USA: L-Acoustics K1 and K2 Rise Up on the Revolution 3 Tour

In what was arguably the highlight of 2018’s run of ’80s/’90s tours, alternative rockers Stone Temple Pilots, Bush, and The Cult joined forces and stormed North America for their six-week, 20-date Revolution 3 Tour. Escondido, California-based Sound Image served as the touring sound reinforcement provider for the triple-headliner trek of amphitheaters and arenas, and supplied a full L-Acoustics K1/K2 loudspeaker package at the specific request of the three bands’ FOH engineers.

The tour’s typical daily PA deployment comprised left and right main arrays of ten K1 enclosures over four K2, plus outfill arrays of six K1 over four K2. Low-frequency reinforcement was supplied by left and right hangs of eight K1-SB, and anchored by four SB28 subwoofers per side, end-stacked below in cardioid mode. Front-fill was delivered by two pair of Kara stacked atop the ground subs, while a dozen LA8-equipped LA-RAK units provided all of the power and loudspeaker processing, managed via LA Network Manager software.

“All three of the band’s house mix engineers—James ‘Hootsie’ Huth (Stone Temple Pilots), Steve McGuire (The Cult), and Jon Sword (Bush)—got together prior to the tour and decided that an L-Acoustics system would be the perfect rig for ‘Rev3,’ and they were right,” says Sound Image’s Chris Demonbreun, who served as the primary systems engineer on the tour. “The power and clarity of the K1 and K2 system really was ideal for this rock tour. Not only did it deliver pristine vocals that the crowd could easily sing along with, it also preserved the defined and driven punch of the guitars, which is so important to each of these bands’ sound. Everything sits just right in the mix with these boxes. Of course, huge credit should also be given to Hootsie, Steve, and Jon, who are all amazing mixers.”

Demonbreun notes that he also recently wrapped up another tour with country artist Chris Young, who carried a sizable L-Acoustics K2 system. “K2 is the perfect PA for shed tours, especially when combined with KS28 subs,” he adds. “It has a nice size, it’s super easy to fly and take down, and it’s really light, so you can hang a good amount of them without the need for a two-ton motor. It’s also really nice having the K2 Panflex technology to control horizontal directivity, which helps with HF throw and also keeps HF off of walls. From country to rock to everything else, L-Acoustics systems deliver the goods.”