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.

Studio Profile: Vanquish Studios, Davie, Florida

Vanquish Studios’ state-of-the-art control room features an SSL Duality SE 48-input analog console; monitors by ADAM, Genelec and M-Audio; and a host of outboard gear.

-- A small private studio boasts professional-grade gear and world-class atmosphere, attracting top artists across a wide variety of genres --
Vanquish Studios sits comfortably near the top of a short list of south Florida’s most advanced private recording facilities. Known for its warm and inviting atmosphere (certainly not hurt by the sunny climate of the studio’s hometown of Davie, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale) and extensive and state-of-the-art gear setup, Vanquish has become a hotspot for recording local talent, and a destination for acts from elsewhere. “I can give you the numbers,” states the studio’s founder and CEO Joseph Salamida, who also serves as one of the primary producers and engineers at the facility. “Five years in business, well over 300 happy clients, more than 84,000 GB of data and over 12,500 hours recorded. We have been busy!” Shortly after opening in 2009, Vanquish was selected as one of the “Year’s Coolest New Studios” in MIX Magazine’s year-in-review. And in the years since, the studio has been lucky to work on GRAMMY-nominated projects by such artists as William McDowell and Israel Houghton.

After graduating as one of the top students in his class at SAE Miami, Salamida tried to find a studio to intern with in the area, but none felt right to him, as he didn’t feel they were going to offer him a balance with his work at church on Sundays – a lifelong priority. “I had a mentor at the time who saw my potential and that I had something special to offer. Through him, I became friendly with some industry heavy-hitters including Horacio Malvicino at the Malvicino Design Group. All of these people encouraged me to go all the way. For instance, it became clear to me that it makes less sense to invest in a great console and set it up in a cement garage than it does to go the extra mile and develop a world-class facility to house that console. So that became my goal. Somehow we made it work, and here we are today.” Joining Salamida in the studio’s day-to-day operations are several trusty associates: Franklin Rodriguez, Franklin Soccoro, Chris Hardy, Tony Morales, Paul Salveson, Danny Duncan, new addition Kevin “Gomie” Gomez, Mario Caroscio, and others.

Vanquish Studios’ extensive patch bay, along with Apogee AD16X 192K A/D converters, Apogee DA16X 192K D/A converters, Empirical Labs EL8X/S Stereo Pair Distressor, and more.

The studio was designed by the Blank Design Group with systems integration by the Malvicino Design Group and gear sourced through Guitar Center Pro. GC Pro has been a key advocate since day one. As Salamida notes, “I have worked with three different Account Managers at GC Pro, and each of them has been world-class. When I call frantically with an emergency, they help us solve it in a calm and professional way. They’ve got our back.”

The live room sports a mix of wood, stone and acoustical treatments – customizable for each project to the clients’ needs. A luxurious lounge allows much-needed R&R. The control room’s centerpiece is an SSL Duality SE 48-input analog console from Solid State Logic. GC Pro-sourced gear includes Pro Tools and a full software complement; microphones from Audio-Technica, AKG, Neumann, Sennheiser, Sony and several other manufacturers; monitors from ADAM, Genelec, Yamaha and others; and outboard gear from such iconic brands as Focusrite, Lexicon, Universal Audio, Apogee and more.

The acoustically-engineered tracking room features a mix of hard wood, stone and acoustical treatment, customizable to suit the needs of each project.

Vanquish Studios worked closely with GC Pro affiliate Malvicino Design Group to help make Joseph Salamida’s dream a reality.

The studio has produced successful projects with artists on every genre, but Salamida’s heart lies with his Christian ministry: “It might sound old-fashioned to some, but I see this studio as an extension of my ministry, whether or not I’m working on Christian music at the moment. And for Christian artists, we are expanding what we offer – we now are unveiling our production company and record label to get these projects fully produced, all in-house, offering a turnkey solution to save these artists money on their tight budgets.”

Salamida is rightly proud of his crew and what they’ve accomplished: “We're a close team of musicians and engineers,” he notes “We are passionate about what we do, and we take pride in delivering only the best, and hopefully it shows on the faces of our clients when they hear the mixes or hold their album in their hand.”

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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.