Corner Stage Coverage Opinions

M

Martin Primus

Freshman
Dec 4, 2012
10
0
1
Bennington, NE
Looking for opinions on coverage for a decent size club (5000 sq ft, 100x50 main area...see attached rough diagram. The ceiling is prob 15-18ft.). I've played in and been FOH in this room many times and while I've generally been happy with the results, I'm always looking for improvements. We'll be providing for a B/C level national this weekend and while we've made our standard 2 stacks per side (EV traps and MTL1's) work in the past, the corner stage and 100ft throw down the non-bar side is always a challenge, and the folks down there still pay good money to see the touring acts. I'll be taking center and possibly out-fill along this weekend to see about "helping" that side of the room. A delay stack won't really work without creating a big trip hazard, so there may not be much to be done, but I'll have some time to try a few things so i thought get some opinions.

This particular club is also looking at eventually doing an installed system and I'd be curious opinions there might be on addressing that same side. Covering the immediate area in front of the stage and up to the bar is pretty simple, but the long throw side is tough, ideally without killing the bartenders.

Thanks in advance :)
 

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Re: Corner Stage Coverage Opinions

Long time ago a band I worked with regularly played a club arranged like that. Best we found was to put both stacks (if we even bothered with two stacks) just stage left of the stage. It gave the best coverage, took up the least amount of valuable floor space, and didn't block that door stage right (Yes, our club had that, too.)

In your case I would do both stack side by side stage left, with one pointing at the center of the dance floor area (if your horns are 60 degree wide, you can probably get away with that) and with the other stack pointed toward the front door. This leaves the bartender in a slightly quieter space between the horns, and you can turn down that top aimed at the front door if necessary.

Eliminating the spread between stacks nearly eliminates all of those other issues that multiple speaker positions cause (power alley for the subs, etc.)

(Stereo is for DJs. With a live band in a space that small, don't waste your time with it.)
 
Re: Corner Stage Coverage Opinions

Rob Timmerman said:
How big a role does music play in the club's operations? Is simply not covering the far half of the room a viable option?
Click to expand...

Not covering half is really ok about 50% of the time. It's a normal bar/club most nights where covering the top half (in the diagram) is just fine. The club does, however, host a growing number of touring acts and covering the "right" half of bar (again in the diagram) becomes a little more important. The spots behind the bar area toward the front doors are not a concern. It should be known too, that while killing the bar is not a good thing, they are not averse to fairly high sound levels where it becomes a severe problem.

Right now I'm planning to deploy as normal: two stacks per side giving the best possible sound/coverage to those in the immediate stage/seating area and then using out-fill to try to push some vocals down the long throw to the back of the room for the national act. My band will be playing a normal cover show the next night and I'll not be as concerned. I'm mostly trying to ensure that those spending the big money on the concert get the best experience they can, regardless of where they happen to be located in the room.
 
Re: Corner Stage Coverage Opinions

Milt Hathaway said:
Long time ago a band I worked with regularly played a club arranged like that. Best we found was to put both stacks (if we even bothered with two stacks) just stage left of the stage. It gave the best coverage, took up the least amount of valuable floor space, and didn't block that door stage right (Yes, our club had that, too.)

In your case I would do both stack side by side stage left, with one pointing at the center of the dance floor area (if your horns are 60 degree wide, you can probably get away with that) and with the other stack pointed toward the front door. This leaves the bartender in a slightly quieter space between the horns, and you can turn down that top aimed at the front door if necessary.

Eliminating the spread between stacks nearly eliminates all of those other issues that multiple speaker positions cause (power alley for the subs, etc.)

(Stereo is for DJs. With a live band in a space that small, don't waste your time with it.)
Click to expand...

I am with Milt - I hit a few clubs like this and one outdoor job. In all cases, unless it was a permanent installation, one side was the ticket.
The outdoor was at a school that pulled a portable stage across the track at a 45 degree angle. a stack on the left would play under the stands. I moved it the second time to the right and pointed it all at the stands. Bingo. And it sounds better with fewer phase issues.
 
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