The Sacramento Music Circus, a destination for more than 100,000
patrons a year and the site of some of the city’s most creative theater
production, moved from the canvas tent that the company used for 52
years and into the 2,200-seat Wells Fargo Pavilion. The relocation
called for drastic improvement to the venue’s structure —
including reinforcing the walls with Teflon-coated fabric, insulation
and soundproofing materials — and an equipment upgrade.
To create an acoustically intelligent space for the new structure
and to mimic its circus tent motif created a challenge because of its
round, bowl-like shape. A team of experts was called in, including
sound designer Bob Sereno (California Musical Theatre), representatives
from Meyer Sound, Robert F. Mahoney and Associates’ Curtis Kasefang and
Audio Analysts (Colorado Springs, Colo.).
The Sacramento Music Circus’ new system comprises 12 Meyer UPA-2P
loudspeakers with 16 UPA-1P cabinets as rear reinforcement. The system
was enhanced using four CQ-1 loudspeakers for dedicated effects, four
UPM-2Ps for aisle fill (opposite the CQ-1s), nine for downfill and four
as stage monitors. Frontfill was provided by 19 MM-4s, four USW-1P subs
provided bottom end and Meyer’s RMS networked the entire system.
Seventy-five Meyer Sound loudspeakers used Gepco’s 1800S Shielded Speaker cables, 61801EZ single-pair audio cables and Neutrik 4-pole Speak-On connectors, all supplied by Gepco. To ensure consistent coverage, the final configuration features loudspeakers distributed in concentric circles for 360-degree coverage.
