Queen Elizabeth Theatre Historic venue re-launches with new sound system. by Kevin Young
The on-stage Adamson Y-10 line array cabinets and T21 subwoofers rest on rolling platforms allowing for maximum flexibility in loudspeaker placement.
Whenever you mention the name Queen Elizabeth Theatre to Canadians in the concert industry, their minds immediately head west to the grand old dame of Vancouver theaters. Toronto, however, has a venue of the same name. Not as well known perhaps, or as celebrated, but certainly with a rich history of its own. Designed by Peter Dickinson, and built by Page & Steele architects in the mid-1950’s, the theater is located near the waterfront on the grounds of the Canadian National Exposition. It has, over the last 20 years, fallen off the local radar somewhat, but if owner, Bruno Sinopoli, and Technical Director, Mark Prinsloo have their way, that’s going to change. Traditionally the CNE grounds are considered a bit off the beaten track for the city’s music fans. Recently though, the rapid development of live/work loft spaces in nearby Liberty Village, and the revitalization of West Queen West and Toronto’s Parkdale Village has been bringing concert goers closer all the time.
The Adamson Metrix loudspeakers (above) mounted on the venue’s proscenium to supplement the system’s center coverage.
Both take an extremely hands on approach to their projects. When I meet Sinopoli he’s mopping the stage floor. “This is Bruno,” says Prinsloo, by way of introduction. “He owns the place.” After opening the successful Mod Club on Toronto’s College Street strip in the heart of Little Italy, the two were looking for a larger venue, and for Sinopoli the purchasing the QE was a nobrainer. He essentially walked in, took one look, said “I want it,” and that was it. Refitting a Landmark At first glance you can see why he was impressed. The 1,250 capacity theater not only had good bones, it required minimal structural work and no additional acoustic treatments. Well outfitted for both artists and crew there’s plenty of room for everyone to get work done on show day – including five artist dressing rooms and dedicated office space for promoters, production and local crew. And, refreshingly – a loading dock with plenty of space around it – rather than the cramped alley/obstacle course that characterizes the load at some older theaters. Instead of the usual balcony area the QE features an area of rear seating banked at a 30-degree angle and surrounding the primary Front of House mix position. If undersold, the area can be covered entirely with black curtains laid directly on top of the seats, so as not to impact sound. Above that, there’s a small VIP room, formerly the old followspot position and the only real renovation undertaken in the theater proper. The actual purpose of the VIP area i.e. who gets it and why, speaks volumes about the kind of experience the two wanted to provide patrons. “We don’t actually sell it,” says Prinsloo, we give it away.” Aside from knocking out some offices adjacent to the lobby to create a bar area, that was all they did in terms of renos – between the bar and lobby they have an audience holding tank that can comfortably hold approximately 1,000 people. “We try to make people as happy as possible here,” Prinsloo explains, and not just the audience, but artists and their crews as well. That’s refreshing. Anybody who’s spent any time on the road has experienced the feeling of being unwelcome in someone’s house. For whatever reason, that happens more often in theaters than in your average large bar. You know the feeling – you load in, and even before you start unpacking your kit, heads start shaking. The roadblocks start going up and the words “You see, what we do here…” come out of someone’s mouth. Not here. Good vibes wouldn’t be worth much, however, if the venue’s production wasn’t up to snuff. “To launch a venue this size, you have to be very good, or you’re not going to make it. That’s why we put all the effort into the sound and lights,” Prinsloo explains.
Achieving Maximum Flexibility Based on his experience at the Mod Club, Prinsloo chose Adamson products across the board: 12 Adamson Y-10 Line Array Cabs, 4 Adamson T21 Subs and 2 Metrix boxes flown in front of the proscenium as a center fill for Front of House; and Adamson M15 bi-amped monitors in tandem with two SX18’s for sidewash. The amp package, a mix of Lab.gruppen fp 6400’s and QSC 2450’s were chosen based on both power and price point. “The Adamson T21 subs have two 21-inch loudspeakers. Each of those loudspeakers wants to see 3,000 watts, and the Lab.gruppen’s the only amp that’s going to give you that. There’s 24,000 watts of low end,” Prinsloo says. At first glance it seems odd that the PA isn’t flown. “There’s a firewall that has to be able to fall and we had to get a bunch of engineering drawings done for that and we just haven’t had the place long enough to get it,” he explains. But stacking the PA on large, wheeled platforms hasn’t negatively impacted sound. And while they’re still considering flying it, the system – as is – speaks to another aspect of the venue important to Prinsloo’s vision. Flexibility, he explains, is what sets the QE apart from similar rooms. Both Front of House and monitor rigs, stacks, racks and two Yamaha consoles – a PM 4000 and PM 3500 respectively – can be moved relatively easily to accommodate an incoming act desire to augment production, or bring in their own. A secondary mix position dead center of the final three rows of level seating further enhances that flexibility. The Adamson Metrix loudspeakers (above) mounted on the venue’s proscenium to supplement the system’s center coverage.
