The sound

The sound, or acoustics, is a fairly regular topic of conversation when people talk about The Pavilions. Plus with the amount of shows we have at the moment, it's a topic that has come up elsewhere on thisisplymouth. So let's talk about it: why is "the sound so bad at Plymouth Pavilions"?

The first of two points I want to make is that I don't agree with the above statement. You're probably thinking that you'd expect me to say that! Well until a year ago, before I joined the venue, I was probably one of those people that shared the view that the sound quality of the arena is rubbish. It was a view based upon the fact that we've all said it for years, and years ago, whenever I went it wasn't great.

My view today is that the arena CAN sound imperfect. And it CAN sound amazing.

So why was it historically "bad"? In essence, the shape of the room isn't great, and the finishes that were originally put into the space doubled the problem. There were loads of angles and corners for sound waves to ricochet off, which means you get unclean sound and echos all over the place. What's changed? Our technical teams have done their upmost to address this where possible. This hasn't been cheap, and has therefore been a long process. And as anything, there's more we can try. I had a conversation just last week about another investment we can make to dampen the sound from the walls, and it's something we should do, just as soon as finances allow.

To sum up the above, I guess the point is that yes the venue isn't perfect in acoustics, but we do try hard to mitigate that, and I believe we have got to a point where the sound CAN be great.

Which leads me on to my second point: why is it not consistent? I have talked before about the way in which the live arena business operates, in that I don't book the acts direct, but simply hire out the room to a "Promoter" who puts the show together, books the artist, sets the ticket price, and organises the supporting infrastructure, including the lighting, PA (sound), and the guy operating the sound. So every time you come to a gig, it's a completely different sound system, and a completely different person operating it. The speakers have probably never been in the venue before, and on one night shows there is simply no opportunity to play about with the sound and get it right. The roadie will try during the day, but that's when the huge room is empty, which in itself makes a room sound totally different. It's a problem that exists across all venues that host one night shows. We do work with the touring sound technicians to advise on the types of sound settings that work best, but we don't always get there, and they don't always listen.

Last weekend I went to Them Crooked Vultures, and Jools Holland. The first one, in my opinion could have been better sound wise. The second one, just one night later, in my opinion could not have been better sound wise. I believe that these days we get far more of the latter than we used to, and we strive to get to a point where our reputation is no longer based upon the past.