For The Red Hot Chili Peppers, embarking on a massive world tour meant harnessing the power of an advanced monitor system to ensure reliable performances in different venues around the globe. The audio experts at Rat Sound Systems, Inc. chose to use their new Rat Sound SuperWedge monitors with Powersoft amplification.
This monitor system was chosen because the team found it unique and versatile for delivering detailed, highly customized audio for the band. To get the most out of the SuperWedge's features, Dave Rat of Rat Sound turned to the exceptional clarity and routing capabilities of Powersoft's X4 power amplifiers. When Red Hot Chili Peppers monitor engineer Mark Vanderwall later requested X4 amplifiers to work with the EAW MicroWedge 12s, they became part of the monitoring system, and the tour officially went to an all-X4 monitor power section, delivering incredible performance and output from two compact racks.
Powersoft X4 amplifier unleashes the power of the SuperWedge
The Rat Sound SuperWedge features four independent speakers, using all four inputs of the X4 amplifier. Rat Sound's engineers were able to use the flexible routing capabilities of the Powersoft X4, configurable within its powerful Armonía software, to allow multiple output configurations for the SuperWedges and tailor their outputs to the needs of The Red Hot Chili Peppers on stage.
For bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith, the X4s drive several SuperWedges containing a pair of 12" speakers, one 10" and one 2". "Using input 1 on the X4, we send signal to all four speakers, but we use Armonía to split the frequencies between 40 Hz and 80 Hz for one of the 12s, 40 Hz and 250 Hz for the other, and 250 Hz to 20 kHz for the 10" and 2" speakers," explains Dave Rat. "This results in a 4-way wedge that reduces the comb-filtering interference in the 80 to 250 region that occurs when both 12s reproduce those frequencies." Input 2 on the X4 lets the SuperWedge work as a conventional tri-amped wedge, using one 12" speaker plus the 10" and 2". Input 3 outputs only 40 Hz to 80 Hz to the 12s, allowing direct control of the subwoofer frequencies alone. Each X4 was able to drive a pair of SuperWedges with plenty of headroom thanks to its 3,000 watts per channel at 4 ohms.
In guitarist Josh Klinghoffer's SuperWedges, one of the 12" speakers was replaced with a Celestion 12" guitar speaker. With the X4's routing, these can provide either a standard tri-amped wedge configuration on input 1, or use input 2 to deliver full-range output to the guitar speaker only. Using an emulated output from the guitar rig, this lets Klinghoffer hear a guitar sound that's extremely close in tone to the sound of his amp. Klinghoffer's monitor wedges, operating in stereo, are each driven by one X4.
Big options in a small package
Red Hot Chili Peppers monitor engineer Mark Vanderwall was so impressed with the performance of the Powersoft X4 with Rat Sound's SuperWedges during earlier tests that he requested X4 amplifiers to handle the rest of the monitor system, which includes EAW MicroWedge 12 units, double drum units, a drum subwoofer, two Rat Sound L-wedges, and side fills. This ensured crystal-clear clarity and reliable Powersoft performance across every element. Because of their small single-rack-unit size, the 10 X4 amplifiers that made up the final system fit easily into two custom-panel racks designed by Jon Monson, Rat Sound's touring manager, which slid right under Vanderwall's console. "It's hard to imagine that each of these racks can deliver 120,000 watts of power at 4 ohms with 24 inputs and 24 outputs," said Rat. "Not to mention the five high-quality limiters per output."
Reliability that scales
To meet the demands of a large-scale international tour like this one, reliability and efficiency were key factors. "We feel very confident in the integrity of this setup thanks to the use of Powersoft in the system," said Rat. "The systems have been operating exactly as we planned, and we even included a backup X4 in each rack, preloaded with all the configurations needed to replace any other X4 in the rack for added redundancy."
Rat Sound built two identical independent monitor systems for the tour, allowing the tour's engineers to "leapfrog" setups, that is, to set up one system at the next venue while the other runs the show at the current one. Rat Sound was pleased to purchase the full complement of 20 X4 amplifiers needed for both systems, knowing they will be a valuable resource for countless future tours. "Powersoft's X Series amplifiers and our Rat Sound SuperWedges make an incredible team," said Rat. "Together they're able to provide unprecedented flexibility and audio quality, and we're confident they'll meet the needs of most artists and monitor engineers in the industry."
