- Portland, OR-based Christian rock band Kutless is playing a variety of venues on its latest tour, from churches and civic auditoriums to an outdoor field and even a Minnesota casino. Regardless of the venue type or size, the band relies on a Meyer Sound MINA line array loudspeaker system supplied by Blackhawk Audio to deliver a consistent-sounding show.
“We pretty much cover the gamut on this tour, which is why I wanted to take the MINA system,” said Tim O’Neill, production manager and FOH engineer for Kutless. “It is incredibly versatile.”
Room layouts and acoustics vary drastically, though most venues are in the 1,500- to 2,000-seat range. For a typical configuration, main front arrays are 12- or 14-each MINA a side flown from the twin Applied Electronics mini line array towers carried on the tour. The remaining MINA loudspeakers are used for front fill or out fill, with eight 700-HP subwoofers for low-end support. Various configurations are programmed in the Galileo loudspeaker management system with one Galileo 616 processor, and the settings can be previewed and recalled in the Compass control software.
“The MINAs can do it all,” said O’Neill. “They’re a great size for us, since we’re on a one-truck tour and MINA lets us get all of our PA in about 10 feet of truck space.”
O’Neill says he’s been impressed by both the performance and the easy setup of the system. “We’ve had a lot of compliments on the sound, which I credit to the overall consistency—something we’ve struggled with in the past. With the MINA rig, it doesn’t matter if it’s a bare gymnasium or a carpeted church. It puts out the most consistent sound we’ve ever had on a headline tour. Also, it’s easy to work with. We use a lot of volunteer crew, so the small size and simple rigging make it a fantastic box from that angle.”
Completing the tour’s compact sound system are dual Avid VENUE SC48 consoles at FOH and monitor, Sennheiser in-ear monitoring, and Audio-Technica wireless microphone systems with the AE5400 condenser capsule for lead vocals.
“Kutless has transitioned into more of a radio-oriented, rock worship sound, and the MINA system is the perfect rig for what we’re doing,” said O’Neill. “It’s a great loudspeaker system, and I’m really impressed with how good it sounds at very high SPLs.”
