Legendary West Coast Jazz Venue Gets a Sound Upgrade
In the 50 years since it first opened, Yoshi’s has evolved from a modest Japanese restaurant to become a beloved West Coast cultural icon treasured for both its musical and culinary fare. The original Yoshi’s was launched in Berkeley, CA in 1972 as an intimate sushi bar by Yoshie Akiba (the “e” dropped for the restaurant name), in partnership with two of her close friends.
In 1979, the founders moved their thriving enterprise to a larger location in Berkeley’s Claremont district to better accommodate Akiba’s love for dance and live jazz. Al Di Meola was among the first to take to the stage.
In 1997, Yoshi’s moved again, this time to even larger accommodations in Oakland’s waterfront Jack London Square area where, for a quarter century, the elite of jazz and what might be termed “highbrow” pop styles have performed in the 330-seat showroom. A sample cross-section of legends hosted by Yoshi’s would include Max Roach, Chick Corea, Diana Krall, Taj Mahal, Pat Metheny, Dave Brubeck, Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt — among many others.
Yoshi’s was determined not to skimp on sound quality for the new Oakland room, so not surprisingly, the management team turned to a company headquartered less than five miles away, down San Pablo Avenue — Meyer Sound. The system that was installed in 1997, state-of-the-art for its time, was comprised of two Meyer Sound CQ-1 and three CQ-2 self-powered loudspeakers, UPA-1P and HM-1 loudspeakers for fills and two PSW-2 subwoofers to propel the bottom-end.
The system did yeoman service over thousands of shows during its quarter-century lifespan, but by the time a Covid-enforced pause hit in 2020, Yoshi’s already was looking at options for an upgrade.
“The old system had held up remarkably well,” says Marcel Quiroz, the production manager who came on board as the assistant PM in 2019. “But a few things were starting to go out, and over the years there had been changes in the loudspeaker processing, with various things thrown in randomly. My biggest struggle was with the low-end, where R&B acts would push the subs so hard that by the end we would sometimes get a rattle out of the boxes.”
Something New
Prompted by both the prior system’s longevity and the lure of newer technology, Quiroz along with CEO and general manager Hal Campos again turned to Meyer Sound for a total renewal, this time in partnership with Advanced Systems Group (ASG), an integrator sandwiched between Oakland and Berkeley in Emeryville. Audio team and key account manager Tom Menrath took the lead for ASG, with design services specialist Joe Mistretta on board for Meyer Sound.
“We had been working on ideas for quite some time, but the arrival of our new MAPP 3D program gave us a new tool for designing the system,” notes Mistretta. “It’s an asymmetrical, pie-shaped room. The acoustics are quite good, but the coverage is tricky and MAPP 3D really showed us how to improve uniformity, both up close and in the back corners.”
For Tom Menrath, the availability of new digital tools was key to stepping up performance in the new system. “Using the new design tools and replacing the kludge of old processing with Galileo Galaxy units, made a huge difference. It also helped us to bring the new system online quickly, which was a crucial consideration.”
The forced pandemic closures of 2020 were painful, but as 2021 rolled into 2022, Yoshi’s was back to hosting two shows, six or seven nights a week. Shutting down would be costly, but working in tandem with Brad Katz of Waveworks, ASG was able to get the system installed, tuned and back in action within nine days.
“Downtime is a major issue for businesses like Yoshi’s, because an interruption in the music affects restaurant traffic,” notes Menrath. “Usually, we plan on at least three weeks to install a system of this scale, but we pulled it off in a highly compressed time frame, and everybody was thrilled with that. Brad and his crew did a great job!”
The System
The new Yoshi’s system is anchored by two UPQ-D1 wide coverage and two UPQ-D2 narrow coverage full-size loudspeakers, supplemented by three ULTRA-X20 compact wide coverage loudspeakers for downfill and seven UP-4slim ultra-compact installation loudspeakers for front fill. Low-end in the room has been transformed by four 900-LFC low-frequency control elements, mounted in pairs on the walls. A GALAXY 816 Network Platform handles system drive and optimization, and the complete package from ASG also included 10 MJF-208 and two MJF-210 stage monitors.
“This upgrade really changes the whole feel of the room,” says Quiroz. “Everybody who walks into the room — including artists who have played here for years — is thrilled with the upgrades, both for house and at monitors.”
Yoshi’s patrons are known for their discriminating taste, maintains Quiroz, and they know what good sound entails. “We have a nine-foot Steinway that’s newly re-strung and re-hammered, and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. We really can’t have anything other than the best reinforcement system to carry that sound throughout the audience.”
On the Horizon
For the next stage of the upgrade, Quiroz is working with ASG on the replacement of the current Midas Pro2 digital consoles at FOH and monitors, with top candidates being the Yamaha CL5 or upgrading the Midas line to the Heritage HD96-24. Today’s available front-end gear also includes a well-stocked microphone locker with more than 40 current and vintage models from AKG, Audio-Technica, Neumann, Sennheiser and Shure, among others. Yoshi’s also has a huge available array of top-quality instruments, amps and backline items, which are available on request to performers at no charge.
Artists who have performed at Yoshi’s since the audio upgrade — or are scheduled soon — include Jose Feliciano, Jesse Colin Young, Sheila E, Sergio Mendes, Arturo Sandoval and Les Claypool.
Inside Yoshi’s Jazz Club
- Location: Oakland, CA
- Capacity: 330
- Key Components: Meyer Sound UPQ-D1 and UPQ-D2 mains; 900-LFC subs
- Integrator: Advanced Systems Group (ASG)
For more, visit Yoshi’s Jazz Club (www.yoshis.com); Meyer Sound (www.meyersound.com) and Advanced Systems Group (www.asgllc.com).
