Funktion-One teamed up with long-term partner Audio Plus to give Vero its first Glastonbury outing at The Glade. The stage, which enjoyed a mixed programme of DJ and live performances, received plaudits from artists, festivalgoers and sound engineers, who praised the system’s precise stereo imaging and generous headroom.

Area Coordinator of Avalon, Glade and The Wood, Luke Piper, said: “I was overjoyed with the new system – it surpassed all expectations. We quadrupled the normal capacity of the venue up to 20,000, with people dancing right at the back of the crowd to Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim and Squarepusher. Here it sounded just as good as at the front with a full range, solid, clear and real bottom end, and great mid-range separation. Vero is a very real ‘non-synthetic’ alive sounding system that’s perfect for live and electronic acts alike. It’s the best system I’ve ever worked with.”

The Glade Stage system comprised left and right hangs of seven Vero enclosures per side – three V315s, two V90s and two V60s. These flown arrays were paired with an asymmetric bass setup consisting of a two wide/six high block of F124s stage left and a stack of four F221s stage right. The system was powered by Lab.gruppen PLM20K44 amps.

A fill system was deployed around the video relay screen which serviced the overspill area. It featured Evo 7Ts with Evo 7THs (for enhanced mid/highs) and F221 bass enclosures and could be turned on or off, depending on the size of the crowd.

Funktion-One implemented new crossover filter discoveries made during the development of Vero VX, leading Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews to conclude that Vero at The Glade was: “The best I’ve ever heard it.”

Dub Pistols’ FOH engineer Bill Borez was also pleased with the result: “I used the new Funktion-One Vero on The Glade Stage at Glastonbury festival and was extremely impressed with this system – very clean, very precise with great stereo imaging. Vocals cut though beautifully, and the bass was – for want of a better phrase – absolutely enormous.”

Kuenta’s FOH engineer Jovani Kock enthused: “I had a really wonderful time mixing on Vero – it is everything you want from a PA. As an engineer mixing a band that is low-end heavy, the Vero system exceeded all my expectations by miles. Lots of headroom, without compromising sound quality. I could mix in great detail without having to push the faders too much.”

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Each stage was curated by the people behind some of the UK’s best parties and music labels, making for a varied line-up of DJ and live performances.

Vero VX, which received its global launch at Prolight + Sound 2019 in April, was deployed at The Lawn – the festival’s 3,000-capacity main stage. The system featured four ground stacked Vero VX90 cabinets per side and eight V124 bass enclosures. Power came from MC2 Delta 90, Delta 100 and Delta 80 DSP Dante amps.

Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews was onsite to assist with the set-up and to oversee Vero VX’s maiden voyage.

Vero VX was developed to satisfy the growing demand for Vero sound in a more compact footprint. The VX90 is a 3-way vertical array enclosure with four new Funktion-One designed Neodymium drivers in a horizontally symmetric configuration: two reflex loaded, high efficiency 12” mid bass drivers; one Axhead loaded wide bandwidth 8” cone midrange driver; and a single 1” compression driver on a proprietary isophase diffraction waveguide. It measures 1120mm wide and 340mm high, its usable bandwidth is 50Hz to 20kHz and horizontal dispersion is 90°.

Funktion-One’s unique driver and waveguide technology enable a single transducer to cover more than four octaves of the audio spectrum, from 300Hz – 5kHz. This approach ensures vocals and musical harmonics are coherent in both time and space, providing benefits in clarity, intelligibility and stereo imaging. It’s an extraordinarily energy efficient system – up to eight cabinets can be powered by a single amplifier.

(Photograph by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective)

Commenting on Vero VX’s performance at Gottwood, Andrews said: “Given that this was the first outing and as we only had four units per side, typical reasoning could lead you to think that it may not be sufficient for the size of venue. However, the output and clarity of this relatively small system was outstanding. It performed beyond all expectations, with headroom to spare.”

Audio Feed’s Oz Jefferies added: “The VX produced an incredibly full, vibrant alive sound. The vocal clarity was effortless and its performance on live bands was incredible. The Deltas sound awesome.”

The other stages provided a mix of styles and ranged in size from The Barn at around 200-capacity to The Curve at 1,150. Each had a Funktion-One sound system from Audio Feed, apart from Trigon which was supplied by Full Fat Audio.

