The Great American Music Hall (GAMH)—located in San rancisco's Tenderloin neighborhood—recently improved its sound in the historic theater with a d&b audiotechnik XSL loudspeaker system. Sound Image, a CLAIR Global company, was behind the installation.
The 700-capacity venue has become a symbol of some of the best jazz and rock artists in the country. Recent notable events at the venue have included a 15-show residency celebrating the 70th birthday of John Zorn, a special 4-night run with Julian Casablancas, band The Voidz, as well as shows with artists as diverse as Ry Cooder with Taj Mahal and Napalm Death.
“At the time of the purchase, some of the folks involved with the decision had been out on tour and the better shows were always on d&b rigs,” stated Elijah Dowd, audio engineer, Great American Music Hall. “The company had just launched the XSL system which was the perfect size for the music hall.”
“XSL was the perfect choice for a venue like this,” agreed Jake Hendricksen, design consultant and account executive, Sound Image Integration. “With the tight stage and reverberant space, we needed all the pattern-control we could get. Weight is also a concern in a historic building like GAMH. The main structural members are 100+ year-old hand-hewn redwood timbers spanned with structural steel. We needed to engineer and certify new rigging points that met strict California requirements. The performance-to-size ratio with XSL is unlike any other product on the market. A high-performance directional line array system weighing in at under 90 lbs. per box is a game changer.”
The XSL for permanent installations encompasses all the comprehensive features of its SL-Series bloodline, from outstanding broadband directivity control and extended low frequency response to comprehensive rigging and is ideally suited to venues with a high dependency on clarity together with the need for high performance. SL-Series delivers more art for the audience along with quieter stages for the artists.
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“When d&b came into the hall, we followed their advice and used ArrayCalc to build a couple of ArrayProcessing slots;” said Dowd “a few to avoid the balcony at different levels for shows where the balcony is closed and a couple with different level settings for the main floor.” ArrayProcessing is a unique d&b technology which enables further optimization of an array’s tonal balance or level consistency over the vertical coverage area, or even level avoidance for cases like this so as not to further excite the room than required.
“Over the first couple of months, I paid attention to what engineers were doing EQ-wise on the Avid console, and what I was doing from show to show. I’ve made a few minor EQ cuts to account for the liveliness of the room.” At this point seven out of 10 times we are running it flat, and it just sounds incredible.” Dowd said he is very happy with the new d&b system and loves mixing on it.
Fred Barnes, GAMH general manager and booker has noted the extremely enthusiastic response from both artists and audiences. “The number of patrons who have raved about the new system this year has confirmed that we made the right choice," he said. "We have one of the most diverse calendars in the city, where anything from legendary thrash metal bands to extremely quiet classical ensembles can be playing from night to night and the versatility of this system to deliver crystal clear sound, extreme power, heavy bass and anything required of it consistently has been incredible. The patrons obviously rave about the sound in the venue itself, but the artists and touring crews have been equally thrilled with the monitor system and decreased stage volume from the new arrays and subs. Many bands and artists have told us that it was the best sounding venue on their tour for them, and ultimately there is nothing better to hear than that; it is what we are striving for every day, to try and deliver the best possible sound experience for the audience and the best possible playing experience for the performer.”
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The Great American Music Hall’s new system includes twelve XSLi8 and four XSLi12 loudspeakers, eight per side as L/R for the main PA, four SL-SUBs, two 10S point source as balcony fill, two 10S as delay balcony fill, four 44S for front fill, all powered by two 10D, eight 30D, and two D80 amplifiers. For the monitor system, six d&b M4, two M2, all powered by three 30D amplifiers. Two new Avid S6L consoles have been installed, 32D control surface at front of house and 24D control surface for monitors.
