BUENA PARK, Calif. — Originally built as the Manhattan Opera House in 1906 by Oscar Hammerstein I, the Manhattan Center boasts a rich history of entertainment, corporate and cultural events. Now, more than 100 years later, the building still serves the metro New York area with two unique event spaces – The Hammerstein and The Grand Ballrooms. The flexibility of these rooms, along with their connection to in-house recording and television studios, allows clients to transform the rooms to suit any style of event, from corporate events, rock concerts, and television shoots to trade or fashion shows and product launches.

The Grand Ballroom blends elegant ambiance with cutting edge modern technology. With a capacity of 1,200 for theater-style seating and 550 for seated dinners, the 10,000 square foot space is perfect for a live, theatrical, corporate presentations and banquets. The 40-foot high ceiling features plenty of rigging points for production and lighting needs. With a direct link to Manhattan Center Productions' Studio 7 and an in-house video control room, audio-visual needs are easily achieved. The connection of The Grand Ballroom to the recording studios, coupled with the room's superior acoustics makes it an attractive venue for large–scale music recording of live events. Past performers that have recorded in The Grand Ballroom include Luciano Pavarotti, Dave Matthews and Emmylou Harris.

The Grand Ballroom was recently given a well–needed audio facelift when the facility installed a NEXO GEO S 12 Series Line Array and two Yamaha M7CL digital audio consoles, one for front of house and one for monitors. "It was time to update The Grand Ballroom and invest in equipment," states Robert Carvell, Technical Director. "We had been renting up until that point and determined it was time to purchase our own system. We were doing listening tests with other systems when Bob Quinones of Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems approached us to use the space for a NEXO speaker demo," says Carvell. "How fortuitous, I thought. So we held off making any decisions on a line array purchase until after the Yamaha NEXO demo."

"Our president and vice president are both musicians as well as business people," adds Carvell. "When they heard the musical quality of the NEXO system they were really impressed. It was more of an emotional/artistic thing than anything else. From a business perspective, we were excited about getting something that is already pretty big in Europe and Asia, and with the recent acquisition of NEXO by Yamaha Corporation Japan, is becoming a fast–growing system here in America." Carvell said the decision to purchase the Yamaha M7CL consoles was based on their need to move into the digital age without spending large sums of money. "The M7CL is a very versatile, mid-range digital console that does not require sacrificing your first born child. The console at front of house allows for digital control of the NEXO system as well as future upgrades including the addition of digital snakes and an expanded audio flow throughout the building."

The Grand Ballroom hosts approximately three events each week and since getting the new system, the room has been used for orchestral performances, DJ events, rock concerts and religious services. "We are definitely getting favorable responses to the new system," notes Roy Clark, Head of Audio. "And, the wedge monitors are working out very well for the musicians on stage."

For more information on The Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center, visit www.mcstudios.com.
For more information on the NEXO GEO S12 Line Array and Yamaha M7CL digital consoles, visit www.yamahaca.com.