Installed by audio specialists Petrix, the club's layout and famous nightly opening made for a challenging installation.
"While the acoustic characteristics of the room are good, the venue is 'in the round' and there is only 15.5' from the front of the stage to the wall at the rear of the venue, 30' to the left and 46' to the right. The ceiling is low and the 200 seats are lined up right against the stage, all the way to the walls," says Petrix owner Amit Peleg.
Because of the layout and the music being mostly acoustic, 80% of the audience sits within 20' of the stage, so a lot of stage sound is audible. As a result, the house system is used mainly to balance the sound coming from the stage. To achieve this there are three mix zones, designed to compensate for the position of instruments. For example, audience sitting house right hear mostly drums acoustically, while stage right projects more piano. The bar area is a third mix, as the stage volume is much lower in that area.
"We knew we needed DSP-based amplifiers," says Peleg. "A few months earlier, I tested a Yamaha TXn amplifier which impressed me with its quality of sound and control features. I have worked with other DSP-based amps before, but features in the TXn series gave us the extra control that we were looking for.
Complementing the TXn amplifiers is a new Yamaha M7CL digital mixing console with an Apple iPad running the Stagemix app.
"The Blue Note bought one of the first five M7CLs to arrive in the US when it was introduced. It worked very well, in fact lasting longer than any other console used by the club in its 30 year history," says Peleg. "When time came to upgrade the system, it was a natural choice to go with an M7CL again."
(Jim Evans)
