Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Avid S6 Events Coming to Boston & Houston


Guitar Center Professional and AVID invite you to get an in-depth, hands-on demo of the revolutionary performance, superior ergonomics and intelligent studio control of the new Avid® S6 control surface.

See how the AVID S6 can help you:
• Mix faster and more easily through superior ergonomics and visual feedback
• Save money with a modular design that can scale as your business grows
• Use EUCON 3.0 to take deep, integrated control of your studio

Space is limited to only 15 attendees per session, so RSVP today for one of the three local demo sessions in Boston or Houston.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

GC Professional Elevates Avalon in Alpharetta, GA


The multi-purpose Plaza at the Avalon mixed-use community in Alpharetta, Georgia, featuring audio components sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of North American Properties (NAP). © 2015.

— GC Pro designed and sourced the new system for Avalon, one of the largest mixed-use communities in the Southeast, while a member of GC Pro’s acclaimed Affiliates Program handled system installation —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, April 22, 2015 — The outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), outfitted one of the largest mixed-use developments in the Southeast, Avalon, with a multi-use sound system to elevate the overall guest experience. Developed by North American Properties (NAP), Avalon opened late last year in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. The $600 million, 86-acre live, work, play community includes 500,000 square feet of retail, chef-driven restaurants, Class A office, luxury rental homes, single-family residences and a planned full-service hotel and conference center. One of Avalon’s biggest differentiators is its promise to be more than just a place to shop or dine – it’s a place to be, which is why NAP decided to equip Avalon’s outdoor Plaza with a state-of-the-art sound system. The Plaza is now a fully functional performance stage, which enhances the Avalon experience, whether it’s in the form of an outdoor concert, fashion show or chef demonstration. Audio products and systems for the project were specified by Guitar Center Professional's Atlanta, GA-based account manager Jason Block.

“We’re thrilled to provide an elevated sound experience for our guests who come to Avalon as their ‘third place’ – a place to spend time and enjoy life with family and friends outside of work and home,” said Wayne Rigsby, Manager of Guest Experience for NAP.

The Plaza’s sound system is composed of two Danley OS-80 and two OS-115 all-weather speaker cabinets powered by three Crown XTI amplifiers, a Crown DCI amplifier which powers several speakers surrounding the large fountain and all managed by a dbx DriveRack 4820 speaker processor. The system is protected by two Furman CN2400S networked power sequencers and two APC commercial grade UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) units.



The sound can be managed from anywhere, thanks to the integration of a Savant automation system that enables control over Wi-Fi through an Apple iPad. The sound system was installed through GC Pro’s Affiliate Program, which matches a customer’s installation and integration needs with the best available systems integrators. Commercial Sound & Video installed the sound system, while Profound Dimension did the programming of the Savant automation system.

The Owner of Commercial Sound & Video, Nathan Miller, says the Danley speakers are a good choice for the space, sonically and aesthetically. “It’s set up so that a band or a performer can simply plug in and play,” Miller said. “GC Pro had the ability to provide every item that was necessary to make this happen including remote control access of the system via the iPad and Savant automation.”

A similar system, whose components will also be sourced and installed through GC Pro, will be installed at another nearby North American Properties development, Atlantic Station, in the near future.

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Enter for a Chance to Win a Shure QLX-D Wireless System


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Shure's new QLX-D is a perfect wireless audio system for houses for worship, live venues, auditoriums, outdoor events, and more. The QLX-D offers networked control, AES-256 encryption, and simplified setup and operation for outstanding digital wireless sound. Enter by May 31, 2015 for a chance to win this terrific wireless solution. Get more info on the Shure QLX-D here.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Audio Alchemist Tour Hits Los Angeles on April 23


Hey Los Angeles... it's your turn to check out the free audio industry event that everyone is talking about. The Audio Alchemist tour has been heading around the country, hosting events that allow for hands-on gear demonstrations, networking, fun, and craft beer and Thai food. Who doesn't like craft beer and Thai food? No one, that's who. So on Thursday April 23 from 7-10PM at 4th Street Recording in Santa Monica, plan on having a memorable and truly enjoyable evening.

