After relying on a venerable Meyer Sound system since first opening at its current location in 1997, Yoshi’s legendary jazz club in Oakland, Calif. recently upgraded to a new system. The new system incorporates the latest technologies from the same company. Advanced Systems Group (ASG) based nearby in Emeryville, supplied the new Meyer Sound installation. It has since earned praise from management, artists, guest engineers and patrons alike.
“Every artist that has come in here has been blown away,” says Yoshi’s production manager, Marcel Quiroz. “Haley Reinhart’s engineer told me it was the best house system he’d ever heard, and the engineer for Dave Weckl said that hands down we now have the best-sounding room in the Bay Area. After his set, Freddy Jackson came up, gave me a hug, and said, ‘Thank you!’”
A Brief History of Yoshi
Now celebrating its golden anniversary, Yoshi’s was first established as an intimate sushi bar by Yoshie Akiba and her close friends in 1972. Akiba dropped the “e” from her first name for the restaurant. Seven years later, Yoshi’s moved to a larger location in Berkeley’s Claremont neighborhood. The reason being to mainly accommodate Akiba’s passion for dance and live jazz. In 1997, Yoshi’s moved again, this time to even larger accommodations at Oakland’s Jack London Square. Here, the expanded restaurant is now a 330-seat music venue.
The original system at Jack London Square deployed Meyer Sound CQ 1 and CQ-2 self-powered loudspeakers for the mains. It also had UPA-1P and HM-1 loudspeakers for fills and PSW-2 subwoofers for the low end.
Other artists who have graced the stage at Yoshi’s over the years include Van Morrison, Diana Krall, Taj Mahal, Max Roach, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck and Bonnie Raitt.
Need for an Upgrade
The prior system had served Yoshi’s well, reinforcing the music of jazz, R&B and associated pop luminaries for a quarter of a century. But a grueling schedule combined with some changes in front-end processing had dulled the system’s luster. It thus showed signs of aging, while the demand for stronger bass by contemporary R&B acts increased. This then prompted Quiroz and general manager, Hal Campos, to look at giving the venue a complete audio renovation.
Preliminary plans paused during the COVID shutdowns; however, when business rebounded, Yoshi’s gave the green light to move forward with the new Meyer Sound system. Joe Mistretta of Meyer Sound design services generated the final designs. He worked in collaboration with the ASG audio team and key accounts manager, Tom Menrath.
Installing The New System at Yoshi
The new Yoshi’s system comprises two UPQ-D1 wide-coverage and two UPQ D2 narrow-coverage full-size loudspeakers for the mains. This is supplemented by three ULTRA-X20 compact wide-coverage loudspeakers for downfill and seven UP-4slim ultra-compact-installation loudspeakers for front fill. Ample power for contemporary R&B acts is now available through four 900-LFC low-frequency control elements. The team mounted these in pairs on the walls. A Galileo GALAXY 816 Network Platform provides system drive and optimization. Meanwhile, the team also upgraded artist foldback with 10 MJF-208 and two MJF-210 stage monitors.
“Down time is expensive for Yoshi’s as it costs not only the performance venue but their foundational restaurant business,” notes ASG’s Menrath, “so it was vital to get the new system up and running as fast as possible. Working with Brad Katz of Waveworks, we were able to get the old system out, the new one in, tuned, and back in action within nine days.”
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A Highly Rewarding Project
Two of Yoshi’s founders and owners, namesake Yoshie Akiba and Kaz Kazamura, became the first ones to experience the system. “When I turned it on, it literally brought tears to their eyes,” recalls Quiroz. “They had never heard this room sound so good.”
As an avid musician, Tom Menrath found this relatively small project highly rewarding. “We do a lot of major projects with Meyer Sound, including huge installations for well-known Silicon Valley corporations, but Yoshi’s has been particularly satisfying,” he says. “This new system with the most advanced loudspeaker technologies is a stunning upgrade, and the artists who perform at Yoshi’s certainly deserve nothing but the best the industry can offer.”
Artists who have performed at Yoshi’s since the system upgrade include Jose Feliciano, Jesse Colin Young, Sheila E, Sergio Mendes, Arturo Sandoval and Les Claypool. This is in addition to other artists such as Weckl, Reinhart and Jackson.
Click on “View Slideshow” for images of the installation. All images courtesy of Steve Jennings.
