as much time as we needed finessing the
elements, pre-programming the amplifi-
ers, and finessing the EQ curves, so all that
time in the front end was great for accu-
racy. There wasn’t a lot of playing around
with splay angles when we came to the
real-world application. It was pretty much
bang on the money when we turned the
system on.”
He also echoes McKendrick’s statement
about the venue’s layout being a challenge
in terms of getting gear into the space.
“We’d typically pre-build the floor-to-ceiling
racks [at our facility], test them, and bring
them all to site,” he explains, “but you can’t
drag a 44 U amp rack weighing 600 pounds
into Massey Hall.”
Instead, they had to bring in the com-
ponents almost piece-by-piece and compile
them onsite. “I think, from start to finish, it
was 10 days to pull the old system out, tune
it, commission it, build all the racks, test all
the fibre, and then do the programming
for the Galileos and Optocore network,” he
recalls.
Ultimately, Radu and some of his Solo-
tech Toronto colleagues – including Senior
Audio Engineer John Lacina – had a signif-
icant advantage by way of their intimate
knowledge of the venue from their time at
PA Plus.
“The amount of shows we’ve done in
there … I’d hate to guess,” Radu says after
a brief ponder. “John Lacina is still with the
live sound and rental division at Solotech,
and he’s probably done more shows in
there than anybody over the years. He’s
Massey Hall from the stage
tried all these little nuances, tweaking the
installs we’ve done as we go, so he knows
what works in that room and what doesn’t,
and how to best tie everything together.”
Lacina spent three days onsite during
commissioning, which both Radu and McK-
endrick admit was a big help. “He was really
our liaison between what looked good on
paper and the real-world application,” Radu
notes, “so that was a big advantage.”
Radu and McKendrick also praise Nash
and d&B audiotechnik for their involve-
ment in the project, which Radu says went
above and beyond what could have been
expected, especially considering the com-
pressed timeline.
McKendrick is proud to report that the
comments they’ve had about the sound sys-
tem have been “universally fantastic,” adding:
“Those Galileos have basically not been used
because people typically walk in and say,
‘That’s great,’ and carry on with their day.”
He credits the team at Solotech for
successfully pulling everything together in
the allotted timeframe. “They were handed
a pretty tall order here, especially with the
timeline, which had to work around our
show activity, and they delivered perfectly,”
he states. “It far exceeded my expectations.”
Radu thinks back to the first show he
attended with the system in use – an early
April affair with Smashing Pumpkins – “and
man, it sounded phen omenal,” he enthus-
es. “To be honest, since that first show, we
haven’t gone back there to do any re-
finessing of the system whatsoever. It was
bang-on from day one.”
Massey Hall is now amidst the earliest
stages of its $135-million enhancement,
which will see its doors close in mid-2018
for about two years while the auditorium is
significantly revitalized and a new building
is added to the rear of the hall on its south
side. The overhaul will include a proper
loading dock, new lobby and performance
spaces, and some other technical enhance-
ments, including better capabilities for live
broadcasts and remote recordings.
“This is our first step towards a much
different Massey Hall – one that will be a lot
friendlier to visiting productions,” McKend-
rick says, though of course, the new sound
and lighting systems will also heighten the
experience for the venue’s esteemed pa-
trons, now and as the iconic landmark en-
ters a new era of entertainment in Toronto.
Andrew King is the Editor-in-Chief of
Professional Sound.
PROFESSIONAL SOUND • 29