Los Angeles, CA (September 18, 2015)––Everyone loves to hear about a historic theater being renovated and given a second lease on life—but time marches on and eventually those updates get a little long in the tooth, too. That’s what happened with the El Rey Theatre, a live venue located in the Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile that hosts concerts by a wide variety of musical artists. A full 20 years after it was rejuvenated by Goldenvoice, promoter for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, 3G’s AV Installation division was recently brought in to install a new sound system.
Built in 1936 as a single-screen movie theatre in the classic Art Deco style that it has kept over the years, the El Rey was converted into a live music venue in 1994. The theater has a seating capacity of 770 seats with a small VIP balcony, and its original lobby architecture with Zig Zag and Streamline Moderne elements has led to it being designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural monument in 1991.
3G was commissioned to replace the original sound system, which according to David Myers, director of AV Installations, was “over 20 years old, broke down a lot and had too many problems. They needed something that sounded better and was reliable, which we delivered.”
Designed and engineered by 3G’s AV and Live Sound teams, the system for El Rey consists of five d&b audiotechnik Q1 loudspeakers per side with a d&b Q10 over center stage for front fill. Four d&b B2 subwoofers are ground-stacked in bunkers underneath the stage; all powered by d&b D12 power amps.
The system was installed in three days—all the theater could afford to spare given its crowded schedule, and was used the day after completion. According to Myers, “the theater’s response has been really positive. They called after the first event to tell me the show went really well and that everyone was very impressed with the new system.’
El Rey house engineer Mark Rea adds, “I’ve been a huge fan of d&b for years and it’s great that we now have such a high quality system in the theater. Dave and his team at 3G designed a sound system that fits the acoustics of the room perfectly and is easy to operate for the different guest engineers that come through. All in all, the reviews have been very positive, from artists to engineers and concert goers.”
“The system provides great value in terms of cost, time and labor,” concludes Myers, “yet delivers a special experience to the client and everyone at the venue, which is typical for 3G AV. We were able to use all of 3G’s specialties for this project. So from design to commissioning, it was truly a joint effort between our live sound engineers and installation department. Working together, we were able to deliver a system that is well designed and engineered and has completely transformed the theater’s capabilities.”
3G Productions, Inc.
www.3glp.com
