Local Heroes Kid Kapichi Excel Through Printworks' Blackline XP12

	Kid Kapichi performing last fall. Photo: Sara-Louise Bowrey

Hastings-based rock heavyweights, Kid Kapichi, stamped their name firmly onto the hide of the UK rock scene last year, and just before lockdown their local venue, The Printworks, bore testament to their mixture of explosive, bone-crushing riffs and ear worming melodies of the dual-lead vocals and guitar.

The band is fronted by Jack Wilson and Ben Beetham (who share those honors), and for this gig sound engineer Alfie Rolph made sure that they performed to 200 ecstatic fans upstairs through a Martin Audio BlacklineX Powered XP12 / XP118 PA rig, supplied by partners Old Barn Audio (OBA).

"The Martin Audio speakers represented a huge upgrade," exclaims Wilson, "and we'll now be looking to use them for all future events of that level."

Rolph -- an employee of OBA, and one of the Printworks' sound techs -- reviewed the existing sound system and decided it was time for an upgrade. "Although it was a tried and trusted system, I knew that for Kid Kapichi's last gig here, these local legends needed a truly special send off."

And so he turned to Old Barn Audio for their recommendations. "I had heard great things about Martin Audio products and especially the BlacklineX Powered range so I was intrigued to hear them in action. Speaking with Chris from Old Barn, we agreed on four XP12s and a pair of XP118s. On arrival I was surprised by how light the speakers were; speakers with built-in DSP are usually a two-man job to carry but these were easy to handle by myself. We got the speakers configured incredibly quickly, and I was surprised by how easy the BlacklineX Powered system was to set up."

And did they live up to the hype? Rolph was unequivocal. "The sound from these speakers absolutely blew me away," he exclaims. "Straight out of the box they were pretty much perfect. I only had to do slight EQ to match the room."

As soon as the band started playing, he knew the decision had been fully vindicated. "I have never had so much control over the sound before," he enthuses. "Every detail could be heard and it was as loud as I wanted it to be. Usually I would have to substitute bass for vocal clarity or have to constantly tell the guitarists to turn down because the speakers couldn't match the level, but not anymore.

"I had a lot of people ask me about the speakers after the gig, and if Martin Audio weren't really known down here previously, rest assured they are now. Hopefully I can get these speakers back for the next big gig and blow everyone away again."

Summing up, he describes the BlacklineX Powered series as a "game changer," particularly the XP118s. "They were the speakers that really stood out for me. The response from these was absolutely incredible.

"I thoroughly recommend trying the BlacklineX Powered XP12 and XP118 for any small/medium sized venue that has music as a priority."