GC Professional Helps Strike 10 Roll a Perfect Game

Strike 10 Bowling & Sports Lounge in Hallandale Beach, Florida, featuring fantastic sound and lighting, thanks to Guitar Center Professional and GC Pro Affiliate Program member Automated Interiors Inc.

— The GC Pro location serving south Florida brought its powerful sourcing and Affiliate Program to bear on a novel concept that synthesizes a Miami nightclub with a bowling alley, giving it a South Beach-style touch for sound and lights —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 24, 2015 — Strike 10 Bowling & Sports Lounge is the latest addition to the sleek and sprawling Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. By day, it’s a family fun center, a hub for children’s birthday parties and bar/bat mitzvah celebrations. At night, it can transform into an experience attraction for adults, with a full bar and DJ booth as well as bowling. But whatever mode it’s in, Strike 10 Bowling & Sports Lounge is awash in fantastic sound and lighting, thanks to Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. The Hallandale office of GC Pro, which serves all of south Florida, brought its huge product-sourcing capability to bear on the sound and lighting for Strike 10, in addition to its Affiliate Program, which matches clients and projects with the most appropriate AVL systems integrators to install and commission those products. In this case, GC Pro brought in Automated Interiors Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to install sound equipment, including 44 JBL Control Series ceiling speakers and subwoofers powered by Crown CDI 1000 and CDI 2000 amplifiers, and a large array of lighting including Chauvet® Nexus LED washes and LED displays, a Gobo Shot LED projector and a Rouger moving-head fixture. Live bands will also be able to crank it up at Strike 10 thanks to the comprehensive Acousti-Block sound management materials installed at the lounge.

“Fantastic is the word I would use for how this turned out,” comments Moises Jafif, part-owner of Strike 10 and part of a team that pioneered the bowling alley/lounge concept at several locations in Mexico before bringing it to the U.S. with the 15,000-squre-foot Hallandale site, which opened in March of this year. “The experience of working with GC Pro was spectacular from day one. They really know their stuff.”

Jafif says that while the main components of Strike 10 are the same as the locations in Mexico, he wanted to adapt the theme for the Miami area. That’s where GC Pro came in. Working with sources at HARMAN and Chauvet, as well as Automated Interiors, GC Pro Account Manager Ricardo Cintron-Jimenez chose products that would realize Jafif’s vision for Strike 10. For instance, a key strategic idea was the decision to install all-white furniture, floors and walls — even an all-white bar — which literally creates a blank canvas for the Nexus wash lighting fixtures, allowing the space to change hues and create entirely new environments to fit the moment, whether it’s a kids’ party or late-night ladies-night out. “It’s a unique feature,” says Cintron-Jimenez. “The all-white furniture, bar, floors and walls acquire the color of choice, from the Nexus lighting fixtures, changing the atmosphere at will.” GC Pro also supplied backline equipment for live music and for a DJ booth, which the acoustical treatments will also enhance by controlling the volume.

The bar at Strike 10 Bowling & Sports Lounge in Hallandale Beach, Florida, featuring fantastic sound and lighting, thanks to Guitar Center Professional and GC Pro Affiliate Program member Automated Interiors Inc.

Daniel Roller, President of Automated Interiors, says the project turned out so well thanks in large part to GC Pro’s depth of inventory and access to a wide range of brands. “The client was adamant about wanting Chauvet lighting,” says Roller. “And GC Pro has a huge array of brand choices when it comes to lighting and everything else, so we were able to get the client exactly what they wanted. It’s one of the things about working with them that makes my job easier.” Roller was also enthusiastic about his ongoing relationship with GC Pro’s Affiliate Program. “We’re mutually supportive of each other,” he says. “We find ways to create more value than by working alone, which was evident on this project, which really turned out cool.”

Jafif agrees. “It has the flash you need for Miami,” he says, “And the place sounds as good as it looks. Ricardo was always there for us. He took us to different showrooms so we could check out equipment. We have eleven lanes — the idea is to keep it feeling very exclusive and special, and GC Pro picked out products that were in line with that goal. The customer service was spectacular. We actually became pretty close with the staff at GC Pro.” That’s good, because GC Pro is a national presence and Jafif plans to open additional Strike 10 venues, already scouting locations in the South and the Northeast. “We’re really comfortable with GC Pro, so they’re the ones we’d turn to,” he says.

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.

Albany: GC Pro/Audio Alchemist Tour on July 8

The word is getting out on Guitar Center Professional's Audio Alchemist events. Think about it: it's an evening where you get to taste-test some of the world's best audio gear, while you're also tasting craft beer and Thai food. Hosted by respected experts in the world of studio recording, the only thing that could make an Audio Alchemist event better is if it were free.

Oh wait; it is free.

The next Audio Alchemist event will be held in Albany, NY on Wednesday July 8 from 7-10PM at the Madison Theater. To attend, simply contact GC Pro and reserve your spot. Topics covered at this event include:

• 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.

WEDNESDAY JULY 8, 7-10PM
The Madison Theater
1036 Madison Ave.
Albany, NY 12208

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

Gloria’s Latin Cuisine Gets Immersive AVL

The exterior of the newly renovated Addison, Texas location of Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, featuring immersive AVL sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of Custom Audio Video Services. © 2015.

— Gloria’s Latin Cuisine has been reinventing itself to accommodate changes in the hospitality culture, and GC Pro has been there providing the AVL technology it needs to stay at the leading edge of the business —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 4, 2015 — It began in 1988 as Gloria’s Restaurant, a single outpost in Dallas offering the authentic Tex-Mex and Salvadoran comidas envisioned by Gloria and Jose Fuentes, newly minted American citizens with an entrepreneurial dream. That dream has now grown to 15 locations and has been re-conceived as Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, with the re-opening last year of a newly renovated restaurant in Addison, Texas. And for the past several years, the new stores have been able to take Gloria’s brand to the next level, utilizing AVL technology and design input from Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, and which has become a strong partner with Gloria’s as the company has evolved.

