Live music club First Avenue, which since opening in 1970 has occupied a former Greyhound Bus terminal in downtown Minneapolis and is noted as the recording location of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” has been outfitted with a new sound reinforcement system incorporating North America’s first permanently installed L-Acoustics L Series arrays in a project by locally-based Allied Productions.
The new system, which also includes a pair of DiGiCo Quantum225 consoles, officially debuted on a Thanksgiving Eve Show featuring Ike Reilly in late November followed by a sold-out Atmosphere concert two days later. “First Avenue finally has the sound system it deserves,” comments Randy Hawkins, who mixed that first Atmosphere show at First Avenue. “I had the EQ flatter than ever, and I even had the subs and bus compressor turned down -7dB and we still hit 124 dB C-weighted! That’s how transparent and powerful the L Series is. It’s surprisingly powerful for its size.”
Hawkins. who has served as the front of house engineer for Atmosphere for the past 18 years in addition to being First Avenue’s house engineer and sound supervisor for nearly 30 years. He’s currently the A1 at The Palace Theatre, part of the First Avenue portfolio of local venues and home to an L-Acoustics K2 system.
He notes that First Avenue could be a sonically challenging room over the years, sometimes sounding radically different between sound check and the night’s first show. “But with the L Series, it was clear from the front to the back of the house, and it didn’t change a bit from soundcheck to downbeat,” he says. “The buildup of the low-mids that often happens in that room didn’t happen. I took a little bit out at 2K and 2.5K, but that was mainly because of the Beta 58 mic. The L Series itself was virtually flat, and there were no headroom issues at all. It’s a great PA for a great room.”
Alex Johnson, lead audio for First Avenue, adds, “The new L2/L2D system has dramatically improved many of the challenges engineers and audiences faced in First Avenue,” he says. “For audience members, coverage, clarity and sightlines are better than ever. For engineers, there is better frequency response, stereo imaging, sub extension and headroom. The best improvement is how much less things change from soundcheck to show. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to dial in a band the way I wanted in an empty room the first time I used it. I’m very excited to hear what artists and engineers can do with it for a long time.”
The new system is a left-right design comprising one L2 over one L2D per side with four KS28 subwoofers below each main array as an LF extension, four Kiva II centerfills (as an optional assist for replacing lost stage volume for artists that are completely on in-ear monitors), and five X12 to fill areas obstructed by staircases or walls. The loudspeakers are driven by five new LA7.16i amplified controllers plus two LA12X for the KS28 subs.
For monitoring, there are two A15 per side—one Focus and one Wide—as flown sidefills, two KS21 per side for sidefill LF extensions, a dozen X15 HiQ wedges, and one KS21 as a drum sub, collectively powered by eight LA12X. All amplifiers are driven with redundant Milan AVB and AES as a fallback. A P1 processor resides in the amp rack and is responsible for the master Milan AVB stream and any additional inputs needed to run into the system separately from the FOH console. A second P1 in the drive rack at FOH converts the console outputs to an AVB stream that is received by the amp rack P1.
Tyler Thomas, the technical lead at Allied for the installation, notes, “The L2D greatly assists with mechanically attenuating the SPL to make sure we have the appropriate amount of headroom while also not producing harmful volume levels in the front of the audience, and its internal cardioid driver stops low end from building up on stage,” he explains, adding that monitor engineers have reported a “huge improvement” in the sound on stage. “It also provides an extra-wide 140-degree horizontal pattern to adequately cover the entire front row without the need for placing frontfills on an already crowded stage.” Thomas further points out that the L Series’ low profile has also given better sightlines to the stage from every audience vantage point in the house.
“This system, being the first L-Acoustics L Series installation in North America, underscores First Avenue’s commitment to investing in the latest and greatest technology on the market with the goal of bringing fans closer to the music,” he concludes. “It’s already greatly raised the bar for artists and their audiences here, and I know that engineers will truly enjoy mixing on this system for many years to come.”
