The Admiral Theatre is in Bremerton, Washington, a short ferry ride across Puget Sound from Seattle. Built in 1942 as a classic art deco movie house, the Admiral welcomed audiences for decades before falling into disrepair and closing in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, the Admiral Theatre Foundation partnered with The City of Bremerton and local civic leaders to complete a $4.2 million renovation, bringing it into the 21st Century while retaining its 20th Century charms.
In anticipation of the Admiral Theatre’s 75th anniversary this year, the foundation raised an additional $1.2 million and recently completed upgrades to its infrastructure and its sound reinforcement system, including eleven new Clair Brothers 1AM+ and 1.5AM+ powered monitors.
“Performers these days are looking for hi-fi sound in their monitors. The days of a simple ‘horn-in-your-face’ are gone,” says Andrew Saylor, production manager for the Admiral Theatre, who also plays the role of A1, house system tech, and frequent front of house mixer.
“In our search for new monitors, we wanted something that could handle volume while still remaining punchy, transparent, and bright. We demoed a lot of different top-name manufacturers, and the Clair Brothers 1AM+ and 1.5AM+ powered monitors stood out as having the greatest sonic characteristics and, considering their integrated amplifiers, a reasonable price point.”
Because the Admiral Theatre’s stage already suffers from low-frequency build up, Saylor opted for nine of the Clair Brothers 1AM+ monitors, which rely on a 12-inch low-frequency driver and a 3-inch high-frequency driver to deliver point-source fidelity. Two beefier 15-inch/4-inch Clair Brothers 1.5AM+ monitors serve as bass and/or drum wedges. By opting for the powered “+” versions, the Admiral Theatre did away with the complication and extra expense of an amp rack.
The fall 2017 season was the first to use the new Clair Brothers monitors, and Saylor reports that all of the acts have been more than pleased with their on-stage sound. These include Take Me to the River (an all-stars blues ensemble featuring Bobby Rush, Charlie Musselwhite, and William Bell), Paula Cole, Al Stewart, Kellie Pickler, and many more.
“Everyone’s getting a great vibe on stage,” Saylor says. “The Clair Brothers monitors have been contributing to some really excellent performances.”
