ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands – The 1,000-capacity Off Corso live music venue recently completed a comprehensive sound system upgrade after a long-term leasing deal with the Synco Europe Network.
The club joins the Milkweg (Milky Way) and Paradiso clubs in Amsterdam, and the Tivoli in Utrecht, in providing Synco stage monitors. Off Corso also now features a full Synco by Martin Audio line array PA system.
Off Corso is housed in a unique multifunctional building that was formerly a Corso cinema in Kruiskade, close to the central train station. Along with live music and DJ nights the venue also hosts corporate events, seminars, fashion shows, cultural festivals, awards dinners and product launches.
Director and owner Pim Bottema has a long history in the Dutch club scene, having formerly managed the Tivoli in Utrecht, Night Town in Rotterdam and the nearby Calypso, where he bought his first PA system from Ampco, which founded the Synco Network.
Elements of that sound system were moved to Off Corso after the Calypso's closure and are now incorporated into the new Synco PA.
"We started doing club nights at Off Corso in 2001, and when I bought it in 2005, we planned to move into live concerts," Bottema said. "Now we've chosen the Synco system so that we have an internationally-recognized system that's acceptable to bigger bands than we used to have here."
Dieter van Denzel, senior system designer and account manager for Ampco, project-managed the installation. "A lot of bands are used to Synco by Martin Audio systems, as well as Synco stage monitors, having experienced them at festivals like Lowlands, Pinkpop and Glastonbury, so it's a great selling point for Off Corso," he said.
The PA consists of six flown Synco by Martin Audio W8LC line array cabinets per side, supplemented by underhung W8LM and W8LMD cabinets for frontfill in the mosh pit.
Six Synco RH-STS 18RRs per side provide the subwoofer component, and the whole rig is fine-tuned with Synco-specific XTA processing.
A full Synco CW152 (15-inch) monitor rig provides eight monitor groups plus a triple drum fill with subwoofer.
The monitors, normally available only Synco Network members, feature Synco's proprietary two-way active coaxial design to provide point source performance with high volume, outstanding resolution and tonal clarity.
Control is via a 48-channel Midas XL200 console at front of house and a DDA Forum for monitors, and the Synco package included upgrading microphones, cabling and effects to international touring standards.
Among the first artists to play through the new system were Fun Loving Criminals, Burning Spear and Israel Vibration.
"It's a very nice hall, with great sightlines, because we've retained the rising floor levels of the old cinema," noted Bottema. "So even when there are 500 people in, to a band it looks and feels like a full house, just as it does when it's completely full, and from the audience's point of view, it means the sight lines are great. Plus the acoustics are amazing for live performances. It's a great feeling to be at the heart of live music in Rotterdam."
For more information, please visit www.synco-network.com and www.ampco.nl.
