The managers had devised a 'wish list' which included a health and safety compliant structural upgrade to the theatre. When the funds became available, Marquee Audio was among those to receive the specification, and responded by specifying a Turbosound TQ system. A flown central cluster of three TQ-310s is reinforced at FOH by TQ-315s, with TQ-308s at front of stage. Four ground-stacked TQ-315s handle the sub-frequencies, while balcony delays are provided by a further pair of TQ-315s. As with the previous system, the entire set-up is powered by QSC's PLX series amplifier.
But the component that has made the biggest change to life at the Chatham venue is the introduction of the BSS Soundweb. A SW9088ii (configured Line/Line) has been supplied by Marquee Audio with a 9010 'Jellyfish' remote panel, up in the control booth. "Marquee's proposals included Soundweb because of the multi-purpose nature of the theatre," continued Stevens, who has been at the venue for 10 years. "It enables us to programme different presets for different users and lock them off, so that touring sound engineers can come in without disturbing the sound. The Jellyfish sits next to the sound desk, and among other functions, will allow us to push a paging button, and the PA immediately shuts down."
The Central Theatre needs to store a number of different gain settings: as a receiving house it hosts regular folk, jazz and orchestral nights as well as theatre and cinema.
(Lee Baldock)
