Revolution, a large, popular dance/nightclub in Waterloo, Southern Ontario, Canada, recently underwent an upgrade to its sound, lighting and video systems, a project that includes a host of new Martin Audio components.
Owned by Gary Stewart and his wife Sue, Revolution has been around in its current incarnation since 1996. The club is open Friday and Saturday and shares a 10,000-square-foot building with Flying Dog Restaurant, a casual dining emporium that offers DJ-driven entertainment on weekends.
“We’ve been bobbing and weaving over the years, always on the move to stay ahead of changing styles and demands of the market,” says Gary Stewart. “This year, we decided on a complete audio, video and lighting system upgrade because it was time for a change.”
Although Revolution occasionally features international DJs such as Avicii and Hardwell, Stewart insists the club isn’t guest DJ driven. “In terms of music program, we offer more variety because our guests don’t want to be hammered by a straight EDM program five or six hours a night,” he says. “They still want Top 40 material and a more accessible pop/dance format to break things up. Most of the pop music on the radio has an EDM slant from a production standpoint anyway. So eventually it all falls into place and works for us on the dance floor.”
In addition to a large dance floor, Revolution also includes The Purple Room and a number of VIP suites. “The Purple Room is our EDM space. We’ve been programming house DJs there for over 15 years,” Stewart explains. “This space offers the more specific EDM fan a place to hear their favorite beats without having to go to a different club. It’s small and intimate with a crushing Martin PA in a room that holds up to 130 customers while total capacity for the club is 1,590.”
Specifically, the new house audio system includes eight Martin Audio Blackline H3H+ 3-way Hybrid loudspeakers, 10 WSXa subwoofers, DX2 processing, and MA5.2K and MA9.6K power amplifiers.
“We’ve gone to a much larger box with the H3H+’s that are mounted on flying points in the ceiling,” he notes. “They give us a whole lot more headroom, which makes it more fun for the customers and the DJs. The 10 WSXa subwoofers are groundstacked in a line in front of the DJ booth and they provide more than enough low end.
“We’d already owned Martin Audio gear for over 10 years, so this was a natural choice for an upgrade,” Stewart continues. “Basically, we wanted a bigger, fuller, louder sound,” Stewart states. “Fifteen years ago we were top of the heap and state-of-the-art, and you can quickly fall backwards in the ranks if you don’t keep changing.”
The updated system also incorporates new Pioneer CDJ Nexus 2000 and 900 Multi players with new technology that allows DJs to use USB, data cards and Wi-Fi in addition to CDs.
The video portion of the project is led by 92 Microh LED video panels with 11 screens running around the perimeter of the dance floor and three screens behind the reconstructed DJ booth that is now a featured attraction. Meanwhile, the new lighting system consists of an Arkaos Media Master stage server; 24 Elation Design Spot pro 250s; six Martin Professional Atomic 3000DMX strobes; two Titan RBG 6 watt lasers, 60 Microh LED RGBW Max Zoom quad wash lights; a Livid OHM 64 MIDI controller; two Martin Professional/Jem K1 hazers and a 23-inch LCD touch screen monitor.