London’s Studio 88 has unveiled a new concept in entertainment, billed as “a non-stop, audience requested, live music experience,” and featuring a Martin Audio sound system by W1 Productions.
The brainchild of Alan Lorrimer, founder of The House of Song, the venue, located just off Leicester Square, features two piano vocalists every night and accompanying musicians form a six-piece band. The musicians play a non-stop repertoire of through the Martin Audio system – decided only by the customers themselves who populate the 350-seat restaurant.
“I have always been a Martin Audio person, and so it was a no brainer to specify the brand,” said W1 Productions operations manager, Alan Beck.
Here the company has designed a stage system based on the venue’s extremely low ceiling height. Two XD12, mounted horizontally stage left and right, are complemented by four CDD8 in a pelmet line, which project the sound forward towards the main dancefloor. Low frequency extension is provided by three strategically placed Martin Audio S18 bins, and a further CSX112 sub.
W1 Productions had been recommended to the client by a mutual friend, and MD Stuart Turvill put together the design after visiting Alan Lorrimer’s other venue — The Piano Works in Farringdon.
Studio 88 venue itself had previously been a basement nightclub that had closed down. “Since it is a basement, the obvious challenges were the low ceiling height,” stated Beck. “We had to make it as unobtrusive and flexible as possible. The long rectangular shape of the building, with reflective surfaces and lots of little alcoves coming off it, was another problem we had to contend with.”
In the user-rotatable 80° x 50° constant directivity horn of the XD12, matched with the CDD range, W1 Productions found the perfect combination — without needing to set delay taps.
Beck continued: “From a physical perspective this design fitted perfectly, and the XD12’s provide plenty of ‘grunt’. With the S18’s stage left and right, and a third at the rear of the bar, we have achieved uniform distribution throughout the main performance area.”
All channel presets are stored in a pair of dedicated DX0.5 system controllers. With clarity taking precedence over excessive volume, the system has been expertly balanced and fine tuned by the The House of Song’s senior sound technician, Tom Wheatley and W1 Productions sound engineer, Lawrence Chichon.
Wheatley concluded: “We are extremely pleased with the Martin Audio equipment that has been installed at the venue. It responds well to our needs, providing clarity for both our live music and DJ requirements. The system offers great quality at the price point and we are happy to give positive reviews for the money invested.”
