USA – Since 1978, Old World Village in Huntington Beach, CA has offered guests the experience of visiting a quaint Bavarian town – complete with shops, restaurants, a chapel, and live performance stages. The village is open 7 days a week year-round, and also hosts special events for Oktoberfest and an authentic European Christmas Market during the holiday season.
When the COVID pandemic led the village to temporarily close, the facility’s Entertainment Director Tyler Ruebensaal realized that it would be a good opportunity to replace the outdated audio system to handle music playback throughout the village, as well as sound reinforcement for the various stages.
After consulting with management, they enlisted the help of John Trenholm of JTAUDIOGUY Designs, who has over three decades of audio industry experience. “We started with the outdoor stage, because that would be the first area to be used once things started opening up,” recalled Trenholm. “From there, we kept moving to different areas and updating.”
To mix the outdoor stage, Trenholm chose an Allen & Heath Qu series mixer. “I loved the different built-in outputs that could feed other areas,” he explained. “I used the main left and right outputs for the outdoor stage, and other outputs to feed the indoor main stage, the restaurant, and other areas that needed to hear the mix.”
However, handling all that audio distribution from the mixer started to become over-complicated. “I realized that we needed a matrix processor,” recalled Trenholm. After exploring their options, the team selected an Allen & Heath AHM-32 – which features a 32×32 I/O matrix, along with advanced signal processing, automation, and several different options for control. “There were other matrix processors out there, but they were too complicated and expensive,” he explained. Trenholm also added in some DX88-P expanders in the restaurant and main stage for remote audio connection to the main AHM processor.
For the staff to control the system, Trenholm used Allen & Heath’s Custom Control editor to design a bespoke touchscreen application with all the access they needed. “It’s unbelievable how easy it is to customize everything,” he recalled. “I gave them simple buttons to disable all inputs, or to listen to just the small stage, or just the main stage, or both.” Wireless mics were also connected directly to the AHM processor so that they can be operated without powering up any of the mixers from the stages.
The different coverage zones included a restaurant, bar, patio, garden, festival hall, and the market area, which has its own dedicated AHM processor. “With the app, staff can control what goes where and the levels,” said Trenholm. “I mounted a touchscreen panel on the wall so it’s very convenient to make adjustments.” Since Custom Control is also available on Android and iOS, any of the staff can also use their own devices – as long as they are on the same WiFi network.
“I love AHM because it’s so user-friendly – both for me as the installer, and for the end user.” said Trenholm. “I can easily program everything to suit their needs, then give a non-technical user something intuitive to work with. I can handle things like EQ, compression, and limiting on the back end, then give them a simple volume control and source selection that they are used to.”
Trenholm also made creative use of the AHM’s internal playback feature for some of the village’s interactive elements – including an antique phone booth that offers guided tours when the handset is picked up. “Using the AHM’s GPIO, I was able to trigger playback from the phone’s internal contact mechanism as soon as it was removed from the cradle,” he explained. “It will then play a voice through the phone that explains the different attractions nearby.” The sounds of the nearby church bell are also simulated using AHM’s internal playback system. “I scheduled the bell to ring at certain times on the weekends using a hidden speaker,” he explained. “It plays pre-recorded bell sounds off the AHM’s internal memory.”
For the times when Trenholm did have questions, he appreciated the support from Allen & Heath. “I’ve dealt with other manufacturers before, and it’s sometimes very difficult to get a hold of someone when I need it,” he explained. “I love Allen & Heath’s support and the personal touch.”
