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The Blitz Club
Exposed steel catwalks and glinting light rigs lend a techno-industrial gleam to the austere darkness of Tokyo's Blitz, the largest-scale live performance space in Japan. Stretching 20 meters tall, the black walls encompass both a dance floor and second-story balcony that together provide enough space to house 2,000 audience members. Before the Blitz, both domestic and international artists performing in Japan faced the same dilemma: most venues designed specifically for live performances seated only about 400 or so people. While spaces like converted stadiums were available for large-scale major events, Japan had a real need for mid-sized halls with suitable acoustics. Managed by major TV station the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), the Blitz Club helped fill that void by providing state-of-the-art sound quality in a space planned from the ground up as a venue for live music. Housed in buildings merely refurbished from previous incarnations for live sound use, most Japanese clubs lack the precise design of Blitz's physical structure, which maximize both the acoustics and the division of space. The optimal spatial layout of the building presented Japanese sound designers Kyoritsu with a high-tech challenge: equipping the ideal surroundings with an equally ideal house system. With bookings ranging from high-energy Japanese thrash bands to more intimate, subtle acoustic sets, Kyoritsu needed speakers capable of withstanding extreme variations in sound pressure while maintaining enough headroom to ensure accurate reinforcement at high volume. Installed by sound contractor, Hibino, with technical support on speaker placement from Acoustic Technical Laboratory, Inc. (ATL), Meyer's Distributor in Japan, the house system is based on Meyer Sound loudspeakers. Left and right clusters consist of two flown MSL-5 Concert Series Loudspeakers with four DS-2 Loudspeakers used as a directional mid-bass system. Chosen by artists ranging from international opera star Kiri Te Kanawa to American rock group, The Dave Matthews Band, MSL-5's are renowned for their clarity. The ground stacks each contain six 650-R2 subwoofers with four MSL-2A Concert Series Loudspeakers functioning as a short-throw, front-fill system. ATL then optimized the system's alignment with Meyer's SIM System II acoustic analyzer both before the opening, and on two subsequent occasions. Meyer's reputation for high-quality, reliable products in live sound applications led naturally to their selection for use at Blitz. The completed Meyer System accurately reinforces shrieking guitars, mellow horns, and throbbing techno dance beats with generous headroom and power unprecedented in a club of this size. Since its opening, the Blitz has provided an acoustically suitable venue for high-caliber foreign artists. Now open to both touring international stars and domestic performers, the club continues to set new standards for mid-size hall sound excellence. August, 1997 |
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