The Bose Professional ShowMatch DeltaQ array loudspeaker system, brought to market in late 2016, is making its road debut this year on select dates of Switchfoot’s “Looking for America” tour. Veteran live sound engineer Ryan Nichols, has toured with the band for 14 years as FOH mixer and road manager. “It almost didn’t hit me until towards the end of the [first leg of the] tour,” says Nichols. “I was reflecting on my favorite shows on the tour and 90% of those were when we were using the Bose system. It’s an easy rig to mix on — ‘easy’ being that I know what I’m looking for in terms of the sound…this is a great sounding P.A.”
The ShowMatch system takes design concepts from the RoomMatch system, reconfiguring the array elements for the rigors of the road. Individual array modules can be field-configured for a variety of dispersion characteristics to suit a given application, including asymmetrical horizontal patterns.
Nichols says the ShowMatch concept is now road-proven. “They’ve done a really great job with it,” concludes Switchfoot’s Nichols. “I like the way the box sounds, the tuning is really nice and it definitely has the SPL. Your cymbals sound nice and clear, your vocals are right there, your guitars have some nice bite and some body, the bass sits in a nice place, and the drums have punch and body. It’s easy to rig, easy to hang and it covers the room really well. I love mixing on it. Furthermore, you want every single person in the room to get the best show; there’s a guy over there, and you want him to hear the same show as the guy over there, or the guy down there in the front, and that’s what the ShowMatch system accomplishes. I feel like Bose has done something that’s going to make a positive influence on the industry. I can say the Bose ShowMatch rig is already on my rider.”
