Originally opened in 1863 as the town's Corn Exchange, the Palace Theatre was joined by the Grand Agricultural Hall 64 years later. Despite an occasionally chequered career, the venues are still going strong today.
With audience capacities of 500 and 1300 respectively, these days the Palace Theatre and Grand Hall form a multi-purpose complex. However, attracting touring acts to the Grand Hall was starting to becoming a problem, as it had no in-house PA system.
"We had started to do a number of higher profile gigs in the Grand Hall, but a major obstacle to promoters was the cost of hiring in audio and lighting systems," says the venue's assistant technical manager Martin Vivers.
"We don't have huge capacity and are a provincial venue, so we can't charge high ticket prices. Once a promoter had taken the sub-hire costs out, there wasn't much left over."
The decision was taken to install a front of house PA and wedge monitor system, along with a lighting rig, pit barriers and a wheelchair platform to bring the venues up to the latest standards. However, their multipurpose nature meant that the entire audio system had to be movable between the venues (or to put away) and that the size of front of house positions had to be kept to a minimum.
"It was important that we had a digital system, with a Cat 5 multicore, stage boxes and no bulky racks," says Vivers. "I was aware of all the available options for the budget we had available and it was a combination of factors that made Yamaha system the best option."
Local supplier Zisys Events supplied a Yamaha M7CL-48ES console and three SB168-ES stage boxes. The company also purchased a second M7CL-48ES and three further SB168ES, which could be rented should the Kilmarnock venues need, for example, a separate monitor system.
"We were an early adopter of both the M7CL and LS9, we've used them on loads of different shows, so we knew how well the M7CL48-ES system would work at the Palace complex," says Zisys manager Danny Anderson. "It needed to be totally flexible but, with a permanent EtherSound network now installed in the complex, the desks and speakers can all be moved to where they're needed for any event.
"Having just one connection to the Ethersound network, with no need for lots of analogue cables, is a huge bonus.
"Another big criteria was that Yamaha consoles are an industry standard. Part of the idea is to attract more promoters to use the venues, so it would have been a bit self-defeating to put something esoteric in. The M7CL is extremely rider-friendly, Yamaha digital consoles are ubiquitous and you know that most touring engineers will have used them."
"The M7CL is such a well-known desk, it makes it very easy for visiting engineers," adds Vivers. "We are also involved in an annual live music event at the town's Dean Castle. Because there is very limited audience capacity there, we are bringing the headline acts to the Palace complex now, so the new system will hopefully attract bigger names for those shows as well."
(Jim Evans)
(photo: Diana Johnson)
