Power & Class

Minutemen march on with Peavey

December 17, 2007

University of Massachusetts musical arranger Michael Klesch needed a flexible audio solution that could project every member of the school’s historic, 390-member Minutemen Marching Band with clarity.

“Our previous sound system wasn’t able to really represent what we’re doing with a 300-plus-piece band,” said Klesch. “There was a power issue, and we were desperately looking for something that could handle more channels.”

Klesch upgraded to a Peavey sound system for the band’s live performances. Based around the 32-channel Peavey 32FX^™ analog/digital hybrid mixing console, Klesch designed this new system for McGuirk Stadium in Amherst where they can play for anywhere from 10-20,000, with power for travel dates where they play to as many as 30,000.

“With the 32FX we now have growing room,” he said. “We use about 16 channels for the front ensemble, and on the bus there are an additional eight channels that we use for small groups and vocalists. The ability to assign channels to the submixer—being able to run the vocalists off of one channel, and all the keys off another—that is really useful for us.”

With its roots dating back to the mid-1860s, the Minutemen Marching Band has helped influence the evolution of the genre and its traditions. To honor that, in 1998 the award-winning ensemble received the Louis C. Sudler Trophy, the most prestigious honor bestowed upon college bands, in recognition of the program’s contributions to the advancement of performance standards among college marching bands.

The Minuteman Marching Band has also performed for U.S. Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies in 1981, 1985 and 2001, and performed at the prestigious Bands of America Grand Nationals in 1993, 2001, 2004 and 2007.

Such an accomplished outfit goes far beyond the traditional percussion, brass and woodwind instrumentation; among UMass’s 390 positions are various instrumentalists, soloists, guitarists and vocalists. With no fewer than 25 PVM^™ 480 condenser microphones, six PVM^™ 46 dynamic microphones and the PVM^™ DMS-5 drum miking system at their disposal, Klesch can ensure accurate reproduction of the most delicate instruments through a quad of loudspeakers.

“McGuirk stadium holds about 18,000, so we engineered for about 10,000 people per side, and we have more than enough volume and clarity for that venue. We run a left and right channel per side with one QW^® 118 subwoofer and one Impulse^® 1015 full-range enclosure at each position. When you sit in a stadium the band takes up at least 30 to 40 yards side to side and it’s nice to be able to hear the instruments from the direction in which you’re seeing them.

“The system sounds incredible; the improvement of sound quality was amazing. It was funny how many people in the audience asked me if we had a new system.”