Adlib installs CODA Audio HOPS system at legendary Manchester venue …
“Because of the intimacy of the venue, the audience experience has been massively elevated by the new CODA Audio system. Adlib came in and delivered in buckets. We were super impressed with them at every stage, including all their work prior to the installation to model the venue and ensure full coverage in the areas we wanted. The project has exceeded our expectations!”
Developed into a music venue by maverick Dutch entrepreneur Jan Oldenburg during the early 1990s, Night & Day is located in Manchester’s vibrant Northern Quarter, and remains a vital cultural hub for both local and visiting musicians and creatives. The fiercely independent 250-capacity venue still plays a key role in Manchester’s cultural scene and is now owned and run by Oldenburg’s daughter Jennifer and her husband Ben Smithson. The list of major acts who have passed through Night & Day as up-and-comers includes Ed Sheeran, Arctic Monkeys, Elbow, Jessie J, Manic Street Preachers, My Chemical Romance, Kneecap, and more, and it remains an important focal point for national and regional tours.
The venue’s busy schedule, which sees anything up to five shows a week, places heavy demands on its technical infrastructure and Ben Smithson, who is in charge of operations at Night & Day recently concluded that its sound system needed attention, and that the time had come to invest in a major upgrade. Ben comments:
Our first step was to reach out to sound engineers who’d had previous experience of working in the venue – some more than two decades ago – who are now specifying equipment for major tours and festivals. They gladly came back with their thoughts and recommendations based on what was quite a high budget for a grassroots venue. That feedback gave us a direction and led us to CODA Audio.”
Ben then looked deeper into CODA Audio’s background, and was suitably impressed:
“The more we learned about them, the more we liked. The holistic design philosophy and patented technologies , combined with the back story of its founder being a former musician, all felt right. We had our heart set on CODA Audio, so we reached out to Adlib to design and install a new system.”
Experienced Liverpool-based audio specialist Adlib set about designing a new audio setup with specific performance and aesthetic parameters in mind. Having considered the use of CODA’s APS (Arrayable Point Source) loudspeakers, Adlib settled on a system based around CODA Audio HOPS (High Output Point Source) technology.
Adlib Project Manager Roger Kirby describes the task at hand:
“The old system hung below the proscenium and was not only a visual obstruction but also a physical one whereby punters were at risk of banging their heads on it. We were mindful of not having hanging loudspeakers, so we designed a distributed system based on four CODA Audio HOPS10i-Pro deployed in two phases. The HOPS boxes have amazing power-handling for their size, so this allowed them to be installed above the proscenium, ahead of the stage, and not visually impair performances.”
As well as the 4 x HOPS10i-Pro units, 2 x HOPS8i are located behind the mix position as rear delays, with a further 2 x HOPS8i as side stage fills. 3 x CODA Audio U4 dual-18” subwoofers line the front of the stage. Stage monitoring is courtesy of 4 x CODA Audio CUE TWO stage monitors and the system is powered by 8 x CODA Audio LINUS6.4i DSP amplifiers.
Much discussion took place between Ben and Roger about the sub placement, and agreement was reached for the benefit of performers, not to place them underneath the stage. Roger explains:
“The subs are set up on isolators which has a really positive effect on the sound response as it prevents any unwanted harmonics. The same goes for the flown loudspeakers which are installed on isolators from the ceiling structure, suspended on a shock mounts. By removing sound bleeding into the fabric of the building, less energy is wasted.”
The nature of the new system at Night & Day delivers premium sound whilst allowing the audience to get a full head-to-toe image of the performers, further enhancing the venue’s intimacy. Earlier in the year the venue welcomed back the Courteeners to perform as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations, and to highlight their grassroots origins. The band played Night & Day on numerous occasions in 2006/7 during their journey to arena-status, and their engineer, who knew the room intimately, was very happy with the system.
Roger Kirby reflects on another successful CODA Audio install:
“I’m fully aware of the legacy of this venue and even mixed a few gigs here back in the mid 90s. It’s a well-loved room, historic in Manchester and means so much to the city. Everyone at Adlib is delighted to have delivered this level of upgrade to it. A special mention must go to our Systems Technical Manager, George Puttock, for sound design work and commissioning on the project.”
Ben Smithson concludes:
“Because of the intimacy of the venue, the audience experience has been massively elevated by the new CODA Audio system. Adlib came in and delivered in buckets. We were super impressed with them at every stage, including all their work prior to the installation to model the venue and ensure full coverage in the areas we wanted. The project has exceeded our expectations!”
Adlib
