Seacrets: King of the Virtual Beach

Seacrets, a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, recently upgraded with audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Photos courtesy of Jason Cruz/Seacrets. © 2015.

— Sprawling Ocean City, Maryland entertainment venue Seacrets renovated their music stages over the winter in preparation for a big summer, and GC Pro was their go-to source for audio, video and lighting —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 20, 2015 — Seacrets is a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, beside the Isle of Wight Bay. Opened as a “locals only” bar in 1988, it has since grown exponentially, now consisting of 16 bars, four performance areas, a clothing boutique, and an FM/Internet radio station located on the property, all with its “Jamaica USA” theme still intact. And the aesthetics of the place match that: live reggae DJs start at 10 a.m. every day, the restaurant features plenty of jerk chicken, and every year dozens of palm trees are planted and maintained for the summer season. In fact, summer is Seacrets’ biggest season, running each year from St. Patrick’s Day through Halloween, and this year’s summer sounded and looked better than ever, thanks to audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts.

Using GC Pro’s extensive inventory and resources, AV Manager Jason Cruz was able to acquire all new systems for the Beach, Old Main Bar and Pier stages. These include a 64-channel Soundcraft Si Performer digital console, four new Crown XTI 6000 series amplifiers to beef up the existing PA systems, JBL Control series in-ceiling speakers and ASB subwoofers to extend the reach and range of the music, a Shure ULXS wireless microphone system and wireless PSM in-ear monitors, dbx® DriveRack DSP, Chauvet Rogue spotlight, Elation moving-head fixtures and American DJ Vortex moving washes. It’s a long list, and only GC Pro was able to provide a one-stop source for all of it.

“I have to replace some products and systems fairly often because the sand gets in there and it’s brutal on some pieces of gear,” says Cruz, who started at Seacrets in 2009 as a DJ and now supervises the AVL for the entire operation, even as he keeps his hand in spinning records at times. “Having GC Pro as a partner is a necessity, to be able to get what we need, when we need it, at a good price.” But GC Pro is more than that for Seacrets and Cruz. “I totally trust Mitch to let me know what the best product and system choices would be for any of the venues,” he adds, referring to GC Pro Account Manager Mitch Shaivitz at GC Pro's Baltimore-area office. “As the AV Manager, I’m expected to know everything about everything, and that’s impossible, so I rely on Mitch to fill in my knowledge gaps.”

Seacrets, a nightclub, bar, restaurant and concert venue located in Ocean City, MD, recently upgraded with audio and lighting systems sourced through Guitar Center Professional. Visible are JBL Control series in-ceiling speakers. Photos courtesy of Jason Cruz/Seacrets. © 2015.

One example of how GC Pro made a difference instead of just a sale is Shaivitz’s recommendation of the Shure in-ear monitors to replace stage wedges at the Beach stage. That not only eliminated another piece of equipment that would be exposed to the wear and tear of sand but also helped bands keep their stage volume in check, keeping the sound inside the venue and away from neighboring houses. “He also helped us make the transition to LED lighting, which resists sand better than conventional lights,” he says. Seacrets’ next season will also see a trip to GC Pro over the winter for new Crown amplifiers for the main concert hall. “GC Pro has made my life easier and Seacrets’ experience better,” says Cruz. “It would be hard to be this good without 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.

Free AES Passes from Guitar Center Professional

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Heroes Camp Recovers from Devastating Windstorm Damage

One of the basketball court spaces at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

— Faith-based sports ministry suffers massive damage as a result of a severe windstorm, and GC Pro and its AV integration affiliate Accutronics step up and stay with the organization through 15 grueling months of rebuilding, culminating in a joyful reopening in September —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, October 6, 2015 — The winds came on the night of July 1, 2014, and what they left in their wake was devastating. Heroes Camp, a sports ministry in Mishawaka, Indiana, that for 26 years has provided guidance and activities for area youth with its three basketball courts, a kitchen, locker rooms, a recording studio, and even a barbershop, had its ceilings torn down and its floors flooded. Over the next 15 months, Heroes Camp battled back, culminating in a grand reopening on September 12. Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the business-to-business (B2B) division of Guitar Center providing highly customized service for professional accounts, along with its Affiliates Program partner Accutronics LLC, was happy to be part of that miraculous comeback.

GC Pro sourced a wide variety of audio, video and lighting products and systems, including a QSC PA system, Da-Lite projection equipment, Shure and Sennheiser microphones, Atlona video products, Rapco cabling and Mid Atlantic racking. Many of these products were delivered through the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, which had long been a supplier for Heroes Camp’s MI needs, and they were installed and integrated by Accutronics.

Ryan Nigh, GC Pro Account Manager, remembers that he, Accutronics Owner Mike Love and Heroes Camp Executive Director Patrick “P.J.” Perri were just about finished with the paperwork for some upgrades to Heroes Camp’s existing systems along with some new products when the winds struck overnight. The next morning revealed the extent of the damage. What had been a relatively small upgrade project now turned into a recovery and rebuilding task, with substantial support from the community that Heroes Camp had been part of for a quarter of a century. “PJ had sent me a video of the damage and it was terrible,” Nigh recalls. “We all got together and determined what could be salvaged and what needed to be replaced. We were putting together a plan that would get them back to where they had been before the storm and then some, as cost-effectively as possible, because throughout the entire time they were also battling with insurance companies.” Nigh credits Toby Klingler, Manager of the Mishawaka Guitar Center store, for giving local store support, and logistics coordinator Jon Newby, for handling all of the special orders and shipping. “Everyone gave a hundred percent to get Heroes Camp back on its feet,” he says.

The recording studio space at Heroes Camp in Mishawaka, Indiana, featuring gear sourced through Guitar Center Professional.

PJ Perri concurs, citing GC Pro’s experience dealing with insurance issues. “They understood the critical difference between contents and structure,” he explains; how, for instance, a speaker on the floor can be considered in the contents category but once it’s hung from a wall or a truss it becomes part of a building’s structure — a critical distinction to an insurance adjustor eyeing liability limits. “I was very impressed with the knowledge and insight they were able to bring about insurance matters. That was very helpful.” And Perri was also happy with GC Pro’s choice of integrator, noting how Accutronics’ Mike Love was able to make the facility’s recording studio look better than ever. “It looks as good as it sounds,” says Perri. “He hid the wiring very artfully and everyone who comes in comments on the sleekness of the studio. Everyone involved was just awesome.”

“I was happy to help,” says Ryan Nigh. “GC Pro has been around a long time and we’ve accumulated a lot of experience – not just in professional AV but in everything connected with it,” he says. “But it was especially gratifying to see Heroes Camp come back, and see how the community and companies like Nike, Foot Locker and even the Chicago Bulls come together to help, because this was all for a much greater cause. We were glad to be part of that.”

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.