AVLI UPGRADES WOOD TAVERN SOUND SYSTEM WITH MARTIN AUDIO CDD
Wood Tavern, a neighborhood bar/dance club in the Wynwood district north of downtown Miami, recently underwent a dramatic sound system upgrade with a Martin Audio CDD system installed by AVL Innovations.
Over the last few years, Wynwood has evolved from a somewhat dicey neighborhood to a hip arts district known for its colorful murals and graffiti and converted warehouses housing craft breweries and funky art galleries. Wood Tavern’s funky outer walls are covered with graffiti accompanied by freeform art on the inside, pretty much “the exact opposite of South Beach” according to AVLI’s James Reed. “You can walk in there with flip flops, workout gear or dressed up, but they don’t make judgments. You’re welcome to just come in, hang out and enjoy the music any day of the week.”
My experience using Martin Audio has been amazing, it surpassed all my expectations.
James points out that “the Martin Audio CDD system represents a dramatic upgrade for the venue. They had an older PA and a subwoofer on casters with a two-box line array on top that they’d wheel out on Friday and Saturday night and shove into a corner, and it really wasn’t getting it done for them. I was able to meet with the owner who showed interest in Martin Audio and we pieced the system together for him.”
“We put our touch on the main outdoor dance floor section with an awning on one side and the building with a bleacher on the other side,” James explains. “On the building side we mounted two CDD12-WR weatherized speakers about 12 feet apart from each other and mirrored that with two CDD12-WR’s hung from the aluminum frame that supports the awning on the other side. The awning extends out over the dance floor when it’s raining. We mounted two CSX218-WR subs into the bleachers with the face cut out and a mesh grille so the bass can radiate onto the dance floor. There are two more CDD12-WR and a CSX212-WR for the DJ booth, with the system controlled by a Biamp Tesira and powered by three Lab Gruppen amps.”
Asked about the client’s reaction to the system, James added, “the owner, Cesar Morales, wasn’t sure about it when we first spec’d out the system based on the fact they were 12” speakers, but CDD turned out to be like nothing he was used to because of the speaker’s incredibly wide dispersion, impact and audio quality.
“The main focus of Wood Tavern in terms of performances are DJ-driven music events. Cesar’s an old school house band guy from New York, so he brings in artists like DJ Jazzy Jeff and Tony Touch, then he has local DJ’s who play a mix-up of house, hip hop and funk. The system is blowing his mind, he didn’t think it would sound that great.
“In fact, DJ Jazzy Jeff texted Cesar a quote after performing there that said, ‘Just add Wood Tavern to my favorite places to play! And hey, did I mention how happy I am with the system?’ And Cesar added his own quote which adds up to the best kind of testimonial: ‘My experience using Martin Audio has been amazing, it surpassed all my expectations. Sound quality is very clean and warm. I would definitely use their speakers again at another venue."