Like several of its other recently opened locations, the newly renovated Addison restaurant serves many different kinds of customers, as a family restaurant during the week and as a dance club on the weekends. A DAS Audio active sound system is also fitted with a pair of DAS LX215A subwoofers that assure a pumping dance floor, and they’re just as capable of being the gentle background sound system for the restaurant during meal times. Martin MH1 Profile moving-head light fixtures, X-Laser X-Beam 2500 and an Ultratec Radiance hazer make for a great dance experience on weekends, while the self-powered sound system helps keep cabling to a minimum, assuring a clean, sleek look to the restaurant. All of the audio, lighting and projection products used in the new Gloria’s location, as well as in three new Texas locations in South Lake, Flower Mound and Las Colinas that are slated to open in the near future, were sourced through GC Pro, and Jeffery McDaniel, Senior Account Manager at the Dallas GC Pro office, provided design help and systems advice.

“We first met with Jose and Gloria at the original Addison location about four years ago,” recalls McDaniel. “They were having problems getting their sound and lighting evenly distributed throughout the restaurant. They’re using recorded and live music, and getting even coverage at the right volume levels takes the right equipment being installed properly, and we were able to provide that for them. That was the beginning of what has become an ongoing and growing relationship as we help Gloria’s expand throughout the region.”

The dining room of the newly renovated Addison, Texas location of Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, featuring immersive AVL sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of Custom Audio Video Services. © 2015.

On weekends, the newly renovated Addison, Texas location of Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, reinvents itself as a dance club, featuring immersive AVL sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of Custom Audio Video Services. © 2015.

The bar area of the newly renovated Addison, Texas location of Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, featuring immersive AVL sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photo courtesy of Custom Audio Video Services. © 2015.

Joe Ramos, Owner & Founder of Custom Audio Video Services, a premier audio and video company that services its home base city of Dallas as well as Houston, Austin and surrounding areas, says a key part of his mission was to make sure that the sound, video and lighting were well integrated into the restaurant’s aesthetic design. “You really wouldn’t notice any of the hardware footprint during the day, but at night, the sound and lighting, come alive, and so does the club,” he says. “Jeff and GC Pro were a great fit for this project. Their collaborative efforts proved helpful in many ways as they provided keen insight into the best products. For instance, they chose the sound system in part to make sure the DJ booth fits into the space well. And now that Gloria’s has been introducing a new look, with lots of new colors, they’ve been helping me pick the elements that best support the new look. Gloria’s is growing and improving, thanks in part to GC Pro, and Custom Audio Video Services is right there with them.”

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.

Legendary Console Begins a New Life at Japanski Studio

The Neve Genesys console at Japanski Studio in Athens, Georgia, sourced through GC Pro’s Used Gear division.

— In a sale through GC Pro’s Used Gear sales division, Japanski Studio, a facility in Athens, Georgia, now hosts the 24-fader Neve Genesys console from Studio E at Capitol Studios, where iconic artists created a lasting legacy —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, May 28, 2015 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, recently helped a studio source the perfect console to be the centerpiece for the facility – a legacy 24-fader Neve Genesys console that previously resided at Studio E at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. When Matt Tamisin and his brother Abraham saw the opportunity to acquire a console that had been part of one of the classic palaces of sound, where legendary artists continue to make timeless recordings, they knew they had to have it for their Japanski Studio in Athens, Georgia. And have it they did, thanks to GC Pro’s robust used equipment sales division.

“I knew that if I didn’t get this one, I’d never get a Neve,” says Matt Tamisin, referring to the 24-fader Neve Genesys console. “It was a bit scary,” he continues, talking about what it’s like to buy the most central piece of equipment a studio can have long distance, by phone and Internet. “But I took the plunge because I’ve been buying from GC Pro for years and every experience has been a good one, including this.”

Tamisin cites GC Pro’s 30-day unconditional return policy, exceptional pricing power, access to a wide array of pre-owned classic equipment, and reliable customer support for why he didn’t have to think twice about this critical purchase. “I knew GC Pro would have me covered,” he says.
 

The Neve Genesys had been acquired by GC Pro’s Hollywood office, a result of its excellent relationships with the pro audio community in the entire Southern California region, including with Capitol Studios. “They were doing some ‘house cleaning,’ upgrading some of their rooms, which is something that we helped them with,” explains Brian Overton, GC Pro Account Manager. “We purchased several really nice pieces of equipment from them, including a pair of TL Audio mic pre’s. Once we had the console tested, checked out and up on our dedicated pre-owned equipment website, Matt saw it and knew that’s what he wanted. We were able to get it to him cost-effectively, and we’ll be there to back him up when he needs us.”
 
GC Pro’s Used Gear website has become a favorite hangout for equipment aficionados, with tons of great vintage and recent gear, all of which has been carefully vetted and tweaked when needed. “The Used Gear website is great because it lets smaller studios access equipment that puts them into a higher tier at prices they can afford,” says Overton. “Our used inventory is constantly being refreshed, and we’re always picky about what we decide to acquire, so buyers have lots of choices but also know that they’re getting the best stuff.”

Tamisin agrees — in fact, he’s chronicled the arrival and commissioning process of the new deck on a detailed blog. “GC Pro has taken good care of me,” he says. “And I love having a piece of history in my studio, and GC Pro made it happen. It may have been in Studio E at Capitol, but it’s our Studio A console now.”

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.