Calgary's Max Bell Theatre a "Venue for All Seasons" with Meyer Sound Matrix3 and Constellation
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With the recent addition of Meyer Sound Constellation electroacoustic architecture, the Max Bell Theatre in Calgary, Alberta's EPCOR Centre has become an exceptionally flexible multipurpose venue for all seasons. From fall through spring, Meyer Sound's Matrix3 audio show control and 113 self-powered loudspeakers function as a do-it-all surround and effects system for supporting plays and musicals by the Max Bell Theatre's resident company, Theatre Calgary. From May through August, when the venue opens for other performances, the Constellation system transforms the intimate 750-seat proscenium theatre into an acoustically luxuriant small concert hall. "We needed a solution that would involve the audience in multiple acoustical environments, and there simply wasn't anything else available that would allow us to do that and still have all the options to work with pure theatrical applications," says Jack Jamieson, a 20-year veteran sound engineer at EPCOR Centre. "We are extremely pleased with the results." The acoustics that sound best for one type of performance are not necessarily ideal for all kinds. For multipurpose venues like the Max Bell Theatre, the Meyer Sound Constellation system provides an effective solution without the steep costs and complicated logistics associated with architectural alterations. The Constellation system allows venue operators to modify their room acoustics at the press of a button, allowing them to host a wide range of events with the acoustics most appropriate for them. "We used Constellation's concert hall capabilities as a selling point to management," observes Jamieson, "since it makes the room ideal for a variety of non-reinforced acoustical music performances. Normally a proscenium theatre doesn't work for that, as the sound disappears into the stage house overhead." The addition of Constellation adds an entirely new dimension to the Max Bell Theatre's possibilities. Along with a virtual orchestra shell, the acoustically dry theatre now has a variety of acoustical setting options that suit the needs of different presentations, ranging from live theatre to symphonic concerts. The Constellation system at Max Bell Theatre offers a total of ten reverberation settings (from 1.2 seconds up to two full seconds) and separate zones for the stage and room presets. Chris Jacko, head of sound for Theatre Calgary, reports that he was startled by the difference Constellation makes. "I remember that, just after the tuning, we had a ballet rehearsal in here with just a solo piano. It was awesome to walk around and hear that one piano completely fill the whole room." The keystone of the audio infrastructure is a main reinforcement system comprising Meyer Sound CQ-1 and UPA-1P loudspeakers in the center cluster, two 700-HP subwoofers supplying bass power, and eight M1D line array loudspeakers to the left and right of the proscenium. The M1D loudspeakers are deployed as four two-high "mini arrays" with tight vertical coverage to evenly cover the two levels of boxes and balconies while avoiding excessive reflection from the balcony fronts. A combination of UPM-1P, UPJ-1P VariO, Stella-4 loudspeakers, and UMS-1P subwoofers serve double duty as both a surround/effects system and are used as part of the Constellation electroacoustic architecture. Each loudspeaker is individually addressable from the 112 analog outputs of the nine Matrix3 processors. The front-end system, complete with Wild Tracks hard disk playback as well as 88 analog and eight AES/EBU digital inputs, is controlled by a Meyer Sound CueConsole modular control surface. "I'm absolutely loving the Matrix3 system I have here," says Jacko. "It's almost ridiculously flexible. I never have to say 'no' to sound designers because there's really nothing the system can't do." Jacko notes that he's started to use Constellation for some "room sweetening" for the dramatic productions, but adds that "it will really come into its own for the summer rentals." Design of the main and effects/surround systems at the Max Bell Theatre was a collaborative effort by the EPCOR Centre staff and Shawn Hines of Gerr Audio, with installation by Allstar Show Industries of Calgary and final tuning by Bob McCarthy of Alignment and Design using the SIM 3 audio analyzer. Constellation design and tuning was handled by the Meyer Sound Constellation team. Occupying a full city block and hosting 1,800 performances and events yearly, the EPCOR Centre also houses three other venues equipped with Meyer Sound systems. In 2004, the 1,800-seat Jack Singer Concert Hall installed a system based around MSL-4 and UPA-1P loudspeakers, supplemented by PSW-6 subwoofers and MM-4 miniature loudspeakers. The smaller Martha Cohen and Engineered Air Theatres also employ Meyer Sound systems. February, 2009 |
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