Following the eradication of all coronavirus cases and the lifting of all lockdown restrictions, the Channel Island of Guernsey is welcoming the return of live music, with the St James concert venue reopening with a brand new sound system from JBL.
The venue was already in the process of identifying a new sound system before the coronavirus outbreak. In August 2019, St James executive director Jon Bisson met members of the Harman Pro and Sound Technology team (Harman Pro’s UK distributor) at the annual Independent Venue Week conference. It was also here that he heard the newly launched JBL VTX A8 line array.
“St James is a beautiful venue in a fantastic location,” said Bisson. “We aim to deliver an exceptional experience for audiences and acts – highly desirable to come over to visit and easy for bands to play when they get here. That’s everything from our hospitality, to the incredible local accommodation, to a stock of high-end backline. We knew we were already increasingly on the radar as an attractive venue for top-end acts but the final and much needed component was a PA upgrade to take us to the next level. With this JBL PA we’ve done just that. “
The final specification includes the main arrays consisting of 10 JBL VTX A8 line-array elements and four JBL VTX B18 subs, JBL AC18s providing front fill and delays, and CBT70J providing balcony fills. All are powered by HARMAN’s Crown iTech HD 4 x3500HD and XTi amplifiers.
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Pending structural work in the venue scheduled for October this year, the system is currently operating in a ground-stack configuration. Ultimately the full system will be flown, with additional processing and control via a BSS Soundweb system then integrated.
“All the work it took to get the system installed was immediately worth it as soon as it fired up, and we aren’t even playing with all the toys yet! It truly took my breath away.” commented Bisson. “We’re painfully aware of the challenges facing so many venues and we feel incredibly fortunate to be able to open. We are proud of our journey in continuing to support local live bands and in encouraging top acts to play here for the Guernsey audience.”
