The Alley Recording Company and GC Pro

Co-partner and chief engineer Marc Nelson in the control room of The Alley Recording Company, Valparaiso, Indiana. The studio has an impressive arsenal of gear, much of which was sourced through GC Pro.

— Chief engineer and co-partner Marc Nelson keeps the overhead low in small-city Indiana, offering great value to acts from nearby Chicago and elsewhere —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, May 3, 2012 — The Alley Recording Company, located in the arts-friendly city of Valparaiso, Indiana, is the brainchild of co-partner and chief engineer Marc Nelson. After a stint at the Chicago Recording Company and time spent as a protégée of producer legend Bill Schnee (Carly Simon, Whitney Houston, Steely Dan), Nelson decided to open his own studio in 2008 in his hometown of Valparaiso, despite a shaky economy and an even shakier studio industry, an atmosphere in which far more studios were shutting down than opening successfully. Nelson and co-partner Chad Clifford saw the opportunity to keep the overhead low in the small yet arts-rich Valparaiso, and offer a friendly, thrifty alternative to the studios in nearby Chicago. “We initially thought about opening a facility in Chicago, but competition kept me out – there are about 425 studios there alone,” Nelson recalls. “And out here there is zero overhead. Our rent is very low and I would say we are the nicest studio between here and Indianapolis.” The business model is paying off so far, with The Alley bringing a new level of studio professionalism to the area. The studio has an impressive arsenal of gear, much of which was sourced through Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, and with whom Nelson has a longstanding relationship. “If I ever need something, GC Pro is always there,” notes Nelson. “I can’t stress enough how important they have been to my studio, simply because they always deliver.”

The two-suite facility certainly does not disappoint in terms of size, aesthetics and gear. The large live room measures 28 feet by 20 feet with 14-foot ceilings, with two isolation booths adjacent. Instruments include a Yamaha C3 grand piano, a Wurlitzer spinet, a vintage set of Ludwig drums, a Hammond A100 organ, various mallet percussion instruments, and guitars from such manufacturers as Gibson, Taylor and Rickenbacker, among other instruments. Nelson selected Focal Twin6 Be three-way monitors with matching subwoofer for his control room. “These are the only monitors I use and for my size, they are perfect. The top end is never shrill and they have plenty of power,” he states. His main console is a 36-channel MCI-Sony MXP-3000, which he runs with his Avid Pro Tools|HD2 system. The console also features eight integrated preamplifiers customized by Greg Norman from Electrical Audio. Outboard amplifiers include models from Daking, Great River, Chandler, Universal Audio, Vintech, Avalon and others. Other gear includes limiters and compressors from Summit, API, Empirical Labs and Chandler. And of course the microphone closet is fully stocked, with units from Audio-Technica, Blue, AKG, Flea (Flea 47 and Flea C12), Royer, Shure, Schoeps and others, which Nelson has mostly bought in pairs.

Valparaiso is known for its great music community, and Nelson spearheaded a 13-episode PBS series, “Live at the Alley,” filmed entirely at the studio. PBS has since asked the studio to do a second season. Nelson notes, “The main thing for the PBS series was for us to host high quality live performances – it wasn’t about money or even advertising the studio.” But the show has indeed raised the studio’s profile, and more and more acts from the Chicago area are turning to The Alley. “We got many of the large Chicago groups and a handful of others from Boston to Los Angeles involved with what we’re doing here. Let’s hope our good luck continues!”

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.

Valparaiso Memorial Opera House

The stage at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana. A recent renovation saw the theater upgraded with cutting-edge audio and wireless technology provided by GC Pro for systems designed, specified and installed by GC Pro Affiliate Program member 101 Event Productions of Dyer, Indiana.

— New systems and technology provided by GC Pro and designed/specified/installed by GC Pro Affiliate Program member 101 Event Productions will help make the landmark theater building more competitive as an entertainment venue, attracting music, theater and other artists —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, January 11, 2012 — The renovators of the landmark Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, Indiana, made sure to preserve the integrity of the historic architectural design details during the recently completed restoration. Inside, however, the 364-seat theater has cutting-edge technology, provided by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. This upgrade will allow the theater to attract music, theater and other artists that will culturally enrich the entire region. The new systems were designed, specified and installed by 101 Event Productions of Dyer, Indiana, one of the approved vendors in GC Pro’s acclaimed Affiliates Program, which allows GC Pro to offer complete turnkey service nationally, including technology and product advice, design services and installation/integration.

Built in 1893 by the local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Memorial Opera House is a living memorial to the county's Civil War Veterans. With the recent upgrade, it’s now a state-of-the-art performance facility, with technology and products provided by GC Pro including a JBL VRX932LAP line array PA system and JBL AL7115 subwoofers; a Yamaha M7-CL48 mixing console for Front-of-House that is also provided with a digital interface card for an Avid Pro Tools recording system running Pro Tools 9 software and a Lynx Aurora A-D converter; a 16-channel Yamaha LS932 console for monitor mixing; a ClearCom CP222/CM222 Tempest 2400 2.4GHz 2-channel communications system and ClearCom MA702 intercom system; a Listen Technologies LS8101 IR listening assist system with LR42 receivers; a BSW 360 DR600 Instant Replay 2 Soundfile Player; and 18 channels of Audio-Technica wireless, including 12 AEW-5111 systems from A-T’s Artist Elite® 5000 Series with PRO 92cW headset, and six ATW-3141b systems from A-T’s 3000 Series.

Michael Anton, Owner of 101 Event Productions and known as “Frenchy” to his entertainment and touring clients (including Mary J. Blige, Reba McIntyre and Paul McCartney), says that the opera house presented some significant challenges, including the fact that it was never designed for multi-use productions. “It had been designed as an open hall for theater, but they had plans to use it for everything from rock concerts to comedy shows and most recently they will also use it as an indie film house, so there were definitely structural issues,” he explains. “It needed one sound system that could cover all of that.” Anton says GC Pro made all the difference in achieving that goal. The JBL VRX system was a good solution but costly; however, GC Pro found a way to make it work within the limited budget that Anton had to work with initially. “They know their stuff and were able to make things happen so that we never had to compromise,” he says. “That worked so well that they could see that better equipment would help them sell more tickets and they increased the budget enough for us to go digital with the console and the snake. Everyone who has performed there since wants to come back.”

“GC Pro and 101 Event Productions hit a home run for the Valparaiso Opera House,” says Ryan Nigh, Account Manager at the GC Pro office in Hobart, Indiana. “GC Pro’s knowledge and inventory, combined with 101 Event Productions’ design and installation expertise, offered a turnkey level of service and that made all the difference. Not only were we able to together suggest and source all of the equipment, but we could also make sure that it all worked together, creating the kind of venue they wanted, one that could compete with venues in larger cities – nothing compares within the state. Major music artists can walk right in, and the facility is ready to go. That’s the power of what GC Pro can bring to any performing venue -- service that takes you from start to finish, all done right.”

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.