Part of a major new development that includes a retail mall, hotel, spa facility and housing complex, the 8,000-seat Tokyo Garden Theatre already ranks among the Japanese capital’s leading theatre venues. It is designed to stage events every day of the week, where shows can load in out quickly with easy access to a versatile, world-class, and permanently installed sound system.
‘At my previous job, I was in charge of establishing Sendai PIT, a small live club in the city of Sendai,’ explains Katsushi Kamuki from the theatre’s Operation Department. ‘We used Nexo speakers there, and I felt that their bold and powerful sound would be well-suited to the sound at Tokyo Garden Theatre. So, I took everyone involved in making the decision to Sendai PIT for a test listen before deciding to use Nexo.’
The result of that visit is that two hangs of Nexo STM M28 and B112 are now rigged either side of the Tokyo Garden Theatre stage as the main system, with adjacent hangs of Geo M10 and MSub15 subs as out fills. STM S118 subwoofers are located under the stage with PS15-R2s used as front fills. Small clusters of STM M28s are installed on the ceiling as delays, and Nexo’s compact ID24s are used to extend coverage under balconies.
Amplification and processing come from a bank of 4-channel, networkable Nexo NXAmp4X4 Mk2 powered controllers, with Yamaha Rivage PM7 digital consoles are serving FOH and monitor mixing.
Commenting on behalf of the Theatre Operation Department at Sumitomo Fudosan Retail Management Co, General Manager Hiroyuki Honda says: ‘On weekdays, we aim to be like a large live music club that you can just pop into when the mood strikes you and, on weekends, a hall that major artists can include in their arena tours. We wanted to cut down on set-up time by preparing permanent equipment that performers can use as much as possible. Performers use our permanent speakers even more than we expected. I believe that this percentage will increase even more in the future.’
Despite its seating capacity, the venue is relatively intimate, with a maximum viewing distance of just 54m. ‘Performers have praised the closeness to audience seating, saying that it’s easy to feel the energy from the audience’ continues Kamuki continues. ‘On the stage, it feels as if the audience surrounds you. One artist who came to see the hall before their performance said, “This is amazing!” when they stood on stage.’
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