TROY, NY — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) helped equip the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) with a variety of audio gear, including over 100 wired and wireless microphone systems, large-format consoles and a full MADI infrastructure throughout the facility.
The $200 million-plus EMPAC, which opened last October, features a 1,200-seat classical theater, a 400-seat theater, two black-box studios and additional studios for up to four artists in residence, as well as an audio recording studio and a broadcast video studio.
Todd Vos, lead audio engineer at EMPAC, worked with GC Pro senior account manager P.K. Pandey, GC Pro’s senior account manager, eastern U.S. “PK and I have known each other for quite a while,” Vos said. “I knew PK and GC Pro would be able to provide the basics we were looking for as well as the more esoteric pieces.”
The manufacturers of the 100-plus wired and wireless microphone systems include Audio-Technica, DPA, Schoeps, Neumann and Shure. The large-format consoles include the Soundcraft Vi4 digital console with DSP core and Yamaha DM2000V2 digital production console.
Along with the full MADI infrastructure throughout the facility, GC Pro also delivered on the video side, providing platforms including the JVC SR-DVM700 three-in-one video recorder, Pyro AV 3G fiber-optical HD-SDI transmitters and receivers and an AJA 3G HD-SDI multiplexer.
“One of the great things about dealing with GC Pro was that they offered products ranges at both the project studio level as well as elements found in major broadcast systems,” said Vos, who worked closely with EMPAC Audio Engineer Jeff Svatek and his counterpart in video, Eric Ameres, in making technology choices. “Given scheduling, this was a great benefit as it was important for us to consolidate as much equipment as possible under single bids.
“For anything over $5,000, we had to put competitive bids out, GC Pro's numbers beat everything else out there,” Vos added. “That enabled us to add systems that were thought to have been out of reach financially and stay within budget.”
For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.
