The 28 date tour is based on a top-grade production, including 56 Outline Butterfly Hi-Packs (16 on each side for the main front hangs, 10 for each the sides and two each for front-fill) backed up by 26 Subtech 218 (12 either side and two in the centre); two Outline DVS 15 multi-purpose enclosures (1x15”; 1x3”) were also used to ensure perfect coverage for the front rows of the audience. The entire rig was powered by Outline T9 power amps (two 4800W, a single rack unit and just twelve kilos each).

The technician in charge of the Butterfly system on behalf of Brit Row is system engineer Adam Smith.

FOH engineer is Bryan ‘Froggy’ Cross, said: “We found come locations - both large and small - that were acoustically ‘complicated’, in England and Germany in particular, but this PA (Outline Butterfly) is very adaptable, from the most impressive stadium down to small venues, enabling us to use 12, 8 clusters, or even stacked systems. This is something big PAs aren’t able to do. My favourite set-up consists in 16+16 Butterfly Hi-Pack enclosures for the front and 12+12 Hi-Packs for the sides, 26 Subtechs, divided into 12+12 at the side and two stage centre. In larger venues, I add eight enclosures per side for delay purposes.

“What’s my opinion of the system? That it’s one of the best designs in recent years. For the Doll Domination Tour, after rejecting the idea of a big PA, we looked for a medium powered system with the best possible quality and versatility. I tried a lot, but wasn’t satisfied. To get a good sound, I often had to work a lot with the processors; even if I got good coverage, I had to cope with poor mid-low frequencies, due to a lack of air movement. Then we tried Outline, and I thought: ‘heck, I’m a fan of Italian cars – now I’m also a fan of their audio systems!’ What further impressed me was the bottom end – in other words the Subtechs. The majority of spectators don’t just want to see and hear the show - they want to ’feel’ it.

“In Pop-Dance music like this, the bottom end is really important: there are low frequencies that in almost all the songs go from 60-65 Hz to 40 Hz and are very well defined; with a lot of subs used together, this part usually sounds very 'slappy’. The Subtechs on the other hand are absolutely full-bodied, precise and powerful. After the first concert with this rig, my partner, the lighting engineer, come over to me and said: ‘What have you done to the bass frequencies? Even my eyes were shaking!!’.

“I often understand if the system works by just looking at the crowd from my mixing platform. If there’s a good impact and I see the punters bopping on the bleachers, I know the system works. Plus, on this tour and with the current economic situation, dimensions and weight are also important factors. We’ve got eleven artics and the more we manage to reduce space occupied and load weight (Butterfly manages to do this), the less we spend on truck rental and petrol”.