MIDDLETON, OHIO: You've gotta walk before you can run, as they say.
But once you start running, look out. That's sort of what's happened to Tritech Light and Sound, a Middletown, Ohio sound contractor as it's grown to be more of a force in the live sound business in central Ohio.Having cultivated a core of customers among operators of annual events, such
as the Cincinnati Blues Festival, the New Year's Festival in Columbus, and the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon; among live acts ranging from Iron Butterfly to 50 Cent to Dave Chappelle; and among customers with regular, ongoing live
sound needs, such as Miami University in Ohio, Tritech is eyeing new opportunities that will further test its capabilities.
Earlier this year, owner John Hutton effectively announced his intention to become an even bigger and more high profile player in the live sound scene
by placing a bigger bet on core audio technology. In a bid to handle even
larger events that have more demanding sound coverage needs, Hutton added to
his complement of SPL-td1 loudspeakers from Sound Physics Labs, upping the
count by six to bring the total inventory to eighteen.
"We've been using the 12 original td1s for four years, and we realized
that
we needed more," he says. "When you need to do events that have large
crowds, like the King Biscuit Jazz Festival I attended, where that was the
setup for a crowd of about 7,000, you simply need that many loudspeakers to
do the job."
For Hutton, the SPL-td1 speakers, part of Sound Physics Labs' boundary
compliant series, have proven to be the ticket to building his live sound
business over the last several years.
A multiple entry horn, the td1 uses patented Unity Summation Aperture design
to combine the outputs from multiple drivers to power a single horn. The
result is that each driver operates in its own frequency range, resulting in
a multiple driver horn design that is automatically time/phase correct. When
combined with projection accuracy features, the td1 delivers a precise
representation of sound across the frequency range. The result is that
listeners virtually anywhere in the audience can hear clear, crisp sound.
"The td1 has been a very reliable speaker for us. It does what they say
it
will do," Hutton says. "They really throw the sound." By using
td1s, Tritech
is able to sidestep the cost and headache of assembling a line array speaker
system that frequently requires loudspeakers to be flown, not ground
stacked. But their design effectively mimics the sound quality and coverage
that have made line arrays an increasingly popular approach to live sound.
"Line arrays are made for long-throw applications, but you have to apply
many rules to achieve the correct configuration and optimum performance,"
Hutton says. "From a practical standpoint, if you're not schooled in that
and you're in a hurry those things don't get done. It's all about how you
set up a line array. If you don't do it right they don't work right. With
the td1, you ground stack or fly them, get some basic visual alignment and
you achieve great results."
Because the td1s are essentially a "plug-and-play" device right out
of the
box, Hutton says they're an ideal product for the hectic nature of a live
sound setup environment. Plus, they work well in a range of uses, from music
to the spoken word.
"You can get perfect time alignment with the td1s, without the technology
involved in a line array," he says. "For my live sound work, I wouldn't
do a
large venue job without this product."
Tritech Light and Sound used their full Sound Physics
Labs loudspeaker rig
at the recent Cincinnati Blues Festival.
With six more in hand, Hutton is gearing up to handle more and larger live
sound work. Having seen how well the speakers cover virtually any sized
venue, Hutton says upping the td1 count will give him more flexibility and
access to more work. He's even toying with the idea of adding more down the
line, confident that he'll be investing his money in a technology that will
be hard to trump.
"Ideally, I'd like to get six more, to do even bigger shows," he
says.
"Having that many td1s in inventory will be helpful because it will allow
me
to bid on more projects. Plus, these employ a technology that will stand the
test of time because they allow the speakers to be used in so many different
ways."
Sound Physics Labs is the parent company of ServoDrive, Inc. ServoDrive
manufactures the industry benchmark BassTech7 and ContraBass subwoofers.
Sound Physics Labs is responsible for the complete line of Unity
loudspeakers.
ServoDrive: www.servodrive.com
Sound Physics Labs: www.soundphysics.com
