This wasn’t just business, this was also personal. Joseph Lane Peavey, the grandfather of Peavey’s founder/CEO, was quite active in the Hamasa Shriners, and so when it came time to restore the historic Hamasa Shrine Temple Theater (Meridian, Miss., also home to Peavey), the company was onboard.
“My grandfather had a big influence on me and my direction in life,” says Peavey owner Hartley Peavey. “He helped me understand that everyone has unique talents, and he gave me the guts to pursue mine. While restoring and upgrading the Temple Theater’s sound system is a worthy exercise for us, it also helps preserve something my grandfather really cherished.”
Restoring the 1,550-seat theater began with updating the 1940s-era projection sound system, which is positioned onstage behind the movie-projection screen in an L/C/R configuration. In addition, Peavey engineers rebuilt the antiquated sound system with modern Peavey components, replacing the old paper voice-coil subs in the two folded-horn enclosures with a pair of 15-inch Low Rider loudspeakers powered by Crest amps. A pair of 15-inch Black Widows take care of mids, and three MF1-X horns mounted to the tops handle HF.
