Winter Warpdrive is rightly considered to be a Midwest electronic music phenomenon. Describing one night every year in which more than a thousand partygoers come together to celebrate music, entertainment, and production at its finest, Winter Warpdrive books some of the most talented innovative fresh musicians and artists available, and puts on a unique production that many say is matched by no other. This year’s highly anticipated event at the Roberts Orpheum Theater in St. Louis, MO marked one of the first major outings for Spectra Audio Systems’ newly acquired self-powered Flex Array rig.

Spectra Audio Systems is a St. Louis based event production company specializing in over-the-top electronic music events, formed in 1994 by partners Timothy Kresko and Casey Hunter to provide sound systems for local area bands. Over the years they have expanded their inventory, and have continually worked to provide its growing client base – which has in the past included such notable names as Disney, ESPN X Games, and World Changers Ministries, as well as theater companies and major label artists – with the most up-to-date audio technology.

Partner Tim Kresko explains the thinking behind the company’s decision to invest in a Turbosound Flex Array system: “The cost of the system was what sparked our initial interest – it seemed very fairly priced considering its lineage. Of course price alone could never be a deal maker,” he says, “and the choice was sealed by the opinions of the engineers and promoters who were invited to the demo at The Pageant, a 2,500 seat room in St Louis. They all gave Flex Array a big thumbs up.”

Promoter PanOptic Productions achieved a record 1,700 ticket sales for the sold-out Winter Warpdrive event on February 6th at the historic Roberts Orpheum Theater, with headlining attractions Eddie Halliwell, Bluetech and Mimosa, as well as local favourites Ready, Andy B and Cypher, mixing up traditional dance flavors with downtempo and livetronica.

Putting up Spectra’s entire Turbosound rig for the first time in anger, systems techs Josh Limpert and Arthur Basil Shaw configured the Flex Array PA each side of the stage with nine deep flown TFA-600HDP tops, and a single stack of five TSW-218DP double 18” folded horn subs on the floor with a further sub for in-fill. System control was provided via BVNet by XTA processors.

According to Kresko, the 75° horizontal dispersion from the mid/highs avoided exciting the sides of the venue, enhancing overall intelligibility and helping to maintain a clear, well defined stereo image. “The system really tamed this notoriously live space,” he adds.

The sound quality drew well-deserved praise from partygoers and artists alike, with a body of opinion voicing that the Winter Warpdrive production even rivals the better-known Winter Music Conference in Miami. At previous events Spectra’s Turbosound rig has also earned unsolicited compliments from top-flight producers such as Ritchie Hawtin, Above and Beyond, The Glitch Mob, and Beats Antique. “These guys really are amongst the most demanding,” emphasizes Kresko. “For them to give us and the Turbosound rig such kudos makes us feel good about our decision to purchase Flex Array. I overheard one of the Above and Beyond crew raving about the sound, then approach the stacks to read the logo: ‘Ah… Turbosound. Brilliant!’.

“We chose Flex Array mainly for stealth,” he explains. “It's very convenient – no matter what the required configuration is, it's throw and go. The boxes sound fantastic and have plenty of gas. All the clients, artists, and guest engineers have raved about the quality of this rig, and they include everyone from national and international bands to hip hop artists, DJs, and talking heads. So my question is: ‘why not?’ This Turbosound system has upped our standing in our market, and we have absolutely no regrets with the self-powered choice. Our current clients are all happy to pay more to hire this rig, and it has opened previously closed doors for us.”

Kresko feels that the Flex Array sounded more cohesive than other line array and point-source systems that he has previously used for Winter Warpdrive. “Usually, an hour or so of tuning is required to get this venue to sing,” he says, “but this time it was GO straight out of the box – we didn’t touch any EQ anywhere. It was too easy. I kept having the thought that the tight performance of the 10” drivers was a key factor. The rig is very musical in the mid-bass compared to other systems we’ve used that employ 15” drivers for that pass band, yet it still had enough punch to not leave you wanting, like some of the other so-called midsize line array systems can do. The 10s blended perfectly with the subs. You know you’ve got it right when you can close your eyes and not hear any one frequency band as an individual entity.”

Festival promoter, stage manager extraordinaire, and audiophile Joe Grasso (who favors a certain brand of US-made PA) echoes Kresko’s feeling that surely something needed to be done to improve the Winter Warpdrive performance: “I kept looking for something to complain about, and just couldn’t find anything!”

PanOptic’s Shawn Harvick was at the Pageant demo and had already heard Flex Array on a number of events in the St. Louis area, and thought it would be the perfect fix for Winter Warpdrive. “We had high expectations of the system but I have to say that Flex exceeded them by far,” Harvick adds. “It was fantastically clear, and so pleasant to listen to even at the highest levels of the evening. Our thanks to Tim Kresko and Spectra Audio Systems, and we look forward to booking Flex Array again in the future.”

Reinforcing his positive recent experiences with Flex Array, Kresko concludes: “This system has been a home run for us. It was obviously extremely well thought out, which cuts down our time and stress from load in to load out – and it really does live up to its name. There are so many possible configurations that no venue has been a challenge, no matter what the obstacle. We love it.”

Thanks to Paul Addotta for the photography.