Brian English, Director of Concert System Solutions for QSC Audio, recalls, “In the past, I’d seen Yes, Dream Theater and Jethro Tull at this theatre and always enjoyed the intimacy of the room.
It’s big enough to host some pretty serious shows, yet small enough to be able see the actual performance from the back of the room without having to watch the I-MAG screens all night.
The Grove has become a great showcase venue for all our technologies.”
English arranged to provide QSC line arrays and power amplifiers for two weeks worth of shows as a “test-drive,” used for performances by The Spinners, Pretenders, DJ Quik, and an “ultimate test” by the new Sammy Hagar-Joe Satriani super-group Chickenfoot, featuring Van Halen’s Michael Anthony on bass and drummer Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The test/demo process went exceedingly well, with the venue’s management team opting to implement the QSC-based solution.
Good Test
The Grove’s newly installed sound reinforcement system is headed by two 12-box arrays of QSC WideLine 10 3-way WL2102 cabinets, supported by a dozen ground-stacked GP218 double-18 subwoofers.
All of these loudspeakers are driven by QSC PowerLight PL340 amplifiers on the high-frequency drivers and PL380 amps on all the cones, with digital loudspeaker processing from two QSC Basis 914 housed with the amp racks.
A pair of ILA dual-8 compact line array enclosures at the lip of the stage supply front fill, powered by a PL236 amplifier.
“ChickenFoot arrived for four days of pre-production rehearsals, followed by a private corporate concert for Best Buy on the last night,” Dorsey notes.
“Even before the house rig was turned on, the stage volume alone was 103 dB ‘A’ weighted back at mix position. I thought to myself that this was going to be a real good test of the WideLine rig – if it can keep up with this show, it will be able to do just about anyone who comes in the door.
“ChickenFoot came out of the gate at 109 dB ‘A’ (at Front of House), and it just went up from there.
But oddly enough, even at that level, the show and the system still sounded musical and not harsh,” he adds. “Very impressive indeed.”
Dorsey also says that while the previous system provided a sweet spot in the center of the room, the WideLine arrays better spread the stereo imaging throughout the room.
Along with the new main system components, The Grove also took possession of new QSC CSM Series low-profile, high-output stage monitors. The package includes six CSM12 single-12 and five CSM15 single-15 wedges.
Two more pairs of WideLine10 array modules, joined by a pair of GP118 single-18 subwoofers, serve as stage side fills, with another sub serving to supplement the drum fill.
Here, PL380 amplifiers drive the cones while PL325 amps handle the HF drivers, with digital processing split between dual QSC Basis 922 units for the floor monitors and a QSC SC28 for the four-way side fills.