied sound equipment and crew for the recent sold-out UK arena tour for the Irish group The Script, as part of their acclaimed Science and Faith world tour.

Richy Nicholson is The Script's front-of-house engineer; for the group's theatre tour last autumn, he used an L-Acoustics V-DOSC system that was also supplied by Adlib and, for this one, he specified the new K1 system, of which Adlib now has a substantial quantity.

Nicholson worked alongside an Adlib team consisting of Tony Szabo as systems tech; crew chief Marc Peers, who also oversaw monitor world; plus PA techs Ian Nelson and Alan Harrison. Bob O'Brien managed all aspects of the production with Ian "Quinner" Quinn as the always chipper TM.

Says Adlib project manager Phil Kielty, "The Script are easily one of the most exciting and talented bands of the moment. It seems wherever I go from LA to Glasgow, their tunes are always following me around! The band, alongside the crew, creates such a family atmosphere on the road and they are so creative and specific on their live experience, it's a genuine privilege to be involved."

With all the shows completely sold out, and the larger venues like the O2 providing seating to 270 degrees, it was essential to have good coverage absolutely everywhere.

The main system (in its largest configuration at London's O2 Arena) consisted of main left and right hangs with 16 K1 elements and three Kara downfills per side, and side left and right hangs of 14 V-Dosc, each with six dV-DOSC downs, complete with a hang of eight K1 subs flown beside each of the main hangs. There were then further upstage side hangs of eight Kudos, and, at the O2, left and right delays of eight K1s two-thirds of the way down the hall, all helping to fill the voluminous back and upper levels of the venue. Further bottom end boost came from eight L-Acoustics SB28 subs per-side on the floor, increased to 12 per side at the O2.

For infills and outfills, a series of ARCs and dV-Doscspeakers were used, with everything driven by the proprietary L-Acoustics LA8 amps.

Having used L-Acoustics V-Dosc for some time, it was a natural progression to migrate to the K1 system. Nicholson comments that the accuracy of its horizontal throw and energy really aides calculating the exact coverage areas and positioning of the side hangs and delays for optimal coverage. Flying the K1 subs also helped enormously in getting the low end efficiently to the rear and (in the case of the O2) the upper levels of the arenas without having to push the main hangs too hard.

Nicholson's main creative objective was to ensure that the full band dynamics were featured in the mix, capturing the whole groove and solidity of the sound, together with an essential rawness and base energy -- and a definite departure from any antiseptic "TV mix" scenarios where the vocals dominate or anything too poppy.

Nicholson's front-of-house console of choice was an Avid Profile with capacity for 96 inputs, although he used only 48 channels on this leg of the tour. It's the console that he has used most over the last year and so finds it a familiar and easy interface with which to mix.

Conscious of not becoming Mr. Plug In, he kept it primarily simple and pure, notably using a wave C6 dynamic EQ for each vocal channel and a Tube-Tech CL1B compressor for vocalist Danny O'Donoghue.

The system design included using the latest Lake LM26 system processors -- four at the stage end and three at the front of house, connected by fiber -- and a Dante audio-over-Ethernet system to keep the signal digital and to provide a solid network for control over the LA8 amps.

Szabo spec'd a Meyer SIM 3 for time alignment and system set up, his current choice for its accuracy and precision.

For monitors, the band members have their own mics, which are primarily Sennheiser-based and a six-channel Sennheiser IEM system (including feeds for the backline technicians). Nicholson commented that "the support from Sennheiser has been second to none."

On stage, Adlib supplied a Soundcraft Vi6 console for monitor engineer Paul "Mini" Moore, which he loves for its straightforward set-up and ease of use. Adlib also supplied a ProTools 7 set up for recording each show, and this is being toured worldwide.

There were no wedges onstage, but for atmospherics, four SB28 subs were integrated into the backline, together with two ARCs cabinets, all fed with the kick and bass channels to provide some serious air movement from upstage.

Moore comments, "Adlib [is] absolutely brilliant to work with in all respects and attend to absolutely every detail. The kit is in great condition and their crew [is] amazing! Apart from all the technical stuff, I get two cups of tea during the set, one after the fifth number and one at the start of the encores, together with a nice selection of chocolate goodies". Peers, in addition to his crew chiefing and monitor tech skills, has been Adlib's star tea maker on this tour.

For the O2 show, ADLIB also supplied James Neale and Carlos Herreros to tech the extra gear.