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.

State Theatre Updates Audio Systems with GC Pro

The front-of-house engineer position at State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia, featuring gear sourced through GC Pro.

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, November 24, 2014 — The nearly century-old venue State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia, opened its doors in 1936 but closed down in 1988. Luckily, it later underwent a multi-million-dollar restoration and renovation that both buffed up its Art Deco design elements and added modern sound and lights with a 20-foot video screen, turning it into one of the leading live music venues in the region, sporting a wide-open dance floor and 200 seats in the restored balconies. The State Theatre just got another upgrade, this one to its audio and lighting systems, with all components sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users.

The new audio and lighting components include an RCF dual-hang line array sound system, managed by a dbx DriveRack 4800 speaker processor and mixed through an Avid SC48 VENUE digital FOH console. There is also a new High End Systems Road Hog 4 lighting control console and 16 new Chauvet LED and PAR lighting fixtures. All of these components were installed by Koko Brothers Entertainment, a proud member of the GC Pro Affiliate Program.

“That’s one of the things we love about working with GC Pro — any product we think we might need on a job, GC Pro will always be able to get it for us,” says Angelo Kokkinakos, who with his brother Lou owns and operates Koko Brothers Entertainment. The Baltimore-based firm is one of an elite group of approved vendors in the GC Pro Affiliate Program, which includes a growing number of award-winning companies and individuals who specialize in key areas of professional audio systems design, integration and installation.

“There were a couple of challenges,” says Angelo Kokkinakos. “It’s an old, landmarked building, so there’s not much you can do from an acoustics point of view, because the historical nature of the interior must be maintained. The owner” — Thomas Carter, who with a partner bought the State Theatre and brought it back to life — “wanted better sound. What had been in there was a ground-stacked system, which was good, but the coverage was uneven; it needed a number of under-balcony fills to make it work. Working with Jonah [Joffe, GC Pro Account Manager based at the Washington, D.C.-area office], we determined that a flown line array would be the best choice.”

State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia, featuring gear sourced through GC Pro.

“When we explored the different options and prices [for the P.A. system], the RCF came up as the right solution for the job,” says Angelo. “And once we had it installed, it really exceeded our high expectations. And that’s what I mean about working with GC Pro: whatever we might ask for, they’ll always tell us, ‘No problem! We can get that!’ And if something comes up in the middle of the project, like it did here when we discovered that the crawl space between the FOH position and the stage was longer than the snake we had specified, no problem — GC Pro and Whirlwind worked together to get us the items we needed to modify the snake.”

On working with GC Pro, Angelo notes, ““It’s a great partnership,” says Angelo Kokkinakos. “Every project has turned out exactly the way it’s supposed to. Clients love that!”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

GC Pro Goes Ivy League at Princeton

The outdoor seating area of the Cloister Inn Clubhouse on Princeton University’s Fraternity Row, which recently enjoyed a PA upgrade thanks to GC Pro and Koko Brothers Entertainment.

— GC Pro’s access to a wide range of products and its efficient Affiliate Program for AV systems integration offers the Cloister Inn clubhouse everything they need —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, March 12, 2013 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, was recently contacted for a PA upgrade to a clubhouse on the Princeton University’s Fraternity Row. GC Pro was able to supply a wide range of products and systems, as well as providing a complete turnkey proposition for the club with design assistance and systems installation by Koko Brothers Entertainment, based in the Baltimore area, a member of GC Pro’s innovative Affiliate Program.

The products installed for the Cloister Inn clubhouse at the famed Ivy League school include a B-52 MATRIX 2000 ACTIVE 1200-watt PA system, QSC AD-S82H eight-inch two-way and AD-S52W 5.25-inch speaker enclosures, a Crown XTi 2002 power amplifier, a dbx® 1261 10X6 ZonePRO® multi-zone processor with a dbx ZC9 and ZC1 wall-mount volume controls, and a Shure PGX24/SM58-H6 UHF handheld wireless microphone system.

“The club had some specific goals they wanted to accomplish,” recalls Angelo Kokkinakos, Vice President of Koko Brothers Entertainment, such as setting up a DJ position in a main room inside the clubhouse and extending the audio to an exterior deck. But they also wanted to stay within a budget. Kokkinakos says that GC Pro was able to source the niche B-52 PA system, which he describes as both cost effective and rugged, both critical characteristics for any college facility. The dbx ZonePRO offers the ability to keep the volume in check in different zones, important for avoiding noise complaints.

