When Jeff Woodford of NBS Audio provided his NineBar Sound System to Pineapple Tribe, a DJ collective whose members play a wide range of styles – including dub reggae, breakbeat, Techno and drum & bass – for an outdoor location at London’s Notting Hill Carnival, tight control of the sound was paramount.
But with an XTA DP448 managing the system, the Carnival revellers, local residents and local council were all kept very happy as the system delivered punchy but meticulously managed audio.
The NineBar Sound System was arrayed as a mono stack, comprising eight Turbosound mid-highs on 12 custom-built subs, located on the corner of Ledbury Road and Lonsdale Road. As well as sound control, the DP448 also aided a very tight setup schedule.
“We were doing a club event with the system until 6am on the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival,” says Jeff. “So the speed and ease with which we can set up is a real benefit. We controlled the DP448 via AudioCore on a wireless laptop and the whole set up only took a couple of hours.”
He continues, “With the wireless kit, it’s a very straightforward job to stand 50m back and fine tune the system, getting the frequencies exactly where they are required. It’s incredibly useful at the kind of events we do, where there is no traditional front of house position. I use the combination of XTA processors, AudioCore and the wireless kit at everything we do.”
But the overriding factor was the system’s controllability, given its close proximity to nearby houses.
“The noise limit was 95dB at the nearest residential property and it was strictly enforced,” says Jeff. “But the control of the system meant that we could put out 135dB, which dropped off to within the limits by the time the sound reached the nearest house.
“The sound quality was unbelievable and I heard only good comments about it.”
