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Since the days of mods and rockers, few of Britain's seaside resorts have held the allure as much as Brighton as a nightspot. But in this city of bars, pubs and clubs, surprisingly few venues have opened catering for the best in live music. That is now changing with the opening of The Brighton Coalition, a new seafront venue boasting live bands, DJ sets, live comedy and, best of all, a Turbosound Aspect® Wide reinforcement system.
"The venue was formerly the Beach Club, which had a Turbosound Floodlight system," explains Alastair Dixon, aka Big Al, a Brighton-based freelance engineer who managed the new installation, which was supplied through local company MBI. "They wanted to relaunch the venue and move away from house music, making it more of a multipurpose live sound set up. It’s very band orientated now."
Nor is the new venue holding back in its push to attract major stars to the seafront. With a 500 capacity main room coupled to a 100 capacity café, the Coalition has already announced the launch of the new Brighton Club NME, thereby attracting the cream of contemporary indie. Brighton visitors can also look forward to shows by major stars such as hip hop's Sway and BBC Radio 1Xtra's DJ Cameo. Add to that a central role in the renowned Brighton Great Escape festival, which this year will feature performances at the venue by bands including Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong and The Automatic, and it is clear that the Brighton Coalition is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the brightest new stops on UK the touring circuit.
It is no wonder that Big Al was determined to deliver a sound system capable of matching the size of the venue’s ambitions. It comprises four Aspect Wide TA-500 three-way hi-mid enclosures with six TSW-218 subs, plus two TA-500HM high-mids and two TA-500Hs forming the first delay. Joining them are four NuQ-12 full range boxes for second delay and side fill. Four NuQ-8 compact full range loudspeakers and two B15 compact subs make up the second room system.
"You've got a pair of TA-500 on each side of the stage with delays running back through the venue," explains Big Al. The entire system is powered by T-45 and T-25 power amplifiers and processed by three LMS-D24 digital system controllers. The onstage sound is no less impressive with four TFM-212 floor monitors and a TXD-252 drumfill.
As for why he chose Turbosound, Big Al believes it is all a question of simplicity. "It's very transparent," he enthuses, adding, "all Turbosound active systems sound good straight out of the box. They don't require much setting up."
The locals seem to agree, with Brighton websites already declaring the Turbosound system 'spectacular'. It looks like Brighton will remain the seaside destination of choice for a long time to come.
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