Dating back to 1926, when it served as the ballroom for the old Bath Hotel, the building still contains the original stained glass windows and the silver and gold leaf detail has all been reinstated.
With Leamington Sight & Sound (LSS) providing all the technical infrastructure (and acting as main A/V contractors), The Assembly has undergone a major transformation, with celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen helping to turn the former Gala Bingo site into a 1,000 capacity entertainments venue.
Given a brief to provide an infrastructure that would make The Assembly Warwickshire's premier music venue, LSS managing director Ian Potter and his installation manager Colin Bannister began the task of specifying the best solution.
"It came down to a choice of two line array systems but the client chose Martin Audio based upon our recommendation after trials," said Potter. Aside from the performance of Martin Audio's W8LM Mini Line Array it was the support from the company's national sales manager Simon Bull - and the use of Martin Audio's DISPLAY predictive software - that tipped the scales.
Since coverage needs to extend to the balcony, two hangs of five W8LMs have been installed on each side of the proscenium arch, with a W8LMD down-fill box at the base. This allows the two top enclosures to fire into the balcony, while at the base the W8LMD provides nearfield coverage.
Four S218X subs are recessed under the stage in two stacked pairs - while up on stage 10 of Martin Audio's new low-profile LE1500s provide the reference monitoring. "We have also supplied a pair of F215s for either drum- or side-fill," continues Ian Potter.
The monitor system revolves around three biamped feeds with the remainder run passively. To ensure it is fully-optimised LSS has used end-to-end Martin Audio control, including amplification and a pair of dedicated DX1 system processors.
Up on stage the ten LE1500s are powered by Martin MA1.6s with the stage- fills assigned to an MA900 (in bridged mode). At front-of-house four MA2.8s amplifiers run the mid tops, with an MA12K handling the subs.
The Martin Audio rig is part of a highly-specified package that includes main system control, and digital FOH and monitor consoles. For lighting, LSS has also installed an Avolites Pearl Expert and DMX lines with RDM capability, and Cat 5 cable.
(Jim Evans)
