Providing a refuge between tours, the farm in Bon Aqua, Tennessee, owned by Johnny Cash is now open to the public as the Storytellers Museum & Hideaway Farm – along with the nearby general-store-turned-live-music venue where he often played small shows.
Recently, famed Nashville trumpeter and audio engineer Dan Oxley oversaw the installation of two Danley Sound Labs-based sound reinforcement systems at the Storytellers Museum, one for indoor performances for up to 150 people and one for outdoor performances for up to 2,000 people. ‘True to Johnny’s spirit, we wanted to create a living museum, where great musicians can still connect with appreciative audiences,’ he says Oxley.
Given his expertise, his older brother and the establishment’s owner, Brian Oxley, gave Dan the responsibility of readying all aspects of the live music experience at the Storytellers Museum. The building itself was originally a general store that was later converted to a live music venue before indie record label guru Red Wortham converted it to a recording studio.
The younger Oxley researched a sound reinforcement system that would meet his high expectations for the Storytellers Museum...
‘A lot of the companies that I contacted for demos and pricing information had a cocky attitude, like “you’re gonna have the privilege of working with our stuff”,’ he says. ‘Danley was totally different. I talked to [Danley president] Mike [Hedden], and he was super excited about the project. He travelled out to visit the property with some Danley boxes to demo.
‘They sounded fantastic – more like a hi-fi system than a PA – and Mike’s whole attitude was so accommodating. It was clear that we wanted to work with the sound of the Danley boxes and with the people who stood behind them.’
The indoor stage uses a stereo pair of Danley SM-100 loudspeakers and a single Danley TH-118 subwoofer. The outdoor stage uses four weatherised Danley OS-80 loudspeakers, two for main stereo coverage and two for out fill, plus two Danley TH-118 subwoofers. In addition, the stages share four Danley SM-80M loudspeakers for use as monitors. Three Danley DNA 20K4 Pro and DNA 10K4 Pro four-channel amplifiers not only power the system, but also provide all of its input conditioning and loudspeaker conditioning DSP. Currently, Oxley uses a rack-mount PreSonus mixer with an iPad interface to mix, but he will soon upgrade to a physical PreSonus Series 3 console.
‘When I listen to live music, I always want a hi-fi experience,’ Oxley says. ‘I want hi-fi impact and clarity, but most PAs sound, well, like PAs. The Danley boxes give me that hi-fi sound – we could easily put up a screen and show a movie – and they continue to sound that good even at the high volumes needed for a show. We’re all thrilled with the new venue and look forward to making it a staple of the Nashville experience.’
‘Johnny Cash was known for honesty in his music and being someone the common man could relate to,’ Hedden adds. ‘We share those values and hope many people will take the time to experience this amazing place. To be able to work with Dan and his incredible family makes it even more special.’
More: www.danleysoundlabs.com
