It’s safe to say that Headquarters Beercade Nashville is a unique venue. The retro bar and restaurant in downtown Nashville features vintage arcade games and cassette tapes hanging on the wall, but despite being at the heart of country music it only plays other music genres. After a recent installation, it does so with Martin Audio CDD speakers.
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John Wagner of Chicago-based Ayre Productions oversaw the audio installation and got a first-hand look at the quirky new Nashville hotspot after having worked on Headquarters Beercade in Chicago.
“The retro bar has a vintage, quirky vibe with red graffiti and thousands of cassettes hanging from the wall,” he says in Martin Audio press release.
“It showcases retro-style music like alternative, new wave, rock and roll, etc., but no country. It attracts a widespread group including young kids for the arcades and older folks who grew up playing the games.”
Despite eschewing country, audio plays a key role at Headquarters Beercade Nashville. As such, it was an interesting project for Ayre.
“This was a ground-up build and we got the project from our clients, Brian Galati and Chireal Jordan, to provide audio and video,” Wagner says. “They also wanted a dedicated sound system for the performance space so the venue could host bands like most every place in downtown Nashville.”
More on the Martin Audio installation from the press release:
The performance area at the end of the large main room includes a DJ booth which can be removed and replaced with a portable stage equipped with one Martin Audio CDD15 and two CSX212 subs flown per side, pointed toward the entrance. Complementing that setup are four CDD12’s hung from the ceiling at the sides and back of the room firing into the center.
According to John, “there’s a mezzanine over the entry area with a separate bar and we mounted three CDD8’s under that for maximum coverage when you enter the club. In the mezzanine itself, we have two CDD12’s wall-mounted on the higher level and two CDD6’s lower down, all firing toward the bar, with one CSX212 sub on the floor. We also mounted a CDD10-WR outside the club facing the street because they have no noise limits in downtown Nashville.
“Amplification includes Lab Gruppen D80:4L and IPD 2400 amps with Lake processing, and everything is wired in true stereo throughout the building so it really sounds amazing wherever you’re standing!”
Click for pics of Headquarters Beercade Nashville retro bar
In terms of video, the club is equipped with two 55”, two 65” and two 70” Samsung televisions along with a 200” projection screen and Vivitek projector.
In terms of reaction to Martin Audio CDD from his clients, John recounts, “One of the owners had owned a club in Chicago and favored another brand so he had to be convinced. I played a live version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ through the CDDs and his jaw literally dropped. Now he and the other owner are 100% believers and we’re going to be using Martin Audio for the new Chicago location and changing things out in their original location!”
Summing up, John concludes, “Several of the staff members from Chicago who’ve moved down to run the Nashville location told me they can actually stand in the middle of a very crowded room—because they’re killing it down there––filled with people, video games and music playing and can walk out without their ears hurting, which is a huge plus.”
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