Audio Feed’s Festival Project Manager Conor Dever reflected: “Supplying this year’s Gottwood Festival with 10 stages of Funktion-One was a great pleasure for all the team at Audio Feed. Set in an absolutely stunning part of the UK, it was a wonderful experience delivering high quality audio systems in such a beautiful setting.

“The Lawn stage featured the first outing of the new Vero VX system – which sounded absolutely immense. Elsewhere in the festival we focused on implementing quadraphonic systems to curb noise restrictions and deliver a sonic experience for the festival goers. We’d like to thank the festival organisers and everyone else on site who made such an amazing show possible.”

B3 is the brainchild of Daniel Teuma, director of promoter Novel Tours & Events. In the lead up to its launch, Teuma explained the rationale behind the pop-up nightclub: “One aspect sorely lacking in Melbourne’s nightlife is an inner-city location suitable for largescale, indoor events,” he said. “To ensure each occasion is truly special, B3 will only host three events per year and feature artists who have transcended their respective niches to become full-blown scene icons.”

The first of those events featured DJ Koze, Charlotte De Witte and Gerd Janson, as well as a Funktion-One Vero sound system from Full Throttle Entertainment.

Read the full article in the January 2019 issue of TPi

Promoted by Zepeda Bros – the team responsible for a string of successful rock events, including Knot Fest Mexico – the show delivered over four hours of live rock music to an enthusiastic crowd at the open-air gardens of the Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The two international acts were supported by three of Mexico’s finest  – Lack of Remorse, Matherya and QBO.

To ensure the audience received the full power and impact of the performances, Loto Audo supplied a complete Funktion-One Vero sound system.

The system garnered praise from all the acts’ FOH engineers – providing proof positive of Vero’s abilities across all genres of music. For the opening act, Lack of Remorse, FOH duties fell to Hugo Garzon – one of the most sought-after sound engineers for metal rock bands in Mexico.

Garzon said: “I was impressed when they gave me the audio and we started the soundcheck. It was crazy to hear the power and clarity with which it was counted at that moment, I left very satisfied to work with such powerful audio.” A sentiment echoed by both Papa Roach’s FOH engineer Bobbo and Good Charlotte’s mix-man Chris McMillan.

The system comprised hangs of three V60, two V315 and two V90 per side, plus an asymmetric configuration of eight V221 bass enclosures and four V132 sub-bass enclosures. Two F1201 speakers were used as front fill. The stage front monitor setup featured eight PSM12 wedges, with another two combining with a BR221 bass reflex speaker for drum fill and three Resolution 5s and F221s per side for side fill.

Vero system tech, Alexander Danielewicz, used Lake processing on flat EQ and only applied the corresponding delays to match time on speakers on subs with the Vero, front fills and infra subs.

Danielewicz has recently worked with the Loto Audio team on a number of installations and festivals, using a variety of other sound systems. He was able to verify that the Vero was the best he had heard. He commented: “Working with Vero has been a bliss up to now. It is unlike any PA system I had ever heard, with the Funktion-One signature clarity and punch. What I most like about the Vero is its huge stereo image, transient response and dynamic range. From the system tech point of view, I only had to time align and change speaker levels. And no EQ needed!”

Throughout the event, Vero wowed a crowd not normally accustomed to all-enveloping depth and clarity provided by the system. For promoter too, Vero really hit the spot, proclaiming that it sounded “brutal” and requesting its presence at the following weekend’s Cypress Hill show.

Held in the port town of Barcarès on France’s southern coast, Electrobeach is the country’s largest electronic music festival, featuring more than 100 DJs and hosting around 100,000 people over its three days.

To meet the needs of such a large-scale event, Funktion-One specialists from across France and beyond came together to work on the festival.

Heading up the project was Concept Group, based in the south of France, who in turn brought together Solution One from Montpellier, Remote from Paris and Think! AV from the Netherlands – each providing the equipment and expertise required to ensure this year’s sound systems would surpass all those that had come before.

Read the full article at TPi Magazine

For over a decade, United Music Group’s Transmission Festival series has delivered EDM spectaculars to an increasingly appreciative – and ever-expanding – global audience. Each year, the team serves up a fresh edition of the event, which brings together an impressive roster of acclaimed DJs to perform in a continuous chain of sets, thematically linked under a single overarching narrative.