This event includes gear demos from Manley (including the Variable Mu, ELOP, Massive Passive, Voxbox, TNT and more), Glyph Technologies, Dangerous Music, and more. Plus, respected industry professionals including Michael James (Hole, L7, Jane's Addiction, many more), Rob Chiarelli (P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Will Smith, many more), and Marek Stykos (20+ year gear guru) will be on hand to talk about their experiences using this great gear in world-class studios.

THURSDAY APRIL 23, 7-10PM
4th Street Recording
1211 4th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401

To reserve your spot at this special Audio Alchemist event, call GC Pro at 877-687-5404.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

San Diego: GC Pro/Audio Alchemist Tour on April 21


Do you like to get hands-on with killer audio gear? Do you like craft beer and Thai food? Do you like gladiator movies? Disregard that last question, but plan ahead to April 21 for a huge opportunity for fun, networking, and expanding your high-end audio experience in San Diego, CA. Guitar Center Professional and Audio Alchemist have teamed up to bring you a fantastic evening of food, drink, and audiospeak at Capricorn Studios on Tuesday April 21, 2015. Audio gear that's chosen by the world's great recording facilities will be on hand, ready to demo. Delicious consumables will await your discerning palate. Plus, this whole event is absolutely free. Look forward to the following:

• Experience how Manley’s investment-grade audio jewelery has been leveraged on the majority of the Billboard chartbusters. Manley Variable Mu, ELOP, Massive Passive, Voxbox, TNT and more will all be in the house.

• Discover why a hard drive is the inviolate caretaker of your personal creative real estate and that all hard drives are not created equally; nor are they insured against cataclysm by warranty and data recovery coverage like Glyph Technologies.

• Learn why Dangerous Music’s monitoring management is the most critical component of your system: “Because you can’t mix what you can’t hear." Discover how analog summing with a 2-Bus, 2-Bus LT or D-box will breathe your mix to life.

• Climb inside classic tracks like “Hotel California”, that you’ve auditioned in the studio, elevator and dentist’s chair, but will feel for the first time on the Guzauski-Swist GS3A reference monitors.

• Audition Retro Instruments to explore the true legacy of vintage audio fused with just enough modernity to push past typical creative confines and uncover unique solutions that effortlessly track/mix your vocal, instrument, soundscape and song every time.

• Improve any speaker system by nailing the three principles of monitoring: Placement, Isolation & Focus. Instantly benefit from Isoacoustics simple, yet elegant solutions to maximize your current equipment arsenal.

TUESDAY APRIL 21, 7-10PM
Capricorn Studios
927 E Street
San Diego, CA 92101

To reserve your spot at this special Audio Alchemist event, call GC Pro at 877-687-5404.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Guitar Center Professional Helps Outfit Cycle Scene

Ashburn, Virginia’s Cycle Scene features installed sound and lighting systems worthy of a high-end nightclub, designed by and sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo by Jonah Joffe, GC Pro. © 2015.

— State-of-the-art audio and lighting components provide patrons with an immersive “club” experience, setting the facility apart from other area fitness establishments —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, March 26, 2015 — Cycle Scene put a new “spin” on the indoor cycling studio when it opened in Ashburn, Virginia, at the beginning of March with installed sound and lighting systems worthy of a high-end nightclub. Designed by and sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, the equipment was installed and programmed by Angelo Kokkinakos of GC Pro affiliate Koko Brothers Entertainment, a Baltimore, Maryland-based audio, video and lighting design and integration firm.

