RCF Delivers Audio for Live at Hub City Vinyl's Dual-Venue Live Music Experience

	"The goal was to provide a quality system with good coverage and sound for local and regional acts, while giving them enough headroom to grow into higher-level performances," says George.

Live at Hub City Vinyl, a live music and arts destination located in the Hagerstown, Maryland's historic Arts & Entertainment District (and adjacent to Hub City Vinyl, the area's largest record store), has recently installed high-performance sound systems from RCF across its two distinct performance spaces. The design and installation were handled by Clair Global Integration's Cleveland office under the direction of Tom George, senior design engineer/account manager. George, who has nearly three decades of experience spanning both integration and touring, brought a performance-driven mindset to the installation, leveraging Clair Global's deep roots in live sound. The result is a versatile environment that supports everything from intimate acoustic sets to full-scale regional acts, all while working within real-world budget constraints.

Founded by Lloyd and Sheree Thoburn, Live at Hub City Vinyl combines one of the region's largest vinyl record collections with a thoughtfully designed live music venue featuring two rooms, The Main Stage and The Sidebar. "We have been extremely happy that we chose to go with RCF speakers in both rooms in our venue," says Lloyd Thoburn. "The sound quality is amazing, and our patrons consistently comment on the wonderful sound in the rooms."

For the larger Main Stage room, which can host up to 650 standing guests, Clair Global designed a more advanced system centered around RCF's HL6 line array speakers. The left and right main systems each consist of three HL6 modules, complemented by four additional HL6 modules per side used as delays positioned approximately 20' downstage to ensure consistent coverage throughout the room. Low-frequency reinforcement is provided by two RCF S 29 dual 19" subwoofers installed under the stage, while additional coverage is handled by RCF C 32 and NXL 14-A loudspeakers used for front fill, along with Compact A 10 loudspeakers providing side fill. Amplification is handled by Powersoft Quattrocanali and Duecanali platforms, and the system is mixed on an Allen & Heath Avantis console. "The goal was to provide a quality system with good coverage and sound for local and regional acts, while giving them enough headroom to grow into higher-level performances," says George. Due to ceiling height limitations, the system employs split arrays and delay coverage to maintain consistent audio throughout the room.

The smaller room, known as The Sidebar, designed for acoustic performances, corporate events and local acts, features a compact but powerful RCF system built around four flown RCF C 32 two-way loudspeakers arranged in a 270-degree configuration and supported by two RCF S 8018 II subwoofers. The system is powered by Lab Gruppen D80:4L amplification and mixed on a Midas M32 console. "With the low ceiling height, we were very limited in what we could do," George explains. "The rotatable horns allowed us to mount the speakers horizontally, get the correct dispersion, and still achieve the output level we wanted." The result is a clean, evenly distributed listening experience in a room that accommodates approximately 150 to 220 guests. Additionally, lighting for The Sidebar was designed by Paul Hoffman and Pulse Lighting and includes a GrandMA Wing on PC system, four Chauvet Maverick Force S Spot fixtures, nine Chauvet Rogue R1 BeamWash fixtures, nine Chauvet ColorDash PAR H18X fixtures, three Chauvet Strike P38 fixtures, and an Elation Magma Prime hazer.

Budget considerations played a key role in the system design, ultimately reinforcing the value proposition of RCF. "We've found that RCF is a tremendous value at its price point, and nothing really competes with RCF in terms of sound quality," George says. "It comes out of the box sounding great, it's easy to deploy, and it holds up." He also emphasized the importance of manufacturer support, noting, "I'm big on choosing a manufacturer that I know is going to support me. If I can't get support from the manufacturer, I can't support the customer. RCF has been very good that way."

Beyond loudspeakers, the venue's success is rooted in a holistic design approach that included lighting and acoustics. "The owner really put thought into this," George notes. "He hired us for sound, brought in Pulse Lighting for lighting, and hired an acoustician to control the room. If you don't address the acoustics, there's only so much I can do to make it sound good." The Main Stage features controlled reverberation and balanced acoustics, creating what George describes as "a well-behaved room" that enhances both live music and the audience experience.

Lighting for the Main Stage room was also designed by Paul Hoffman and Pulse Lighting, and features a grandMA3 Compact XT lighting console with road case, six Ayrton Mistral-S moving head LED spot fixtures, six Robe Spikie moving head LED wash/effect fixtures, nine Chauvet Pro Strike P38 warm white LED audience fixtures, 20 Martin Mac One moving head LED wash/effect fixtures, three Obsidian Netron RDM 6XL DMX opto splitters, and an Antari F1 haze machine.

For more information:
RCF HL6 Two-Way Line Array Module
RCF S 29 High-Power Bass Reflex Subwoofer
RCF Compact C 32 Two-Way Professional Speaker
RCF NXL 14-A Compact Active Point Source Speaker
RCF Compact A 10 Two-Way Professional Speaker
RCF S 8018 II High-Efficiency Subwoofer

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