Anaheim, CA (March 20, 2014)—GeerFab Acoustics provided temporary acoustic treatment to the Anaheim Hilton’s Pacific Ballroom during the 2014 NAMM Show held in Anaheim, CA between January 23 and 26th. The Pacific Ballroom hosted many activities during the NAMM Show, including the TEC Awards.
While the space worked for conference events and seminars, the room presented acoustic challenges, most prominently a parabolic concave wall surface about 4′ high and several feet deep. Last summer at a NAMM executive meeting, the acoustics of the room became a primary agenda item. “We knew we had to increase the audio intelligibility in The Pacific Ballroom,” says Pete Johnston, supervising producer & technical director of special events at NAMM. “When it came to the TEC Awards, it was an issue of credibility since we were giving out awards to sound engineers, producers and product manufacturers. We wanted to get it right and there was no room for compromise.”
Soon after the summer meeting and after consulting with several high profile acoustic designers, NAMM contacted Eric Geer of GeerFab Acoustics to implement an all-encompassing solution.
On the weekend before NAMM week, GeerFab and Freeman, the convention services company that has been supporting NAMM since the 1960s, installed a temporary, re-usable solution consisting of (200) custom GeerFab MultiZorber panels, each measuring approximately 4′ x 9-1/2′ and consisting of lightweight, acoustically absorbent substrate material wrapped in a black fabric. These panels were strategically mounted on rigging points throughout the venue, suspended approximately a foot off the wall around the entire upper perimeter of the room, which measures roughly 30,000 square feet with a 21’ ceiling. The panels concealed the concave surfaces while creating more even acoustic dispersion across the entire frequency range while also acting as a gigantic, continuous bass trap.
In addition to the room perimeter, Geer also installed a ‘acoustic hat’ above the stage, consisting of (40) 4′ x 8′ MultiZorber panels. This reduced stage noise and eliminated unwanted reflections from drums, amplifiers and other instruments. With the “hat”, the entire installation comprised over 8,000 square feet of MultiZorbers.
“Before the room was treated by GeerFab, it sounded horrible. There is a section of the wall that has the effect of a parabolic dish,” commented Scott Rodgers, front of house engineer for the TEC Awards. “After the MultiZorber panels were installed, it made a huge difference and the sound of the whole room tightened up significantly.”
Now that the MultiZorber solution was implemented for the TEC Awards, Johnston says they are considering a similar solution to provide acoustic treatment during Summer NAMM 2014. “We love the fact that the MultiZorbers are reusable,” says Johnston. “Bringing great audio to our events increases the credibility of our brand while enhancing the overall experience of those attending our events.”
GeerFab Acoustics
www.geerfab.com
