MLA MINI TAMES THE GHERKIN

There are some venues in the UK that just look fantastic from the outside but the views from the inside are even better – and The Gherkin in London is one of those venues. But it also happens to be one of the more challenging environments for sound, given the wall to wall glass frontage.

Old Barn Audio was recently asked by their customer, LoveLight Entertainment, to demonstrate the Martin Audio MLA Mini to them, and a gig at The Gherkin made for a fantastic real world road test.  The glass dome made for a jaw-dropping backdrop to a fantastic event, but Dean Williams, owner of LoveLight Entertainment, quite rightly asked if Old Barn Audio were up to the challenge of solving the acoustics of the bowl at the top of the building. Old Barn Audio, who had recently used MLA Mini at the equally awkward room of The East Winter Gardens in Canary Wharf to great effect, and was confident, therefore, that MLA Mini could rise to the challenge – which it naturally did.

Old Barn Audio deployed a very simple 4 x Martin Audio MLA Mini and 1 x Martin Audio MSX per side which was then supplemented with a pair of Martin Audio WS18X subs to add that little bit extra sub-bass.  The room was then mapped and programmed having the glass wall behind them set as a 'hard-avoid' to stop spillage on the stage and, from the first notes played, it was obvious MLA Mini had done the job.  Lemar, headliner at the event, was apparently blown away by the transparency of the sound and his personal on-stage monitoring was perfect – mainly to do with the rear rejection completed by the software.

Dean Williams finished off by saying, 'I was amazed at the front to back even nature of the sound' and the event proved another fantastic demonstration of the powers of MLA Mini.