A small band with big-gig energy, Radio Riot is a three-piece Britpop-style guitar cover band, currently rocking the pub and club circuit across Kent. Keen to ensure their shows sound like a proper gig, the band mic up every instrument and run extensive backing tracks for keys and strings, routing it all through a Linea Research M Series 44M06 amplifier, controlled via System Engineer 8 software, powering a Martin Audio rig comprised of two BlacklineQ Q118 subwoofers with two Q15 high output portable loudspeakers. “We mic the whole band up and we run quite a lot of tracks – it’s important that we sound like you’re at a gig, but in a small venue,” says lead singer and guitarist David Preston. “We don’t want it to sound weak – it needs to sound like a rock and roll gig.”

Amplification is often the overlooked part of a small-band rig, but for Radio Riot it’s the component that ties everything together. With no dedicated sound engineer and no van to haul gear in, David – who has a professional audio background – needed an amp that delivered serious output, intelligent processing and dependable performance in equal measure. The Linea Research 44M Series ticked every box.

With 1500 watts per channel, the Linea Research 44M06 has plenty of muscle for the BlacklineQ rig but its real-world advantage is how efficiently it draws power. “We need an amplifier that gives the output to the speakers to make us loud but doesn’t draw a crazy amount of current to shut the venue’s power down,” David explains. “It’s just a really power efficient amplifier and easy to use.

System Engineer 8 transforms how David runs the rig on the night. Running on a tablet over a wireless network, it gives him full oversight from anywhere in the room. “I can monitor everything I’m doing on the amplifier, make sure I’m not clipping any inputs, EQ on the amp – all on my tablet. Having that software to remotely tap into and monitor all night is really, really useful.

As no two pub rooms sound the same, the software’s preset functionality means Radio Riot don’t start from scratch every time. “I’ve got a preset for a bigger venue where I might want a bit more low-end, and another one where the subs back off a bit for the smaller venues.” Switching is instant: “You can flip between presets in 20 seconds.”

The simplicity of System Engineer 8 is a key feature for David, who notes, “It’s really intuitive to jump on at use and at the same time you can quite in-depth.” The highest praise that a band without a dedicated engineer can give however, is, “…once dialled in, the 4406 simply disappears into the workflow. If you did want to just unmute and mute every day, you don’t need to do anything else.”

For a small band serious about its sound, the combination of power, processing and pure simplicity has made the Linea Research M44 Series and System Engineer 8 indispensable for stadium energy on a smaller scale.