The Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, California, recently upgraded its audio system with the installation of a Meyer Sound PANTHER system — designed to meet the venue’s growing demands across a wide range of performances including Broadway productions, symphonies, rock concerts and corporate events.

Since opening in 2007, the Gallo Center has been a cultural anchor in California’s Central Valley. Nearly two decades in, the venue was ready for a sound system capable of supporting its diverse programming without compromise.

The upgrade was led by Bay Area systems integrator Advanced Systems Group (ASG), with system design support from Meyer Sound and installation by Oakland-based Waveworks AV, led by Brad Katz and Aaron Ballard. The new system replaces the main theater’s aging setup and introduces a left-center-right (LCR) configuration tailored to touring productions.

“The Gallo Center’s previous system wasn’t meeting performance expectations,” said Tom Menrath, audio team director at ASG, which has partnered with Meyer Sound for more than 20 years. “They wanted a high-performance, top-level system that could suit all their clients’ needs—no questions asked.”

ASG had previously worked with the Gallo Center in 2019, integrating Meyer Sound stage monitors and ground-stacked arrays. That setup included 14 MJF-210 stage monitors, two arrays of four LINA loudspeakers, and 750-LFC low-frequency elements for use as fills or in outdoor applications. “They were blown away by how great everything sounded, and the build quality,” said Menrath. “They decided at that point that they were ready to replace their entire system.”

Jordan Lonn, head audio engineer at the Gallo Center, said the team knew they wanted to bring back a center cluster. “That was in the original design of the theater, but it wasn’t implemented well and it ended up being removed,” he explained.

“With PANTHER, we can design a system that can seamlessly accommodate drastically different types of programming,” Menrath said. “Broadway productions demand an LCR setup, while high-impact concerts need a P.A. that can deliver power and punch. PANTHER checked every box.”

Lonn added that several factors made PANTHER the right choice. “If we’re putting on the phrase ‘state of the art’ with respect to our publications, we need to reflect that in our technical offerings for sound as well,” he said. “With PANTHER, the technology stands for itself… We don’t have to wait for overseas shipping if there’s going to be a replacement down the road.”

The system design was completed in Meyer Sound’s MAPP 3D™ software and shared with the Gallo team. “I got to open that file up and play around,” Lonn said. “Normally, that insight into the design isn’t necessarily on the table… They were so inviting, working with me to help me understand what they had in mind, and listening to my feedback.”

The installed system includes 16 PANTHER large-format linear line array loudspeakers configured in left and right main arrays, a center cluster of 10 LEOPARD compact line arrays, and nine 2100-LFC low-frequency control elements—five flown in a cardioid center array and four ground-stacked. The setup also includes ULTRA-X42, ULTRA-X20 and UPQ-D1 loudspeakers for side, lip and front fills, along with four 900-LFCs for supplemental stage monitoring. The system is managed by Galileo GALAXY 816 and 408 network processors.

“The power and headroom are wildly impressive,” said Lonn. “The detail and stereo imaging maintains clarity, and intimacy, without needing to get louder than you need to be and yet tracks very well as you push the system for more dynamic performances.”

“I’ve been surveying every guest engineer before and after each show, and the feedback has been phenomenal—which typically never happens,” he added. “Audio engineers are fickle; I’m one, so I get it. But before they even start, they see the system, realize what they’re working with, and immediately feel relaxed.”

“After the show, I always ask if there’s anything they would change about the system for their mix… nobody has said they would do anything different,” he said. “Even our board members have noticed, with one telling our CEO and passed along to our Technical Director of Production, Jeremiah Lewis that it was the best-sounding show they’ve ever heard, calling it—and this is a quote—‘money well spent.’”

According to Menrath, the new system not only met expectations, but surpassed them. “They wanted a high-performance, top-level system that could suit all of their clients’ needs and the system has exceeded their expectations.”

Looking ahead, the Gallo Center is considering similar upgrades for its second theater. “To become a full and complete Meyer Sound house is very exciting,” said Lonn.