BUENA PARK, Calif.(September 18. 2018)—For 90 years strong, the Civic, as it is known by those in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been entertaining patrons with theatrical productions for children and adults, from Hello Dolly to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and has served as the training ground for many young performers who have taken their talents beyond Michigan.
SLS Production Services, LLC of Portage, MI recently upgraded the 500-seat Kalamazoo Civic Community Theatre with a new NEXO GEO M10 line array and two Yamaha QL5 Digital Audio Consoles, one at front of house and a second in the smaller 175-seat Parish Theatre. SLS designs, sells, and installs professional sound, theatrical lighting, and video projection systems for theatres, churches, and other facilities throughout Michigan and surrounding states.
“The NEXO and Yamaha QL5 systems were a replacement for a tired and outdated audio system that had been held together by band aids over the years,” states Brad Scott, sales manager at SLS. The two new consoles have replaced two Yamaha analog consoles. Both the customer and SLS felt digital was the only reasonable choice for console upgrades. SLS also installed three Rio1608 input/output boxes, one fixed and two for roaming purposes.
“Regarding the NEXO GEO M10 system, we looked at a few different speaker options and landed on the M10 for size, weight, and sound,” Scott says. “The customer was very concerned about sight-lines and did not want the historical finish that exists around the proscenium covered. We also had to look carefully at weight limitations of speaker hangs from the roof steel in the 90 year-old building. The M10s came in under the limit that the structural engineer gave us. The ability to provide our customer with solid information about coverage and detailed drawings was, of course, very useful.” Scott worked with Preston Gray, the NEXO district manager at Yamaha Professional Audio, using the NEXO NS1 software to design the system.
The NEXO system includes 8 M10’s per side for the L/R hangs with ID24-T12040’s speakers for under-balcony fills (SLS fabricated U-brackets for hanging the ID24s). 4 LS18’s subs (2 per side) and 3 NEXO NXAMP4X2 MK 2 amplifiers with NXDT104 cards for Dante control round out the system.
“The Civic had a wonderful experience working with SLS,” states AnnMarie Miller, Resident Lighting & Sound Designer at the Civic. “They are a local company and were willing to listen to our needs and made honest recommendations based on those needs. And, the team took great care of our building during the install that truly showed their professionalism when working around molded plaster, crystal wall sconces, and curved ceiling. Considering both the building and the equipment needs, we did not give them an easy task. In addition to wanting state-of-the-art equipment in our historical theatre, we needed to make sure the system was something our volunteer sound team could interface with and learn relatively quickly. The new system sounds great, and volunteers are already lining up to learn how to use the new sound board!”
For more information on SLS Production Services, LLC, visit www.slsmi.com.
For more information on the NEXO GEO M10 line array and Yamaha QL5, visit www.yamahaca.com.
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