Once the heart of the rollicking Cuban District in Tampa, Ybor City is quickly reemerging as the center of nightlife in this thriving Florida metropolis.

The once-legendary El Goya Latin club at the corner of 7th Avenue and 14th Street in Ybor City - recently reopened as a high-energy dance club called the Pleasuredome. Located in a massive structure that houses four other entertainment venues, the 1000-seat club stands out for several reasons, not the least of which is its heart-pumping sound system, which is anchored by what Jim Pici of TheatreMax has dubbed "the wall of bass."

Pici, a sound designer/sound contractor from New York, was told by club owner Mike Hamilton to "make the place rock." Pici said, "One challenge was the size of the space. "It's about 7,000 square feet with 27-foot high ceilings, but as big a challenge was where to place the subs."

To create the big foundation Pici needed to produce the high-energy sound required by the club, he used eight BAG END quad-18 QUARTZ speaker systems - that's 32 18-inch subs - to supply the bass, a signal that goes down to an amazing 8 Hz. The eight enclosures, which measure 40 inches high by 30 inches wide by 31 inches deep, are relatively small for quad-18 boxes, but they still require a fair amount of space. Using the theory that form follows function, the eight QUARTZ cabinets were arranged on a 22-foot dance platform at the center of the back wall of the main dance floor, about 18 inches above the main dance floor. That not only concentrated the main bass energy right on the floor of the platform, it also created a focal point for club patrons.

To take care of the midrange and high end, Pici flew eight BAG END CRYSTAL sound systems in a double array on the four corners of the main dance floor. The CRYSTAL is a high-output, Time-Aligned system containing two 12-inch cones and a 1.4-inch exit compression driver with wave guide. The CRYSTALs are powered by a pair of SQC Powerlight 3.4 amps. The QUARTZ subs are controlled by a BAG END ELF (Extended low frequency) signal processor and powered by four QSC Powerlight 4.0 amplifiers. The sound is mixed on an Allen and Heath mixer.

The result? "The system is simply amazing," Pici said. "Equalization is minimal and the end product is a crystal-clear (no pun intended), punchy top end and what I call 'the great wall of bass' - a tight, very powerful bottom end. I have 24 years experience installing night club sound systems. Most get shrill and fatiguing at high levels and take a good deal of time to tune. The BAG END system sounds amazing at any level."

"The DJ booth - positioned high in the air directly across from the bass array - takes quite a bit of punishment as the bass tries to dismantle its wood floor with every beat," he said. "It's a constant reminder to the DJ that he has plenty of bass on the main floor."

The Pleasuredome is located at 1430 East 7th Avenue in Tampa, Fla. The telephone number (813) 247-2711. Jim Pici can be reached at TheatreMax, 98 Hopkins Road in Williamsville, NY 14221. The telephone number is (716) 626-9200; e-mail: MAXXTEE@aol.com

Bag End Loudspeakers
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