GREEN SPRINGS is a large complex facility containing a hotel, commercial facilities, and office space located in Tachikawa City, Tokyo. Its showpiece is the TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN, a privately-operated next-generation entertainment hall, which includes an impressive sound reinforcement system comprising NEXO STM Series, PS Series, GEO Series, and LS Series loudspeakers, Yamaha CL Series and QL Series digital mixing consoles, and Yamaha VXC Series ceiling speakers, all supplied by Yamaha Music Japan.
The design of the TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN is based on a concept of a blue sky. It is a music hall that connects the sky with the hall, and out into the surrounding parkland, bringing people together through music.
The sliding wall at the back of the hall can be opened to allow views of the stage from outside. This is referred to as the garden stage, and features an outdoor seating area. The hall itself contains 2,448 seats, and the outdoor garden stage has a seating capacity of 628. When the first floor of the hall is allocated as a standing space, the hall can fit 2,940 people, giving a maximum capacity of around 3,600 when combining the outdoor seating area.
“Most of the speakers used in TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN are from NEXO,” explains Tohru Kikuchi, president of TOKYO ONKEN who acted as professional sound advisor for this project. “NEXO loudspeakers are also used by my audio rental company, TOKYO ONKEN, and are held in high regard. In particular, the main loudspeaker in use in TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN, the STM M28, is capable of directly reproducing extremely natural sound encompassing both soft and loud sounds. I am often involved in work related to classical music, and the STM M28 is a classical music quality loudspeaker producing an extremely pure sound that could be used for classical concerts.”
The STM M28 is a permanent fixture in the L/C/R positions. The L/R sides feature 12x STM M28 speakers, while there are 8x STM M28 speakers in the center. GEO M10 arrays of 5 modules are used as auxiliary hangs, PS15-R2 point source cabinets are used for outfill.
A total of 24x STM S118 sub-bass modules are installed below the stage, eight of which are facing the rear to achieve a cancelling effect, and a further 8x ID24 lip fill speakers are installed above the STM S118s. This approach is typically used for outdoor stages, arenas and other large temporary stage settings, but is somewhat rare for a permanent sound setup in a hall setting. Placing the subwoofers directly beneath the stage causes the stage itself to vibrate at a very low frequency, which may muddy the sound. To eliminate this adverse effect, a cardioid setting is applied using the B2B mode preset on the NXAMP4x4MK2. This setup prevents the power alley effect, which exacerbates differences in sound pressure within the hall, allowing powerful bass to reach all parts of the seating area.
In addition to connecting with the hall itself, the garden stage can also be used independently to host general open-air music events. To achieve this, the garden areas of GREEN SPRINGS have been fitted with loudspeakers within planted fixtures to amplify sounds from the hall.
STM M28 speakers are set on the wall of the hall on the park side facing the area from the garden stage and the green hill to the park. When the garden stage is in use, PS10R2 and LS600 speaker systems can be installed on the right and left sides of openings of the sliding wall. Six permanent pole speakers capable of withstanding all weather conditions also line both sides of the green hill.
A total of 25 speakers are installed in the planted fixtures around the park, and at the park entrance. NEXO PS10-R2 speakers are placed at the front of the hall on the park side, and 6x GEO S1230 pole speakers are installed on both sides of the green hill grass area, housed in weatherproof boxes. While these are typically used to play background music, settings can be changed to play output from the hall via optical cable through all speakers in the park. All audio signals are distance-corrected from the hall stage, allowing visitors in all areas of GREEN SPRINGS to hear high-quality audio coming from the hall.
The onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic has resulted in an increase in inquiries. Considering the stated importance of maintaining social distance and indoor ventilation in preventing the spread of the virus, the TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN has a major advantage in terms of ventilation in that the venue itself can be opened to the outside, keeping the back wall open to allow for complete open-air concerts.
TACHIKAWA STAGE GARDEN
TACHIHI HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.