Melkweg

The Melkweg is operated as a multi-room, non-profit making venue by the Stichting Foundation and funded by the local government. Originally built as a sugar factory it later became a milk depot (hence the name). By the late 1960’s it had been abandoned until local hippies asked the council if they could stage a couple of “happenings” there.

The venue has had a long standing relationship with Martin Audio, and until recently boasted one of Martin Audio’s pioneering Wavefront 8 systems. After stringent multi-system evaluation earlier this year (including a Martin Audio W8LC Compact system), the club opted to upgrade to a three-way Martin Audio W8LM Line Array solution in their main “MAX Room.”

The venue’s senior sound engineer Joost Evers revealed that there were two reasons to stick with Martin Audio: “the quality of the sound, and our long relationship with their distributors, TM Audio”. This would not only provide the venue with guaranteed service, “but the confidence that we were buying the best equipment, with the correct system set-up.”

But TM Audio project manager Jaap Pronk admits that prior to commissioning much experimentation with the system design and expert fine tuning were required to achieve optimum effect. For the latter he turned to one of Holland’s most accomplished sound engineers and system designers, Hugo Scholten. The system was set up using Martin Audio’s proprietary DISPLAY™ and ViewPoint™ software and fine-tuned by Scholten.

The change in approach was due to the fact that part of the venue’s renovation at the beginning of the year, involved removing the back wall and extending its depth by 10m, increasing capacity to 1500. Increasing the stage depth to 6m and repositioning it under a ceiling had a profound effect on the acoustics.

“Since the stage is hollow, it was also acting as a bass resonator when we groundstacked the WMX subs,” declared Pronk.

Instead he proposed that six WMX subs be flown from each side of the stage, alongside ten W8LM (and W8LMD Downfill) clusters, with the sub frequencies steered by the three Martin Audio MA4.8 amplifiers to which they are assigned. At the same time careful optimisation of the mid-highs was required since the W8LM’s now had to fire even further down this narrow room.

Explaining the rationale behind the design, Pronk says: “While the requirement was to create coverage that was as wide as possible, providing even coverage in front of the stage was also paramount.” This was achieved by simply placing a W8LMD at the bottom of each array, giving a 140° spread. Since the W8LM/LMD arrays are mounted on a track, these can be reangled and retracted when the adjustable stage is used in its smaller configuration.

The Martin Audio installation boosted by new S218/W8C sidefills forms the centre-piece of a complete new cabling infrastructure that includes stage, monitor and system EQ patching, with integrated matrix mixing (offering tie lines to the Melkweg’s recording studio), and transformer-based channel splitting to FOH, monitors, recording studio and broadcast trucks.

Joost Evers and the venue’s chief sound and light engineer, Dirk de Vries, now have consistent coverage across the floor and up to the small balcony, a system with the ability to deliver typical Martin Audio punch but at the same time display all the transparent properties that make it so multipurpose. This is precisely what the Melkweg needs for the vast range of shows it promotes, and however the 1m x 2m modular stage sections are configured, the Martin Audio PA can be repositioned accordingly, with the correct system settings enabled.

TM Audio arranged for Scholten to ‘babysit’ during the evaluation and post-commissioning periods, working closely with both the house technicians and visiting international sound engineers.

“This method of installing and commissioning a system to meet the wishes of both the client and visiting acts is the best way of ensuring maximum performance,” believes Pronk. “Allowing the venue to have Hugo on site for a week was instrumental in us winning the contract. Now sound engineers can achieve the same levels everywhere in the room.”