Good Times at Wild Bill’s

Wild Bill’s in Atlanta, Georgia was made for good times. More than a Country Western bar, Wild Bill’s is America’s largest country music dance club and concert hall. Recently voted Best Club in Atlanta, Wild Bill’s is a large 71,000 square foot, 5000 patron club dynamically dressed in a Martin Total Supplier package.

Martin effect lighting, Mach sound reinforcement and Jem fog combine with a host of fashionable details to attract both huge crowds and national recording artists like LeAnn Rimes, Chris Ledoux, Tracy Byrd, Montgomery Gentry and others. Opened on May 31, 2003, there’s not a bad seat in the house.

Spacious stage
Outstanding acts from around the country perform on a spacious 50-foot performance stage complete with large truss system, staircase riser, dual video screens and an automated lighting system that can compete with virtually any touring show.

At their disposal in the stage truss are 10 MAC 600NT washlights, 8 MAC 500E profile spots, 8 RoboScan Pro 1220 scanners, 2 RoboScan Pro 918 scanners and 2 Atomic 3000 strobes, as well as conventional lights. A pair of Jem StageHazers and a two-head Jem Club Smoke System (with two AF1 fans) provides the atmospheric smoke and projection canopy. Three FiberSource 150 power a fiber optic backdrop star curtain.

Dynamic dance floor
Wild Bill’s boasts the largest dance floor (real oak hardwood we might add) anywhere in the Southeast. Covering some 5000 square feet, it features a blistering 12 Atomic 3000 strobes, 8 RoboScan Pro 918s, 4 MAC 500s and 4 Wizard effect lights. A four head Club Smoke System combines with 4 AF1 fans to keep the atmosphere thick with effect. Wild Bill’s Production Manager Rob Wlodarczyk and Mike Splitt completed the original lighting design. Light Pix of Atlanta supplied all Martin equipment and helped with technical issues.

Maxxyz control
A Martin Maxxyz console runs both the stage and dance floor lighting and is managed by one of the youngest Maxxyz operators we’ve come across to date, 18-year-old Jose Uribe. Jose commented, “At first, Maxxyz to me was very complex but at the same time made many things possible. If you have an idea, it’s easy to imitate that in the console. It’s very reflective of what you tell it to do. The automated faders are like magic and the touch screens make it even more flexible when viewing a live show. It’s very easy for spotlighting, is very exact and it’s easy to get at fixtures. The response rate is very good too. Every day it’s very exciting to work with such an advanced console.”

Jose received his Maxxyz training at Wild Bill’s from Martin’s Technical Support Specialist Bruce Lehnus. “Bruce did a great job explaining the console and it was a pleasure to work with him,” Jose commented. “He made it fun and entertaining as well.“

Jose works closely with Wild Bill’s Lighting Director Amy Lynn Wlodarczyk. Amy is the lighting designer exclusively for the house band, Bill Gentry and the 35-cent Rodeo. Jose does the programming.

Mach audio system
Installed last summer and handled by Audio Manager Mike Splitt, Wild Bill’s is powered by a powerful Mach audio system that boasts an impressive 12 different EQ and delay zones.

Clusters of Mach M30T dual 15" top-boxes hang from each side of the stage in two rows of three, with eight sunken Mach 182T dual 18” subwoofers located under the stage, four on each side. Four compact yet full-range Mach M12T are located at the bottom of the main stacks for front fill.

In the main room, ten M12T provide the audio power, hung in a VIP theatre seating area on the side of the stage (six in one delay row, four in another). The main FOH runs off a Mach 20.06 controller.

A special VIP room includes four M12T running on a different delay with two M12T and a pair of Mach M125i 3-way near field installation speakers in the VIP/VIP room, also known as the Zebra room. A pair of 125i is also located in the pool room/restaurant.

In Wild Bill’s atrium sound comes courtesy of two Mach M82i compact 2-way near field installation speakers. The Owner’s VIP box has the same, along with a pair of M72i 2-way near field installation speakers, all on their own separate delay.

Mike calls it a “killer system” that patrons continually call the best they’ve heard. “The system is very clean. There are absolutely no phase problems in the venue,” he commented. ”There isn’t a dead spot in the entire 72,000 square feet.”

Stage:
10 x MAC 600NT
8 x MAC 500E
8 x RoboScan Pro 1220 CMYR
2 x RoboScan Pro 918
2 x Atomic 3000
2 x StageHazer
1 x Jem Club Smoke System (2 heads)
2 x AF1 fan
3 x FiberSource 150 
70 x Par Can

Dance floor: 
1 x Club Smoke System (4 heads)
4 x  AF1 fans
12 x Atomic 3000
8 x RoboScan Pro 918
4 x MAC 500
4 x Wizard
Maxxyz Controller

Audio:
12 x Mach M30T 
8 x Mach 182T 
20 x Mach M12T  
4 x Mach M82i    
4 x Mach M125i   
2 x Mach M72i   
1 x Mach 20.06 controller

Production Manager: Rob Wlodarczyk,
Lighting Director: Amy Lynn Wlodarczyk
Maxxyz Operator: Jose Uribe
Audio Manager: Mike Splitt