Live music venue, recording studio, music school, party space, and community
treasure-Rock City Studios does it all, supporting the local music community in
Ventura County, California. Much of the action happens in one main room where Rock
City Studios host shows by national and local acts, as well as recording and
videotaping local bands’ performances. But until recently, the community-oriented
space had a serious issue: It’s old PA system wasn’t getting the job done. The solution
was elusive until the Rock City team discovered Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers.

“This space was a hodge-podge of different businesses,” comments Rock City Studios
co-owner and general manager Brett DeCarlo. “We’ve renovated it and made it more
kid friendly, cleaner, bigger, better, faster, and stronger. Everything goes on in our
main room, which holds 300 people, standing. We have big concerts in here, often
with national bands and local support. There are mosh pits and people jumping up
and down and going as hard, and having as much fun, as they possibly could have.”

“This is an interesting room, and it’s gone through many iterations,” agrees Rock City
front-of-house engineer Mike Brown. “The fundamental problem we had was that the
previous PA system was a traditional point-source array. We had a sweet spot in the
middle of the floor, but if you wandered too far front or back, you got out of that
sweet spot. To get the levels that we needed for the bands that play in this area, we
had to double up on our conventional PA system, and that led to comb filtering and
interference, as we tried to fill the space with volume to get over the crowd levels. We
also suffered from the loss of high-end frequency response, poor stereo separation,
and resonant frequencies. At first, we attributed it to the room, which has anomalies,
but when we installed the Renkus-Heinz system, it became very clear that we had
been suffering from a dated PA system.”

DeCarlo and Brown attended the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim in search of a
solution and all but stumbled over it. “Brett heard the Renkus-Heinz system in the
Anaheim Hilton hotel, and he was just floored by how fantastic it sounded,” Brown
relates. “He brought me over to check it out. The Hilton lobby is an odd shape, and
what was amazing was not only the sound of the Renkus-Heinz system but the ability
to keep sound from bleeding into the surrounding areas. I could carry on a
conversation on the upper balcony, yet go down to the floor in front of the band and
hear this fantastic sound.”

The Rock City team visited Renkus-Heinz’ NAMM booth, and the manufacturer put
them in touch with Jeff Miranda at Pacific AV. “Jeff did a phenomenal job,” Brown
praises. “The Hilton system used Renkus-Heinz IC2-series loudspeakers, and we
thought, ‘great, we have unique obstacles, so what would be better than a steerable
array for Rock City?’ But Jeff, having become almost part of the family, realised that
the IC2 wasn’t appropriate for this venue. He immediately steered us toward the
Renkus-Heinz CFX101LA modular point-source array. He built a PA with the CFX101LA
that sounded so fantastic; we were immediately sold.”

With the flexibility to be flown, ground-stacked, or pole-mounted, the CFX101LA
combines the performance and pattern control of a line array with the clarity of a
point-source system in a compact, sleek, affordable design. Rock City’s system
employs two CFX101LAs. A pair of Renkus-Heinz CFX15S 15-inch high-performance
subwoofers, mounted above the arrays, generate the powerful low-end the venue
required. “With the previous system, the sound was too muddy, and we didn’t have
that huge feeling, what I call the ‘heart punch,’ when you feel it in your chest,” avers
DeCarlo. “With the CFX system, it’s a night-and-day difference. The stereo image is a
lot wider. The clarity, especially in the high end, is there. The low end, too; you get
that heart punch, that kick in your stomach that we’d been missing. We’re at a level of
completion now.”

“The CFX101s allowed me to adjust the angles, so I’ve got fantastic coverage from the
front of the venue all the way to the back,” expounds Brown. “People who were here
with our previous PA and with the Renkus-Heinz system are amazed that they can
walk around and get the same sound anywhere. We do everything here from punk
rock to praise bands and everyone who comes through comments on how great this
venue sounds. We’ve attracted more national acts, and the kids are amazed at the
quality of the sound that they get. With the Renkus-Heinz system, we can meet some
of the rider requirements for the bigger name acts that look for places to play outside
of L.A. Now this truly is a professional venue.”

While sound was the most important factor in choosing Renkus-Heinz, it wasn’t the
only consideration. “The system has to look cool too,” DeCarlo insists. “Our new
Renkus-Heinz system looks great, sounds great, and is built to last. We’ll take that.”