L-Acoustics heads out on tour with Alice Cooper and Deep Purple

Legendary classic rockers Deep Purple and Alice Cooper have taken L-Acoustics’ K1, K2 and Kara systems on a co-hosted 20-city tour this summer in amphitheaters across the US.

System provider Thunder Audio Inc. of Livonia, Michigan provided the audio systems for the tour, which is supported by blues-rock veterans The Edgar Winter Band.

Ethan Thompson, audio tech for Thunder Audio, spearheads each show’s set up. "The L-Acoustics system is so efficient to fly that we’ve been able to save an hour each day on our in and reduce the time on the out,” he said. “The Network to control our amplifiers is always solid, and the architecture and sonic quality of the system speaks for itself.”

Thunder Audio owner Tony Villarreal travelled to three of the shows, and said he was thrilled to be a part of the tour. “It’s such a great pleasure to see classic acts selling out amphitheaters”, he remarked, “especially when they still sound all the way around fantastic!”

“Working with Tony and Thunder Audio always guarantees that I’ll have the tools that I need to make my job easier”, added Michael Charbonneau, Thunder’s system engineer for the tour. As for the L-Acoustics system, “it flies easy and sounds great in the venues we’re playing in, and with Sound Vision, you can make it perfect.”

For a very loud band, the system projects exceptionally well.

-Deep Purple FOH engineer Tobi Hoff

Deep Purple FOH engineer Tobi Hoff has been with the band in Europe since 2002, and worldwide since 2012. “Deep Purple is unique because they’re very loud onstage – they use no in-ear monitors. It is all amps and speakers – just as they have for the past 49 years”, said Hoff, who is also one of L-Acoustics’ European freelance consultants. He added that the system is "definitely my #1 choice for Deep Purple," especially because the K1 and K1-SB combo goes down to 30hz. "For a very loud band, the system projects exceptionally well.”

Rob Hodgkinson, monitor engineer for Deep Purple, has been touring with the band for 22 years. He calls L-Acoustics “head and shoulders above any manufacturer that I’ve worked with.” Since Deep Purple has no in-ears or wedges, the L-Acoustic Kara side fills with SB28s are like “big headphones. Keeps it dead simple!”

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