Fonogenic Studios, a recording studio and live music venue located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, recently upgraded its sound system with Cerwin-Vega! P-Series Professional PA system and classic CVA Active Series Speakers.
The new system has received numerous compliments from both A-list musicians and audiences about the superior sound quality of the live venue.
The studio’s owners, Rami Jaffee, founding member of the The Wallflowers and now keyboardist for the Foo Fighters, and music producer Ran Pink, who has produced for PiNk & NoSeWoRthY and has composed for TV shows such as Happily Divorced and The Fran Drescher Tawk Show, are thrilled with the new system.
Together Jaffee and Pink operate half of the building as a recording studio and the other half, which features a big sound stage, as a live performance space.
“We’ve hosted crazy parties, with performances by big-name musicians, ever since our launch,” says Jaffee. “Now, we’ve been doing it more frequently, with parties every two weeks. We even live-stream the concerts to the web.
“We wanted Fonogenic to be an environment where artists felt comfortable emotionally investing in their music. We’re a family here and we want our clients to feel like this is their home too. We want it to be a creative haven for them. They shouldn’t have to worry about the sound quality we’re providing them.”
To ensure adequate sound coverage at the space, Jaffee and Pink hung four Cerwin-Vega! P-Series P1500X speakers from the ceiling and positioned two additional speakers as center-stage monitors.
The setup was completed with CVA-118 subs for front-of-house and CVA-115 subs for the drums.
“When we compare our previous arrangement to our P-Series setup, it’s like night and day,” says Pink. “Getting the levels of the vocals and of the mixes of the music just right used to be a challenge for us because of the elongated shape of the room.
“But now, since we deadened the room and installed the larger P-Series system, we’ve had no problems.”
Fonogenic Studios visitors, including top-notch producers and such renowned musicians as Stevie Wonder, often remark on the space’s flawless sound quality, which Jaffee and Pink attribute to Cerwin-Vega!.
“It’s just such a great feeling to hear all these music heroes mention how incredible the sound is right from the get-go,” continues Pink. “That’s the most satisfying feeling you can get, and it’s thanks to the P-Series.”
“Ross Hogarth, one of the biggest producers of our time, watched a band here at one of our events, and said the sound was just superb,” adds Jaffee. “And Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett had his side project band play one of our parties.
“He said he’d never heard stage sound that amazing in his entire life. In fact, when artists play at our venue now, they worry about living up to the sound quality, because it reflects the true sound of their music.”
A sound system that boasts exceptional clarity, the Cerwin-Vega! P-Series delivers power and bass punch for sound quality suited to any sound reinforcement application. The P1500X speaker employs a 15-inch woofer and high-frequency compression driver, powered by a custom 1500W Class-D amp.
Overall, the compact size and clarity of the P-Series speakers make them ideal for everything from permanent installations to on-the-go rehearsals. In fact, Jaffee himself trusts the speakers so much that he even takes them on the road with him.
Additionally, the CVA Active Series Speakers deliver tremendous power output and exceptional full-frequency response. The striking aluminum grills on the subwoofers minimize power compression and optimize driver performance.
Jaffee and Pink started Fonogenic Studios six years ago as a place for musicians to record their albums, rehearse and perform live sets. In addition to Wonder, Shiflett and Hogarth, Fonogenic has also hosted artists such as Allan Parsons and Minnie Driver, as well as The Foo Fighters and The Wallflowers band members.
View a video tour of the venue:
