Thoughts on PA for a solo gig in a four story atrium

Pnewsom · #1 10-13-2021, 08:04 AM

So here's an odd one.

This Friday I'll be playing an hour long set for seniors at large scale assisted living complex. The area I'm playing in is a four story lobby/atrium, complete with a waterfall and pool. I'll be stationed on the 2nd floor overlooking the lobby area below and playing for residents watching from above, across, below, ...and behind. The hallways from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors overlook the space. There's a considerable level of ambient sound from the waterfall.

It will be just my voice and guitar. I'll run both through a Bose T1 mixer, and try to decide how to best deploy a pair or JBL EON-612's, and/or a Bose L1Compact.

A big challenge for the Compact(aside from power) is the waist high glass barriers over looking the space. There are gaps which could theoretically allow the bass module to get it's sound through, but I have no idea how things will sound two stories up.

I'll likely just flank myself with the the JBL's pointed out over the abyss, and use the Compact for folks seated behind me.

It's the first of a series of shows that run every six weeks or so until the end of 2022.

Any thoughts on how to best approach this(with the gear I have) are appreciated.

RogerPease · #2 10-13-2021, 09:33 AM

I have no clear idea how to get the best sound everywhere, but will be interested to
see what people suggest.

Will you be playing the whole series or just kicking it off?

I do suggest you get someone to run around the facility if possible while you are
playing with a portable recorder or at least a mobile phone to record the sound in
various places like 2 floors up above you, ground level by the waterfall, wherever
there are chairs, etc.

Hope it works out for you, _Roger

shufflebeat · #3 10-13-2021, 09:47 AM

It's difficult to advise without direct understanding of the situation and space but I've found that in problematic spaces dispersing the speakers and running them at lower level is (usually) better than having one source trying to fill the whole space lots of SPL.

Al Acuff · #4 10-13-2021, 10:08 AM

I would play at low volume which will draw interested listeners to move closer. If you try to fill the large space with sound... well good luck.

Pnewsom · #5 10-13-2021, 10:26 AM

Fortunately, I’m not the first to play there. A piano player friend who plays there told me that the small pa he uses for his piano and voice wasn’t quite sufficient for the place, but they haven’t fired him yet. My JBL’s are a lot stronger than his system. I don’t think volume will be an issue.

I’ve played some sprawling stone heritage buildings in the past with just the Compact and was told I could be heard very well on other floors.

The nice lady who escorted me during my site check told me that they hadn’t had any issues with other artists being heard

Due to COVID concerns, I won’t be able to bring anyone with me for sound check, but as usual I’ll rely on what I hear coming back to me.

Pnewsom · #6 10-13-2021, 10:42 AM

Actually, the only thing that is troubling is that I will be playing too far away to establish much rapport my audience.

I’m looking forward to the challenge of making it work. In total it amounts to about ten bookings. Going to have to get to work on some good Christmas songs...

Lost Sheep · #7 10-13-2021, 12:40 PM

RogerPease and Al Acuff had two good suggestions I would like to expand on.

One:
You don't really need a second person to evaluate the sound at various locations. If you have access to the venue for 15-20 minutes (I know that might be problematic in itself), you could play a recording of your source (your own performance as it comes from mic and instrument) put through your sound system. Then go yourself to the various locations. In that way you will hear what you will sound like when you are playing live. (If you find a particularly effective way to set up your sound system, you might wind up renting it to other performers who do not have the intimate knowledge of the sound characteristics of the venue.)

Remember also that older ears do not hear high frequencies as well as when they were younger.

Two:
Crowds tend to distribute themselves to their own liking. People who want to hear you will migrate (if the can) to good locations. People who don't will drift away to places where your music is less intrusive to the activities they want to do. Having said that, the limited mobility in an assisted living space is a factor. Some people will want to listen to you close to their apartment doors (access to bathroom, convenience of not having to use stairs/elevators, etc).

I congratulate you on paying extraordinary attention to the needs of your audience. No wonder you got this gig.

Lost Sheep

P.S. Is there any chance the venue could turn down flow in the waterfall or other sources of that ambient noise? I am sure the residents/audience would REALLY appreciate that. I would press that point with the venue owners/managers. Other performers will thank you, as well as your audience.

Goat Mick · #8 10-13-2021, 02:24 PM

Your L1c will provide a lot of coverage and the lows should go through the glass barriers pretty well and the tower will distribute the highs. I would have the Bose in front and take advantage of it's disbursement to help cover the atrium. You can angle the JBL speakers to give you some additional coverage up and down. The good thing about an atrium is that sound usually carries really well through them and will flow naturally down the halls.

Nymuso · #9 10-13-2021, 04:29 PM

I think your idea of the elevated speakers for the main PA with the rear facing L1C is a winner. I use my L1Cs for everything but the glass barriers will stop the low end cold unless you can elevate them somehow. The space between the panels will not be enough to allow the full bass to get through and what does will be focused.

zeeway · #10 10-14-2021, 05:25 AM

I play in a gospel singalong group, and one of our assisted living venues sounds like a copy of yours without the waterfall. We also play on the second level of the atrium, and most of the people are on the first floor in the middle which is their dining area.

We use a powered mixer and two speakers on poles, as well as individual combo amps on my guitar and the bass. Vocals and the second guitar go through the mixer.

Absolutely no problem getting the sound to disperse around the atrium, even though there are a lot of nooks and crannies. It is a good thing if there are quiet spots down the hallways - gives a place for people to get away from the music, if they want to.

Asking for the waterfall to be turned off is a good idea. If you have a simple looper, or a recording as mentioned, you can do a one person sound check, or ask the residents…they are usually happy to help.

The people in those places are so appreciative, they will thank you profusely for playing there, and you will get as much out of it as they do.

leew3 · #11 10-14-2021, 09:51 AM

sounds like you won't need any reverb on your system!

Pnewsom · #12 10-14-2021, 10:04 AM

No I won’t need any extra reverb. Just finished trying an ‘outside the box ‘arrangement.
I placed my compact on top one of the JBL’s, totally solid. Used one extension spacer and mounted the tweeter. Vocal straight into the Comact, same with guitar. Here’s the kicker, I have JBlL facing backwards. This will serve for monitoring and so the folks behind me can hear. The Bose should just about clear the barrier.
I powered it up and it sounds great! Plus I still have the other JBL if needed.

EZYPIKINS · #13 10-15-2021, 06:08 AM

My advise would be keep the lady who escorted you through your site check, in the loop.

Point a speaker at you to get the mix you are happy with.

Aske the lady if it is loud enough.

Break a leg

Rudy4 · #14 10-15-2021, 08:45 AM

Our 5 piece fully miked Bluegrass/Americana band did several gigs in large echo-prone spaces and a few of those "Atrium" locations.

The way to handle them effectively is to use your PA as a way to distribute sound, and NOT to increase volume. Most folks who do their own sound go for the "brute force" method of providing sound reinforcement, but that will only create problems in large or reverberant spaces.

You can use your full PA, but you must accept that the volume level can't be pushed much above your unamplified volume level. It's the concession you must make to play in those types of settings.

Guitars44me · #15 10-15-2021, 09:54 AM

You are probably aware that many seniors have problematic hearing aids and many have acousis, which makes loud and shrill noises uncomfortable and even painful at times.

Hopefully the audience will be able to self-distance to achieve the amount of volume they want.

Turning off the waterfall is a great idea. If they will accommodate you it will make a huge difference.

My default for seniors is to play, sing, and honk harmonicas completely acoustically. But I do have monster guitars and strong pipes...

I suggest as many familiar sing-alongs from their musical eras as possible!

Good luck, and spread much cheer!

Paul