“The spin industry is blowing up now, and every cycle studio has to be hotter than the next one to capture market share in the area,” explains Jonah Joffe, GC Pro Account Manager at Guitar Center in Falls Church, Virginia. Joffe worked with Cycle Scene owners Clay and Jenn Sharman to create the right vibe at the new 6,000-square-foot high-tech fitness facility. “These folks were going for a dance club in a cycle studio, so it was super important that we got the audio and lighting right.”

The Cycle Room, outfitted with 60 custom-built stationary bikes, features two 75-inch display monitors, each flanked by a pair of QSC Audio AcousticDesign AD-S12 600W surface mount speakers that each house a 12-inch woofer and 1.4-inch compression driver. A single QSC KW181 18-inch self-powered subwoofer adds low frequency extension to the system. The Stretch Room, dedicated to strength training, core fitness and yoga, is outfitted with a pair of QSC AD-C821 8-inch, 200W ceiling speakers, while a smaller QSC AD-Ci52T two-way speaker, featuring a 5.25-inch woofer with 1-inch tweeter, is installed in the reception area. Four QSC AD-S6T surface mount cabinets, each incorporating a 6-inch woofer and 1-inch dome tweeter, cover the extensive hallway, a popular gathering place. Two QSC four-channel amplifiers—one PLD4.2 and one PLD4.3—provide power to the passive speakers.

A Rane HAL1x 16 in/16 out multi-processor is installed for optimization and management of the facility’s multi-zoned sound system. “I got to experience HAL for the first time,” says Angelo Kokkinakos. “We did all of the dynamic processing and EQ inside of HAL. It’s a great tool; we were really happy with it.”

The system is controlled by Rane Digital Remote DR1 and DR3 wall panels installed in each of the three zones together with connector panels enabling the introduction of external audio sources. “The user interface is just so simple, with a keypad and a simple LCD display to select your input source and volume,” says Kokkinakos. “The end user just has a single rotary knob to increase or decrease volume for the mic—it doesn’t get much easier than that.”


A pair of Shure SLX14 wireless systems, with UA221 antenna combiner, and SM31FH Fitness headsets are available for Cycle Scene’s instructors. The HAL DR remote interfaces are so intuitive that the instructors can focus on their jobs without having to learn how to operate a complex audio system, says Joffe. “Each source selection and volume knob has a digital readout, so we made it really, really easy—it says: Headset Mic 1, Headset Mic 2, Music. Anyone can use this system very easily. Not only that, because of all the processing we’ve got behind it, it sounds incredible in there.”

To meet the expectations of the owners, says Joffe, “We went with Chauvet moving head lights—just like dance clubs use, but in a smaller version, and we had Angelo do custom programming so it would look just like a dance club. The client is super happy with the lighting.”

The Chauvet DMX-addressable light fixtures installed in the Cycle Room include two Intimidator Spot LED 250 50W moving head units and two LFS-75DMX 75W LED framing spots. All four fixtures are suspended from two 12-ft. box truss spans, which are each illuminated by two SlimPAR Quad 3 IRC four-color LED lamp. A total of 18 COLORband 3 IRC three-zone LED strip lights provide a wash down the rear and side walls. A Numark Orbit Wi-Fi panel combined with a Chauvet Xpress 512 PLUS interface controls the lighting rig, which was programmed using Chauvet’s ShowXpress software. All control components are neatly housed in an electronics machine room hidden away from the general public, providing a more aesthetic look to the installation.

“We don’t usually see a lot of moving head fixtures in these cycle rooms,” comments Kokkinakos. “But when we programmed the lighting rack it came down to subtle, slow, simple, predictable movement along the walls, keeping it off the bikes, and making it more of an atmosphere than a distraction. When we first revealed the lighting to the client, they were thinking that they would leave all the fluorescent ceiling lights on all the time in there. But when they saw the effect, they said, ‘This is plenty of ambient lighting for us to conduct a class in here, and such a great atmosphere, why would we ever turn the other lights on?’ Pretty much the only time they turn the other lights on now is just to clean the room.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.