“GC Pro’s understanding of a wide range of equipment and their ability to source it make it the best resource there is for AV systems integration,” says Kokkinakos. “We never worry about availability of products, and we know that the equipment we need to do the job will always be there when we need it.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.

GC Pro and HARMAN Professional Team Up

Boston eatery the Salty Pig, recently upgraded with a new sound system featuring components from HARMAN Professional brands JBL, Crown and dbx, all sourced through GC Pro.

— Boston-area eateries The Salty Pig, Canary Square and Trade get new indoor and outdoor sound systems specified and sourced by GC Pro to assure maximum integrated performance —
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, December 5, 2012 — In today’s “foodie” culture, every new restaurant needs to immediately establish its own distinct look and feel, but also ensure that the customer experience there will be top notch. Where can three very different kinds of restaurants go to make certain that they have the best AV system design and components for their specific styles? Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, was able to answer that question definitively for a trio of new establishments in the Boston area. GC Pro drew upon its depth of resources, such as access to the full array of audio systems solutions from HARMAN Professional, to supply these three restaurants with sound systems that perfectly match their particular styles and are helping them each make their mark with their unique audiences.

At the Salty Pig, GC Pro Senior Account Executive PK Pandey designed a sound system that provides full-range music reproduction and intelligible paging with no compromises for either task. “The challenge here was the many hard, highly reflective surfaces, including wood and tiled floors and table tops,” explains Pandey, who assembled a system that uses seven JBL Control Series C67P/T pendant-type speakers, two JBL SB210 subwoofers, five JBL Control 24C ceiling speakers, along with a JBL CBT 50LA columnar line array on the restaurant’s outdoor patio, powered by Crown XLS 2000 and XLS 1000 amplifiers, and managed by a dbx 1260m zone controller. As critical as the audio equipment components was the Auralex acoustical treatment that Pandey also sourced for the design. “In addition to the highly directional speakers we used, we needed a lot of absorption around the dining areas to enable the sound be present and very clear,” he explains. “The results were excellent.”

Boston eatery Canary Square, recently upgraded with a new sound system featuring components from HARMAN Professional brands JBL, Crown and dbx, all sourced through GC Pro. Pictured is JBL C67 P/T pendant speaker.

Boston eatery Trade Boston, recently upgraded with a new sound system featuring components from HARMAN Professional brands JBL, Crown and dbx, all sourced through GC Pro.
In fact, the sound was so good that the Salty Pig’s owners asked GC Pro to work their same magic for their other restaurant, Canary Square, where Pandey redesigned the sound systems to include a dozen JBL C67 P/T pendants and four CBT 50LA line arrays on the outdoor dining patio, powered by Crown XLS 2000 and XLS 1000 amplifiers, and managed by a dbx ZonePro 1261m controller with ZC9 and ZC1 remotes. “The problems they were having at Canary Square were volume level and intelligibility – the same issues we were able to successfully tackle at the Salty Pig,” says Pandey, who also used carefully-aligned acoustical treatment panels to minimize reflections and maximize intelligibility, allowing the music to be present without being overpowering.

Trade, another trendy Boston-area eatery, called on GC Pro after experiencing the exceptional sound of the Salty Pig. “The owners of Trade liked the way we used the speakers to enhance the architectural/aesthetic appearance at the other restaurants,” Pandey says. “This was of primary importance to them, as well as great sound. We worked closely with the architect on the project to achieve both goals.” For Trade, GC Pro specified 10 JBL C67 P/T pendant speakers, eight JBL 226C/T ceiling speakers and a JBL SB210 sub, powered by Crown CTs 3000 and XLS 1500 amplifiers and managed by six dbx ZonePro 1261m controllers with ZC9 and ZC1 remotes.

These are just three of the numerous, recent restaurant projects where GC Pro has been able to help deliver great sound in challenging situations. “We can offer them what no one else can – access to great equipment, like the technology from HARMAN Professional, as well as system designs that are within the client’s budget, flexible installation options and project management from start to finish,” says Pandey. “We understand what our clients are attempting to accomplish, and we become their partners in helping to achieve it.”

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

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About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, 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.