The 500-capacity club is housed in one of Glasgow's first cinema buildings. Set over two floors, the Classic Grand's live music policy encompasses anything and everything, and gigs are usually followed by club sessions by the likes of The Friday Factory and Porno. With the venue also aspiring to attract corporate event hire, the criteria for a sound system was necessarily that it should be highly flexible.
Locally situated in Glasgow, Andrew O'Neill of Flashlite has been working with the club's owners for 15 years so he was a natural choice to re-furbish the technical facilities of the venue. Working closely with Jason Kelly of Shuttlesound, he has specified the first permanent installation in the UK of EV's new XLD compact line array cabinets, together with the first UK use of EV's new Phoenix 2152 stage monitor, all-EV amplifiers to power the system, and a full Midas and Klark-Teknik control system.
"Actually it was the most expensive of the options we gave to the client," says O'Neill, "and it has turned out to be the benchmark installation for us at Flashlite; a system that is suitable for concerts, club use, after-show parties and corporate event hires."
The Classic Grand's main room has an EV X-Line XLVC System, set up as a five-way, using the XLD-281 as a three-way box. There are two hangs (one either side of the stage), each comprising of five XLD281s and two XS212s flown behind them. Beneath each hang is an X-Sub to beef it up and "put a little bit extra on the bottom end."
Entirely powered by EV's CP Series power amplifiers, the system sounds silky, according to O'Neill. "You've got to hear it. It's most deceptive. It doesn't look huge, although it's the only sound system that I've ever had to turn down! But at no point does it hurt the listener. Front-of-house engineers have to use an SPL meter because they don't actually realise how loud it is."
For performers on stage, Flashlite has provided EV RX-115s with a Phoenix 2152 for drum-fill. Due to the constraints of space, it is not possible to use a separate monitor desk in this venue so the Midas Verona 400 at front-of-house has been set up to provide six monitor mixes (including drum-fill). Also at front-of-house is a full complement of Klark-Teknik Square One EQ and dynamics units.
Andy O'Neill is full of praise for the support he has received from the Shuttlesound team, which has proved "to be far and beyond the call of duty, especially Jason Kelly who helped set up the system and was responsible for the final EQ. We worked to very tight deadlines. The equipment was ordered on Monday, and we had it operational that Saturday night, which included air-freighting in loudspeakers from Germany!"
Flashlite's customer was so impressed with the results in the large hall that he asked for a second EV system for the other floor of the club, which is also capable of hosting live events. four EV 1152s and four RX118s go to make up a dancefloor system that can handle bands as well, but which O'Neill promises "provides a punch in the stomach but not in the head!"
(Lee Baldock)
