The Vandals immersed fans in a blanket of sound compliments of an Adaptive System from EAW.

The Coachella Festival, held on the grounds of the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, is arguably one of the most prestigious music festivals in the United States.

With recent attendance records topping 200,000, it is imperative that attendees have the best audio experience possible. To that end, Camarillo, California-based Rat Sound once again deployed an Eastern Acoustics Works Adaptive system in the festival’s Gobi Tent.

Rat Sound has been providing sound reinforcement for Coachella since 2001 when the festival was in its infancy. president, Dave Rat explains,

“The adaptive control of the system allows us to minimize reflections off of the walls of the tent which keeps the sound really clean. This year we used the entire Adaptive family – Anya and Anna line arrays supported by Otto subwoofers and we were very happy with the results.”

The Gobi tent was approximately 18,000 square feet with an expansive stage set up at the far end of the tent. Gobi, known for its eclectic mix of alternative bands, had a lineup this year that included Volbeat, Chris Stapleton, Pete Yorn, Goldroom, The Vandals, Go Go Penguin, The Dead Ships and more.

Two Anya arrays, made up of 8 Anya modules each, were hung to the left and right of the stage to provide clear, even coverage to the area. Delay was provided by two Anna arrays each made up of three modules.

Outfill was handled by two more Anna arrays, this time made up of two modules each. Low end, which was substantial, was delivered by 24 Otto subwoofers, twelve per side stacked two by six.

“Everyone was extremely happy with the coverage and the sound,” adds Jayson Pietri, FOH tech for Rat Sound.

“Bernie (Broderick) did an excellent job tuning the system. I think the visiting engineers were very pleased with the room.”

Adam Labov, FOH engineer for Goldroom was one of the engineers that mixed on the system for the first time during Coachella.

“I was very excited to learn that Goldroom would be performing on the Gobi stage,” he explains. “I had heard the Anya system deployed at previous Coachella’s as well as the Tom Petty tour last year and immediately heard their sonic capability.

“My overall experience with the Anya system was a very positive one. I felt like I had endless headroom and the speaker response was incredible. Only minimal house eq was required to get a completely full range, powerful and direct sound. The pairing of the Otto subs added a very solid low-end reinforcement. If I’m ever spoiled enough to pick out a PA for future tours, I wouldn’t hesitate to ask for Anya.”

eaw.com