For this year’s Transmission Festival Asia 2018, Spirit of the Warrior was adopted as the theme, a concept introduced and expanded throughout the night by specially created video content displayed on giant video screens. A loaded package of lights, lasers, live performers and pyro provided 360 degrees of pounding visual intensity, while a Funktion-One system comprising Vero vertical arrays and Evo series loudspeakers ensured comprehensive coverage and euphoric audio clarity for the assembled clubber crowd.

UK-based Funktion-One supplier Audio Plus was responsible for providing the entire audio system – a continuation of the relationship first forged in 2009, when organiser and promoter Anco van der Kolk first approached them to provide a world-class PA for the original Transmission events in the Czech capital of Prague. Following the incredible success of those early European shows, Transmission spread wings, going global by perfectly replicating each themed experience for audiences in Melbourne and Bangkok.

When no suitable Funktion-One system could be sourced in South East Asia, van der Kolk once again turned to Audio Plus, who agreed to ship out the required gear to Thailand for the event – thus ensuring the same high standards of audio quality could be maintained.

The system used at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) – the venue for Transmission Asia – mirrors the one used at Spirit of the Warrior’s debut in Prague last year, albeit adapted to suit the specific requirements of the site.

Funktion-One’s Vero vertical array system formed the heart of the PA. The two main hangs comprised five Vero V60 mid-high enclosures with 60-degree horizontal dispersion, five Vero V315s mid-base enclosures and four V90 mid-high enclosures with 90-degeee horizontal dispersion per side. A centre spaced sub array of 24 Vero V221 bass enclosures provided the low frequencies for the venue.

Two Evo 7Ts, two Evo 7THs and two Evo 7TL-215s per side were flown as delays, while six Resolution 5Ts were used as fills along the down stage edge.

Two PSM318s brought Funktion-One fidelity to the DJ booth. Behind the scenes, amplification comprised four V-Racks (three PLM20K44 per rack), two PLM20K44 and three Audio Plus ES8 Amplifier Racks (with two MC2 E100 and a XTA DP448 in each). Audio Plus also provided a bespoke control system that included a DiGiCo SD8 mixer with custom Lake drive system incorporating Dante audio networking and distribution.

As Audio Plus project manager Kris Hayes commented: “Vero and the Evo are both fantastic products. What Funktion-One have done with the sound of both systems is huge – especially in the low mid range – and the practicality of both Vero and Evo have made a massive improvement to our workflow on site.”

The BITEC’s acoustically challenging nature made the precise controllability of the Vero an invaluable asset. “Having three individual cabinets meant that we could configure the system to our exact specification, using the projection software to ensure we had an even coverage throughout the venue,” said Hayes.

The speed of installation provided by Vero’s Lambda flying system was another huge advantage. With its FlyGrid telescopic boom and enclosure FlyPlates (integral to the V60, V90 and V315), the Lambda system allowed swift, safe, easy installation – even enabling inter-cabinet splay angles to be adjusted while the enclosures were in suspension.

Hayes commented: “It’s such an easy system to fly, even with the language barrier, the locals had the hang of adding cabinets and setting angles on the array as it’s going up.”

Having delivered Transmission Asia to universal acclaim, Universal Music Group and Audio Plus have now turned their focus on forthcoming Transmission events.  These include Transmission’s regular European outing in Prague this October, as well as the Transmission stage at the Airbeat One festival in Germany – both of which will, of course, enjoy the superlative sounds of a Vero system.

Cox regularly turns to Funktion-One founder Tony Andrews to deliver the finest sound reproduction, and, to that end, the system at his stage at Ultra was a tour de force of Funktion-One’s flagship technology and philosophy. Due to Andrews’ passion for accuracy, he has developed strategies that fix mechanical anomalies with mechanical solutions and acoustic issues with acoustic solutions.

The main speaker hangs were a full contingent of Vero cabinets. Vero is a large format speaker system that skilfully melds point source coherency with many of the conveniences of vertical column array systems. The system’s throw and coverage can be tailored to suit the venue and 12 Vero cabinets per hang ensured that each audience position from the front to the back had excellent imaging.

