Meyer Sound Laboratories, Inc.

 Following his chart-topping album Rolling Papers, Wiz Khalifa recently completed an arena tour visiting 40 North American cities. One noteworthy ingredient in Khalifa's recipe for success is the potent Meyer Sound MILO-based reinforcement system powering his five recent tours. Rainbow Production Services of Atkinson, NH provided touring audio support.

For FOH engineer and production manager Kevin Smith, it was smooth sailing every night with MILO. "It has everything you want—great clarity, along with raw power you can feel from the front row to the back."

Khalifa's latest tour played mostly mid-size arenas drawing audiences of up to 7,000 fans. The Meyer Sound system was anchored by main hangs of 16 MILO line array loudspeakers per side and bolstered by twin side hangs of 12 MICA line array loudspeakers each. Twelve 700-HP subwoofers were used, and six UPA-1P loudspeakers provided front fills. Systems tech Joe Larsen plotted specific venue coverage using the MAPP Online Pro acoustical prediction program. A Galileo loudspeaker management system comprising two Galileo 616 processors provided system drive and processing.

On stage, a Meyer Sound monitoring system included side fills of two four-high flown MICA arrays each with a 700-HP underneath supporting Khalifa and his band. The drummer was given his own 700-HP subwoofer, and 16 MJF-212A stage monitors populated the stage.

For monitor engineer Bruce Andrews, the all-Meyer Sound systems have been a reliable factor for all the tours.

"With any artist, consistency is what you're aiming for," he says. "And with Meyer, at FOH or monitor, the consistency is spectacular. The artist can walk on the stage and feel like he's in the same room as a week ago, a month ago, or last year."

Scott Tkachuk, chief technology officer and touring director at Rainbow, shares Andrews's sentiments about consistency. "Wiz is happy and his management is happy," says Tkachuk. "This is perfect proof that Meyer MILO is an investment well made."

Feeding signal to the Meyer Sound systems was an Avid VENUE D-Show console at FOH and an Avid VENUE Profile in monitor position. Wireless microphones systems were Shure UHF-R, with Khalifa's vocals captured by a Beta 58 capsule.

Rainbow Production Services, a division of New England Audio Tech LLC, provides sound and lighting systems for concert touring and events of all sizes. Other recent Rainbow clients include Three Days Grace, Dane Cook, and Kanye West.