Combining a live music venue, recording studio, music school and party space, Rock City Studios plays a key role in the local music community in Ventura County, California. Much of the action centres on shows by national and local acts, as well as recording and videoing local bands’ performances. But until recently, the space had serious issues with its PA system.
The solution was elusive until the Rock City team discovered Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers. ‘This space was a hodge-podge of different businesses,’ says co-owner and GM, Brett DeCarlo. ‘We’ve renovated it and made it more kid friendly, cleaner, bigger, better, faster and stronger. Everything goes on in our main room, which holds 300 people, standing. We have big concerts in here, often with national bands and local support. There are mosh pits and people jumping up and down and going as hard, and having as much fun, as they could possibly have.’
‘This is an interesting room, and it’s gone through many iterations,’ agrees house engineer Mike Brown. ‘The fundamental problem we had was that the previous PA system was a traditional point-source array. We had a sweet spot in the middle of the floor but if you wandered too far front or back, you got out of that sweet spot. To get the levels that we needed for the bands that play in this area, we had to double up on our conventional PA system, and that led to comb filtering and interference, as we tried to fill the space with volume to get over the crowd levels. We also suffered from loss of high-end frequency response, poor stereo separation, and resonant frequencies. At first we attributed it to the room, which has anomalies, but when we installed the Renkus-Heinz system, it became very clear that we had been suffering from a dated PA system.’
‘DeCarlo first encountered the Renkus-Heinz system being demonstrated in the Hilton Hotel at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim. ‘He brought me over to check it out,’ Brown relates. ‘The Hilton lobby is an odd shape, and what was amazing was not only the sound of the system but the ability to keep sound from bleeding into the surrounding areas. I could carry on a conversation on the upper balcony, yet go down to the floor in front of the band and hear this fantastic sound.’
Renkus-Heinz put them in touch with Jeff Miranda at Pacific AV: ‘Jeff did a phenomenal job,’ Brown says. ‘The Hilton system used Renkus-Heinz IC2-series loudspeakers, and we thought, “great, we have unique obstacles, so what would be better than a steerable array for Rock City?” But Jeff, having become almost part of the family, realised that the IC2 wasn’t appropriate for this venue. He immediately steered us toward the Renkus-Heinz CFX101LA modular point-source array. He built a PA with the CFX101LA that sounded so fantastic, we were immediately sold.’
With the flexibility to be flown, ground-stacked, or pole-mounted, the CFX101LA combines the performance and pattern control of a line array with the clarity of a point-source system in a compact, affordable design. Rock City’s system employs two CFX101LAs. A pair of Renkus-Heinz CFX15S 15-inch high-performance subwoofers, mounted above the arrays, generate the powerful low-end the venue required.
‘With the previous system, the sound was too muddy, and we didn’t have that huge feeling, what I call the ‘heart punch,’ when you feel it in your chest,’ DeCarlo says. ‘With the CFX system, it’s a night-and-day difference. The stereo image is a lot wider. The clarity, especially in the high end, is there. The low end, too; you get that heart punch, that kick in your stomach that we’d been missing. We’re at a level of completion now.’
‘The CFX101s allowed me to adjust the angles so I’ve got fantastic coverage from the front of the venue all the way to the back,’ Brown adds. ‘People who were here with our previous PA and with the Renkus-Heinz system are amazed that they can walk around and get the same sound anywhere. We do everything here from punk rock to praise bands, and everyone who comes through comments on how great this venue sounds. We’ve attracted more national acts, and the kids are amazed at the quality of the sound that they get. With the Renkus-Heinz system, we can meet some of the rider requirements for the bigger name acts that look for places to play outside of LA. Now this truly is a professional venue.’
While sound was the most important factor in choosing Renkus-Heinz, it wasn’t the only consideration. ‘The system has to look cool too,’ DeCarlo insists. ‘Our new Renkus-Heinz system looks great, sounds great, and is built to last. We’ll take that.’
More: www.renkus-heinz.com