Vero was powered and processed by Lab.gruppen PLM20K amplifiers and LM44 system controllers, which are specifically utilised to take advantage of their high power output, precise signal processing, and Dante networking capabilities. All communication between DJ booth, monitor beach, FOH and amplifiers was accomplished using managed switches and fibre optic links.

The low frequency range of the music programme was reproduced using ground-breaking concepts in fixture design and system deployment. The venerable V221 is a dual 21″ folded horn with exceptional transparency and output. The ultra-low frequency range between 20Hz and 45Hz was reproduced using Funktion-One V132 enclosures, which utilise a 32″ cone driven by a 10,000W positioning motor – the Powersoft M-Force. Functionally, combining these two cabinets results in zero equalisation being required to achieve a flat frequency response from 90Hz to 20Hz, with tremendous impact and deep resonating bass without limitations.

The V221s and V132s were arranged in two single stacks, both with minimised horizontal dimensions. The result is a smooth coverage pattern in both the time and frequency domain due to the minimisation of inter-cabinet arrival time differences.

Cox also requested that the Funktion-One PSM318 be used onstage for DJ monitoring. The PSM318 is a floor-standing, four-way monitor system that features two 18″ drivers for low end, and a tri-axial low/mid/high driver for precise and coherent wave-front arrival regardless of where the listener stands.

Ward said: “Full Throttle Entertainment has been deploying the Resolution Series with much success for a number of years. We were consistently being approached by our clients to do bigger and bigger shows. Vero is the answer in addressing these large format requirements, as well as bringing what is, in my opinion, a new benchmark to live touring.

“Vero opens up a lot of different markets for us. Many clients need to see speakers look a particular way and irrespective of how amazing Vero sounds, it has the look many corporate and live clients want to see. We previously couldn’t get our foot in the door but now there is a whole new client base interested in talking to us.”

Vero is the brainchild of Funktion-One founder and pro audio industry pioneer, Tony Andrews. It is a complete system – featuring loudspeakers, amplification, rigging and software – that combines outstanding sonic performance with ease of use. It is arrayable, meaning it can be deployed quickly, yet its audio quality and efficiency are uncompromised.

Ward continues: “From the beginning, we were excited to see what Tony would do next with loudspeaker design, and with Vero we were not disappointed. The product really raises the bar in terms of sound quality, while offering the discrete appearance that certain clients look for. After many discussions with Tony and an invite to the Funktion-One HQ in England to hear Vero, we just had to add it to our inventory.”

Full Throttle Entertainment played an important role in Vero’s development by deploying a beta version of the system at a number of events before it was officially launched. This meant that Ward and his team had an opportunity to work with the system and build their understanding of it. Ward’s visit to Funktion-One provided an opportunity for more training. Funktion-One founder, John Newsham, who worked with Andrews to develop Vero, then travelled to Australia to join Ward for the Googoosh concert in Sydney. This provided a real-world, one-to-one training scenario, and an opportunity to complete the training process.

Ward’s journey into pro audio started in 1989, when he attended his first underground warehouse party in Sydney. In the years that followed, he worked on events throughout Australia, America and Europe. In 1999, he set-up Full Throttle Entertainment in the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas. It was here in the early 2000s that he first became involved with Funktion-One. Much later, and after returning home to Australia, Ward recognised that there was an opportunity in the Australian marketplace for Funktion-One. In October 2011, he formed Full Throttle Entertainment, which quickly became the go to company for Funktion-One in Australia, as well as a leading supplier for technical services, nightclub design, event production, and tour management.

This year Full Throttle Entertainment has already delivered Vero sound to Transmission Festival Australia (pictured), Strawberry Fields (Main Stage), and Subsonic (Main Stage and Paradiso Stage) with amazing results. Future Australian Vero events include: Let Them Eat Cake 2018 (Main Stage and Guillotine Stage) and Pitch Festival (Main Stage).

Tony Andrews commented: “We’re very happy that there is now a Vero system in Australia and that it’s in the hands of a company that is not only technically proficient but also very knowledgeable when it comes to the demands of the market there. Adam and his team have already had some fantastic results with Vero. I’m certain that there are many more to come.”