Pensacola, FL (July 6, 2021) — Double A Productions is a one-stop shop for medium to large events across the U.S. Southeast. They’ve provided audio-visual support to country stars, theatre-sized rock revues, political inaugurations, and worship services — always to rave reviews from clients and attendees. Notably, they were able to keep socially distanced productions afloat while observing Covid precautions. Owners Chris Albrecht and Greg Adams, along with Production Pros Chip Thompson and Wes Rutland credit their integration of QSC active and passive line arrays. On the passive side, WideLine 10 and WideLine 8 array loudspeakers pair with GP218 subwoofers, all of which are powered by PLD4.5 multichannel amplifiers. Active elements include KLA12 array loudspeakers, KLA181 and KW181 subwoofers, with KW122 as wedges and K10.2 loudspeakers for fills and monitor duty.
“Our loudspeaker and amp inventory list is QSC all the way down the line,” Rutland begins. “When we started Double A four years ago, each of us had small amounts of personal QSC gear. Our first purchase as a company was some used WideLine stuff from a church. Shortly after that we met QSC Regional Sales Manager Larry Boscarino, who listened to our needs in so much detail that it was like he was on our team from the get-go. Those conversations evolved into the portfolio of loudspeakers and amps we use now.”
For larger concerts, Double A deploys every last piece at once. “The big P.A. uses all our WideLine 10s in the mains, with the 8s underhung as downfills,” Rutland explains. “So, we’ll bring out the KLAs as outfills and/or delay loudspeakers if we need them.”
This setup has won the hearts and minds of touring pros accustomed to specifying far more expensive P.A. gear, a fact of which the Double A team is quite proud. “If there’s a silver lining to the pandemic, it’s that we could really flex our QSC muscles,” he beams. “Shows were rare and artists were eager, and we had to use what we owned. Reliably, after every show, the artist’s sound team would praise the system, saying things like, ‘Wow, I didn’t think a system could do that!’”
Rutland does not hesitate to name names when it comes to these accolades. “We had [multi-platinum country star] Chris Young at the baseball stadium in Atlanta,” he says. “Their front-of-house engineer is a buddy of ours, and we handed him the numbers, the delay times – all of it. He powered it all on, plugged those numbers in, fired up a song, let it play, turned around, and said, ‘This is the best sounding WideLine we’ve ever heard, and we don’t even have to mess with it.’ As you know, live sound is a small community and word gets around. “We now have an impressive list of high profile artists asking us about QSC because they’re amazed by the sound quality they can get – a lot more affordably than they’re used to with other brands.”
Double A’s behemoth system also divides into subsets for smaller venues, with the KLA-based powered line array system seeing heavy rotation as a stand-alone workhorse. “We started thinking about some hypothetical applications and wound up getting ten KLA12s — because you can run five per side — and four of the subs.” That splurge paid off in an unexpected way, right on Double A’s home turf. “The Saenger Theater is Pensacola’s go-to concert venue,” says Rutland. “It’s a beautiful space that seats about 2,000. We had been flying nine WideLine 10s plus four 8s per side there, more for coverage than for loudness because the space is very vertical. But there’s this classic rock revue, White Tie Rock Ensemble, that has sort of a house gig there. Their audience was often complaining things were too loud — even if we turned the volume down.”
As it would turn out, the issue was more about eyes than ears. “The bandleader and bass player, Jonathan Clark, told us, ‘If I take my Ampeg 8×10 [bass amp] to church on Sunday, people will say I’m too loud even if I don’t plug it in,’” Rutland laughs. “We started thinking, ‘Hmm the KLA is a lot stealthier and more compact than the WideLine system.’ We went into the Sanger for a day, hung five KLA12s and two KLA181 subs per side, added some K10.2s as front fills, and tested it out with a full multi-track playback of White Tie. We immediately knew it could handle the show, which was that same week. The result was that people left that show praising the sound quality and without a single complaint about the volume — and we were running at the same SPL. That taught us that A, visual perception is important, and B, the KLA array is a lot more powerful than it looks. Based on the audience feedback, the Sanger wound up buying a system identical to what we’d brought in.”
Speaking of punch in a deceptively small package, Rutland also raves about the PLD4.5 power amps feeding his WideLine loudspeakers. “The way the on-board DSP integrates with the cabinets is easy to use and produces very hi-fi results,” he says. “Plus, they just have amazing bang for buck. Put it this way — I used to have all PowerLight 380s, which I think is one of the best amps ever made. They’re rated at 8,000 watts max, and the PLD4.5s only say 5,000 watts on the carton. We did a comparison, with each amp powering two identical subs. Out of the box, the PLD4.5 was about 30 percent louder while using less power.”
As impressive as Double A’s system is, the team is quick to point out that QSC’s customer service is also a big factor in their enthusiasm for the brand. “Once when they couldn’t find an amp in Memphis, which was the hub closest to our gig, they sent us one from their warehouse in California on their dime! This kind of service just doesn’t exist anymore, and I know that with a QSC rig, we’ll never be left high and dry.”
About Double A Productions
Double A Productions partners with every client in order to find a unique custom solution to plan and deploy events from start to finish. The company offers the best equipment to guarantee extraordinary experiences every time, coupled with their expert technicians for maximum results. From floor plans to CAD drawings to stage, lighting and sound design, as well as all the logistics and nitty-gritty on site, the company handles everything so that their clients can focus on their events. Double A Production brings 50+ years of combined production experience to the table–from CMA voting members to more than 200 produced concerts.
About QSC
Founded over five decades ago, QSC is a globally recognized leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of award-winning high-performance loudspeakers, digital mixers, power amplifiers, audio processors, digital cinema solutions, and the Q-SYS™ software-based audio, video and control ecosystem. Offering reliable, scalable and flexible solutions for professional installed, portable, production, corporate and cinema applications, QSC puts customers first with its highly acclaimed sales, service, and support networks worldwide.
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