New Mackie SRM Series Pumps Up Premier New England Rock Venue

	Bernie's Bar in Nashua, New Hampshire with Mackie SRM650s.

It's not often that an audio professional will purchase gear without ever having heard it, particularly for an entire stage setup blasting high-profile hard rock and punk bands like Dope, The Misfits, and Soil.

But long-time live sound pro Jim Roese confidently took this plunge when Bernie's Bar in Nashua, New Hampshire hired him to redo their stage setup. Roese owns a pro audio company called RPM Dynamics and also works as production manager/monitor engineer for Blondie.

Prior to Roese's arrival, bands were having a hard time with the club's mix-and-match stage monitoring setup. Clarity, punch, plenty of headroom, and simple durability are paramount factors in outfitting a rock venue. For loud acts like these, stage volume is a primary concern, and the artists weren't happy.

For owner/booker Bernie Goulet, matching price to product was the concern. Working within a budget meant having to find the best stage setup without upsetting bands, fans, or the bottom line.

Knowing he would need something with quality sound that was also powerful, sturdy, and affordable, Roese ordered ten new Mackie SRM650s, sight unseen.

For Roese, this was hardly a spontaneous or rash decision. "I've been using Mackie gear for many, many years," he explains, "including the SRM450 and the DL1608 mixer. The SRM450s in particular always sounded great, and never had a problem. So I was pretty confident the SRM650 would be a quality product."

As he puts it, "I looked at the specs, and saw this all-wood box, with a list price of around $900. Knowing Mackie, I knew it would be built like a tank, and would compete with boxes selling for twice that much. And we were right...Mackie delivered."

The next evolution of Mackie's SRM line, the SRM650 packs 1,600W of power into an all-wood frame with an 18-gauge steel grill. Providing high-definition audio processing and unmatched clarity, the company says the SRM650s supply people like Roese and venues like Bernie's Bar with what they need. For national touring acts that crave good sound and have come to expect it, Roese's Mackie setup has left bands, tour managers, sound guys, and fans with smiles on their faces.

In addition to ten SRM650s, Roese added other players in the Mackie line to fill out the setup. "I put in an SRM1850 as a drum sub and a pair of the SRM550s as well." Roese is also working on adding sound treatment, as well as other improvements to further solidify Bernie's as the area's premier rock venue.

"Mackie has always built a great product," Roese concludes. "Their stuff works, and it sounds great. I wanted Bernie's to get great quality gear that fit their budget, and I placed my confidence in Mackie, knowing that their new products would be as good as they say. So we purchased it, put it in the club, and everyone loves it."