New Buddy Holly Hall in Lubbock, TX Installs d&b Y-Series Speakers

The Buddy Holly Hall features the 2,297-seat Helen DeVitt Jones Theatre, with a d&b Y Series sound system designed by Jaffe Holden and installed by Hairel Enterprises

The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences is the cultural hub of Lubbock, TX and the cornerstone of downtown revitalization. The new hall will be the future home of Ballet Lubbock, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, and Lubbock ISD Visual and Performing Arts, as well as many scheduled dates of the Buddy Holly Story. Totaling 220,000 square feet, the hall – the first of its size and type in the region – was planned and designed by theatre design firm, Schuler Shook, acoustician Jaffe Holden, along with architectural firms Diamond Schmitt Architects, Parkhill, and MWM Architects.

The Buddy Holly Hall features the 2,297-seat Helen DeVitt Jones Theatre, the 415-person Crickets Theater, a 5,000-square-foot multi-purpose room, and a 22,000-square-foot Dance Center. The main Helen DeVitt Jones Theatre has been outfitted with a d&b audiotechnik Y-Series loudspeaker system with ArrayProcessing. Designed by Jaffe Holden (Norwalk, CT) and installed by Hairel Enterprises (Conroe, TX), the multi-purpose nature of the venue will allow for a wide range of activities, from opera, Broadway shows, and symphonic music, to rock concerts, conferences, and social events. In addition to local performing arts groups and touring shows, the theater will also enable the Lubbock Independent School District use as a learning center.

“In March 2020, the site was closed down due to the COVID-19 outbreak. and all worked came to a complete stop,” states Rob Slaughter, Senior Project Manager, Hairel Enterprises. “When construction started back up, the CDC six-foot rule severely impacted the completion of the building. The GC (Lee Lewis Construction) and developer (Garfield Public/Private) were very understanding with the delays that have impacted all contractors and have worked with all trades to ensure a safe work environment putting worker safety and health first.”

Hairel’s primary contracted responsibilities was reinforcement and playback of loudspeaker systems; supplemental reinforcement and playback loudspeaker systems; assorted mixing and processing equipment; playback and production equipment; ADA compliant audio systems; production intercom and paging system; backstage paging and program system; lobby program, paging and chime system; technical video distribution system; AV control systems; recording studio AV systems, and rehearsal room systems.

“The d&b R1 remote software allows the operator to put all the amps in standby mode with the click of one button,” states Kevin Bell, Project Coordinator. “This eliminated the need for a sequenced breaker panel. Using ArrayProcessing presets, the orchestra level can be changed from a sloped floor with seats to an open flat floor without having to re-pin the arrays. The venue has three different front fill positions. Using R1, the correct front fills delay settings, pending deployed location, can be easily selected. Also, taking advantage of the many versatile R1 functions, the d&b speakers can be checked and logged after each event (or as often as desired) to keep up with driver fatigue, damage or failure.”

The view of the Helen DeVitt Jones Theatre from the stage. Photo credit: Casey Dunn

The unique d&b ArrayProcessing function is known for its ability to improve consistency of tonal balance and level across the entire listening area. With presets, ArrayProcessing can also be utilized to optimize a line array system for different seating configurations.

”With the d&b Y Series, the Buddy Holly Hall is equipped with the highest quality and best sounding system in town,” states Jacob Parnell, Audio Production Supervisor. “The system is remarkably transparent and user-friendly, allowing me to move between genres with ease without sacrificing audio quality. With the R1 interface, in conjunction with the Y- Series boxes, it gives me complete peace of mind when I go into a performance. I trust that with this system, the patrons of Buddy Holly Hall will have a great experience. This system makes my job easier, enjoyable and just a whole lot of fun. I love being able to use a system of this caliber on a daily basis, and I am excited to train a younger generation of budding audio engineers on a system like this.”

The d&b Y-Series layout is configured left, center, right with left and right arrays including 10 x Y8, 2 x Y12, 2 x Y-SUB per side; center array is configured with 8 x Y8 and 3 x Y12. Depending on the seating arrangement for a specific production or musical event in a fixed stage apron 5 x E6 and 8 x S4 point source loudspeakers for portable pit rail.

The R1 Remote control software enables the house staff to route and make changes to the system on the fly in order to meet the needs of the preforming artist.

Further information on d&b audiotechnik: www.dbaudio.com

Further information on Hairel Enterprises, visit www.hairelsound.com.

Further information on Jaffe Holden, visit www.jaffeholden.com.