Meyer Sound News : M2D System Boosts Profile of California Performing Arts Center

M2D System Boosts Profile of California Performing Arts Center

"We are thrilled to be able to manage sound fidelity across a wide spectrum of artistry. We have not had this ability before."

- David Fischer,
Executive Director, Luther Burbank Center

The recent purchase of a Meyer Sound M2D compact curvilinear array system has proven an across-the-board winning strategy for the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, Calif. According to Luther Burbank Center (LBC) management, the system has earned glowing praise from audience members, slashed production costs associated with rental or artist-supplied PA systems, and stepped up the LBC's profile in the regional arts and entertainment market.

"We are thrilled to be able to manage sound fidelity across a wide spectrum of artistry. We have not had this ability before," says David Fischer, executive director of the LBC. "We rolled out the Meyer system with a Vince Gill show in June, and we had immediate positive feedback from the audience. I've also heard board members, community members and performers all comment on the difference it has made."

Anchoring the system for the 1,500-seat venue are two M2D compact curvilinear arrays, with five cabinets ground-stacked on each side. Four under-stage 650-P high power subwoofers provide ample bass support, with a UPM-1P compact wide-coverage loudspeaker mounted over each sub cabinet for front fill. Four UPA-1P ultra-compact wide coverage cabinets are flown as side fill to cover the extreme balcony seats of the horseshoe-shaped audience area.

Meyer Sound's design services department, in consultation with the LBC's production manager Jeremy French, used the Meyer Sound MAPP Online acoustical prediction program to determine optimum loudspeaker array configuration and placement. According to French, the M2Ds provided the ideal solution to the venue's inherent acoustical difficulties.

" This auditorium was built in the mid-70s as part of a large evangelical community church," he says. "The church eventually went bankrupt, and the whole building and 53-acre campus was purchased by a group of philanthropists for a community arts center. It's a live sounding room, designed primarily for choral groups. Also, the stage has a thrust that comes out almost 20 feet, and the only hang points are upstage of the thrust. Gain before feedback was a real problem, either using our old system or using any flown rental systems."

The M2D solution involved ground-stacking the arrays on top of 8-foot piano barns placed at rarely needed mid-side positions. The bottom M2D cabinets were angled down to catch the orchestra section, with the upper cabinets providing clear projection through to the back balcony. "The result is really incredible," insists French. "The M2D pattern is so tight that the sound shoots right along the edge of the stage thrust, but misses any mics put out front. The coverage is great, with the SPL staying constant from the front rows right back to the mix position."

The Meyer Sound system replaces an assemblage of custom cabinets that had been in place for two decades. According to Fischer, the old system "had three levels of sophistication: loud, louder and loudest." Local acts struggled to make do with it, but most major touring artists either brought their own production or insisted that another rental PA be brought in – which, as often as not, still proved unsatisfactory.

But with the new M2D system, says Jeremy French, all that has changed. "We are saving an enormous amount of time because we don't have to haul down that old clunky PA and put it back up. Also, with only a few exceptions, all the acts we've booked are happy to use the new M2D system. We've had some particularly good comments from groups that have been here before. They said they just couldn't believe the difference." In addition to Gill, acts that had used the new PA by mid-summer included Al Green, James Brown, India.Arie, Lyle Lovett, Joan Armatrading and classical guitarist Christopher Parkening.

French admits that some FOH engineers will show some nervousness when they look at the close proximity of the M2D arrays and their position behind front-line microphones.
" They worry about being able to get the vocal out front without feedback problems," notes French, "so I have to reassure them. So far, though, we've had no problems. They come back and say, 'Yeah, you're right, I can't believe how directional the system is.'"

As the one ultimately responsible for the venue's bottom line, David Fischer gives a tip of his hat to the Meyer Sound loudspeaker design team, and to the system designers who tackled the venue's specific problems. "There's both an art and a science behind acoustical management," he says, "and in my estimation the people at Meyer are top-level artists and top-level scientists."

Situated on a 53-acre site in the rolling hills of Northern California's Sonoma County, the 125,000 sq. ft. Luther Burbank Center for the Arts has been a focal point for regional fine arts and entertainment since it was established as a non-profit organization in 1981. The LBC sponsors over 110 events annually, and is home to several independent cultural organizations, including the Santa Rosa Symphony, Actors' Theater and Ballet California.

September, 2003