Though it’s a permanent install, it’s designed, even aesthetically, like a touring rig. “The consoles are still in the road cases and the FOH rack is a touring rack; using multi-pin cables and connectors so that it could be torn down in a hurry,” explains Westbury National Show Systems’ Mark Sandolowich, who provided a good portion of the system. Although Sandolowich made some suggestions to Prinsloo based on Westbury’s current inventory – namely some Dolby Lake crossovers they had in overstock – he stresses that Prinsloo knew pretty much exactly what he wanted. “It’s not like no expense is spared,” adds Sandolowich. “They had to think carefully about how they spend their money.” That meant spreading the money around to get the most bang for the buck and a system that measured up to the demands of virtually any incoming artists’ technical riders. Put simply, says Prinsloo, “A killer loudspeaker system that sounds absolutely fantastic and a really nice light rig.” “He knows our gear and we’ve been working together for years,” says Sandolowich. That knowledge helped keep costs down, allowing the owners to agree on a combination of new and rented equipment from Westbury’s inventory. “Half the clubs you run into in the city, they’ve got a lot of stuff, but when they get down to gates and comps they put in a bunch of junk. There’s none of that in this rig, it’s all
high quality components.” From mic pack to processing, the common denominator was doing right by both artists, their techs, and their audiences. Simplifying Cable Runs Another unique element of the build was the speed with which it was completed. Then again, they didn’t have much choice given the demands of their timeline. They took possession of the venue May 1, 2008, the gear in the last week of May, and had to be up and running for their first show by June 6. Luckily, very little slowed their progress. One change necessary involved the cable run from the stage to Front of House. Previously it had gone the long way around, offstage, to the wall, up the outside of the wall and back to Front of House. “It was just too long so we ran it through the ceiling. That was really the only issue,” says Prinsloo. In all, the install took three days. Being that the QE was already a working, if underused, theater, much of the infrastructure in terms of power and rigging was already there. “The fly pipes behind the proscenium were in good shape, there’s some nice FOH positions for lighting,” says Sandolowich. “They might add rigging for the sound in the future, but, if you look at the angle where it’s sitting it’s probably bang on to where it needs to be. There’s no real elevation in this venue so there may not be any reason to fly it.” Having large conduits and cable bridges already in place saved time in running snakes. “It wasn’t one of these things where we’re pulling wire for weeks. We put in pre-made snakes and the racks were wired off site, so everything just plugged in to make install time really quick,” says Sandolowich. Monitor world, with its QSC-powered Yamaha PM 3500, located at stage left.
Having Adamson pretty much in their own backyard didn’t hurt either, added Prinsloo. The relationship between Prinsloo and Adamson goes back a ways. “I’ve known Brock Adamson for 25 years,” he says. It’s also Canadian made, and one of few domestic self-contained operations. Between Adamson’s Benoit Cabot and Jesse Adamson the system was tweaked out in short order. After Jesse surveyed the venue, and the gear was installed, tweaking the system out using Adamson Shooter software took, essentially, a day. “I put together four different designs (stacked and flown for both Y10 and SpekTrix) to explore all our options. In the end, Mark was keen on having the mid-range performance of the Y-Axis,” stated Jesse.
“Coverage of seats is the challenge in any theater – you need it to sound even everywhere, and we achieved that,” says Prinsloo. Had there been a balcony, that would have further impacted both their equipment needs, and possibly some additional soundproofing. As it is, after the QE’s opening night crowd reaction said it all. “You know when ticket buyers notice the sound is great that’s a good thing. Sound is either great or it isn’t when you’re a ticket buyer.” Where are they going from here? Right now the show reviews are positive, business is good and while there’s nothing they’ve found immediately that needs to change, Prinsloo has plans to augment the system in the future – with luxury items, he says – “Tube compressors, some Shure KSM 105 and Neumann microphones.” Always, he stresses, with flexibility in mind. “Every tour is a little bit different and you’ve got to be able to deal with issues everyone’s issues in order to get the job done.” Not to mention keeping everyone happy. With two of the arguably best sounding venues in Canada’s largest city in their hands, and doing well, the question is, are he and Sinopoli happy, or are they thinking about making it a trio? “Yes,” Prinsloo says unequivocally. He’s cagey about specifics, but you can see the light behind his eyes when he talks about their next step. Clearly he’s got a plan. It’s not a question of if, but a matter of when. Which begs one last question – how? For Prinsloo, this gig may be the realization of a lifetime dream, but it’s a dream that takes up virtually every waking hour he has. Right now he’s splitting his time roughly 75-25 percent at the Mod Club and the QE respectively, occasionally working three shows a day. “The only time I don’t work here or at The Mod Club, I’m sleeping.” Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre (above) holds 1,250 people, on a single sloped floor, rising to a 30-degree angle for the rearmost seats. Mark Prinsloo, Technical Director for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Technical Specifications Stage Floor: 48 x 35 feet Surface: wood Stage Right Wingspace: 20 x 20 feet Stage Left Wingspace: 20 x 10 feet Grid Height: 40 feet Risers: 6 x 4 x 8 feet House Spots: On Demand Front of House 1 52-channel Yamaha PM 4000 2 dbx 3231L Stereo EQ 3 Drawmer DL 441 quad compressors 3 Drawmer DS 404 quad gates 1 Yamaha SPX 1000 digital multi effect 1 Yamaha SPX 990 digital multi effect 2 TC Electronic M1 reverbs 2 TC Electronic D2 delay 1 Denon 620T CD deck Stacks and Racks 12 Adamson Y-10 line array cabinets 4 Adamson T21 subwoofers 14 QSC 2450 amplifiers 4 Lab.gruppen fp 6400 Monitors 1 58-Channel Yamaha PM 3500 9 Adamson M15 bi-amped monitors 2 Adamson SX18 sidewash 5 dbx 3231L stereo 31-band graphic EQ 50 assorted Atlas mic stands 5 12-pair sub snakes 1 WNSS, power distribution system including six 20amp stage drops Microphones 8 Sennheiser 935 4 Sennheiser 604 3 Shure SM 81s 4 Shure SM-58 8 Shure SM-57 3 Shure SM-94 4 Shure SM-98 1 Shure SM-91 2 Shure Beta 52 Miscellaneous 10 Âź-inch DI cables 10 JDI direct boxes 80 microphone cables
QSC 2450 and Lab.gruppen fp 6400 amplifiers provide power to the Adamson system on each side of the stage.