Pittsburgh, Penn. (March 5, 2024)—Pittsburgh’s Thunderbird Café and Music Hall, a longstanding fixture in the city’s Lawrenceville neighborhood, recently bumped up its audio facilities with a new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system.
Established in 1890 as a bakery, the building was converted in 1933 into a tavern known as Michalski’s Café, which was granted Pittsburgh’s second liquor license following the close of Prohibition. Since 2000, the venue has been owned by John and Ami Pergal, who also own the 1,400-seat Roxian Theatre across town, which put in an L-Acoustics Kara system five years ago.
Today, Thunderbird’s 583-capacity Music Hall is an intimate mainstay on the national touring circuit. The new L-Acoustics A Series system was designed and installed by McKees Rocks-based Hollowood Sound.
“John Pergal is a musician and avid concertgoer and specifically requested L-Acoustics for the Roxian Theatre,” says Hollowood Sound’s Brad Hollowood. “When discussing an upgrade for the Thunderbird, the same brand was at the top of his list once again. John did consider several other manufacturers’ systems; however, the A15 system perfectly met all their needs sonically and did so within budget.”
Nathan Shapert, Hollowood Sound’s lead installer, worked closely with L-Acoustics’ Chris “Sully” Sullivan on a system design that would custom-fit the three-level venue’s unique geometry, which includes both a balcony and top-tier VIP area.
“We tried to keep sightlines, as well as a custom mural at house-right, in mind when designing the system,” Shapert explains. “We were limited to a corner concrete stage with only room for two KS21i per side, so the system features flown subs, as well. A15i made the most sense considering the amount of low-frequency response the box provides, as well as output.”
The venue’s new left and right main arrays each feature two A15i Focus enclosures over a single A15i Wide, topped by a KS21i sub. A center cluster, used to fill in the balcony, features a similar configuration minus the subwoofer.
Four additional KS21i are positioned under the stage, and the entire setup is powered by four LA4X amplified controllers. Additionally, four coaxial X8 enclosures, driven by an LA2Xi, deliver supplementary VIP and bar area coverage.
