Craig tells us: "This choice of proposing my systems in a showroom allows me to show my muscles! I want to show my newest designs. Instead of verbally explaining a new system to a customer I am giving them a demo with real time sound, so people can understand what they hear, they feel it and touch it. In other words, they can hear how their budget sounds! When people come to my club with the intent of buying an audio system, they take a day off to spend it with me listening, dancing, and talking to DJs. They talk to me about what they want to do, and finally they can figure out what the costs within the landscape of touch, taste, feel and hear.
With two different showrooms, that are different sizes and features, I can show the client different levels of price but with same audio quality. Both rooms are treated acoustically with panels on the walls and purpose furnished features.
The Nowadays space in Risgewood Queens is conceived like a recording studio, the ceiling and floor are floated, the walls are separated from the outside world, it's basically a box inside a box. This design allows you to get the best sound because the room acoustics do not interfere with listening and does not smear the purity of the components used. One can really hear what the audio product can do, no room interference from the sound system at all.
The processing and amplification are different in the two showrooms, though the electronics are almost exclusively SBS Design. Analog BKNY is a 5-way audio system, while Nowadays is a 4-way system. The Analog BKNY clubbing brand I propose are created after my sound systems and the electronics. I feel analogue systems are the best because we live in an analogue world that sounds more realistic. These systems are designed for people wanting their club sound just like Hi-Fi sound; analogue, rich and warm. They are very good for warehouse spaces, dance clubs, discotheques, lounges, and for people who want a real pure and smooth sound.
I pay great attention to system personalization. We can even make custom hardware in our internal metal shop and our speakers can be designed to do anything the customer wants. Everything is hand made for the application and the beauty behind that is each system is different and has its own personality, while maintaining a common sonic signature. Each project of mine starts with my personal visit to the venue. I listen to the room and I come back with a design, with proper dimensions for the stacks, it's a flown SBS Slammer and and often forcing the dimension to fit the space available. All without being too invading for sight and without blocking any exit doors. Every system is to deliver a great punch to the dance floor. Exactly as my customers want it to be delivered.
In 2009 I started using FaitalPRO professional loudspeakers. Before I discovered FaitalPRO I was one of the biggest dealers of some high quality pro brand made in Japan. But as I started testing FaitalPRO components, in a nightclub called System NY, I immediately realized how amazing these products are. Not only are they amazing from the manufacturing aspect, but also from the way they sound.
Each FaitalPRO professional driver has just the right sound, they're very musical, very dynamic; it does not lean with my processing and amplification and it lends itself to play any kind of music you desire. They are great with Jazz. Phenomenal with R&B. Amazing with disco. With house and progressive, the sound is full, open, and dynamic.
In general, I am against the digital technology currently available. In my opinion, if you play electronic music such as trance, then digital sounds ok. In all other cases it does not. If you play music made with live instruments, a great deal of information which is buried low in the mix gets smeared and lost along the way.
Doing everything in a Hi-Fi analog domain is a different story. When you hear a recording you know very well, you can hear elements you have never knew were there. Even if you listened to it a million times.
That is exactly what FaitalPRO components allow you to do; hear everything as it was engineered. You hear exactly what the audio engineer and the artist intended so you can enjoy the composition.
Not many brands, I can say, allow you to get down deep into the groove and really hear every little nuances like FaitalPRO. They are really revealing! For instance, I've played the record "ROTATION by Herb Alpert" While listening he asked me, "Is there somebody else in this building with us?" I said, "It's just me and you, he said I'm hearing voices in the room someone is hear I said no it's in the record" He replied, "I played this record a thousand times in my life and I never heard some of these vocals in the mix". I said these drivers with SBS Slammer are very revealing and you can really enjoy the music fully no matter the style. You can revisit and play your old records and the song is now wide open. FaitalPRO is an incredible product and the voicing is great!
Because of the way I bundle FaitalPRO loudspeakers with my electronics and amplification, and implement updates, people come in and say "What have you done to the sound system? It sounds better now because it's so revealing". Everybody now is aware it is a very high quality sound system and they are hearing something special, more than anywhere else. I'm known for using the best products from different manufacturers in many different ways in a single system. Ever since I changed to FaitalPRO I have adopted these loudspeakers from top to bottom end, in every design for each system of mine.
I am a happy to be able to offer a variety and can really voice the SBS Slammer in a very unique way. Because of the various drivers in each size I get the dynamic response I am looking for. Currently these are my favorites: 18FH1020, 18FH510, 15FH500, 15PR400, 12PR300, HF20AT, FD371.
FaitalPRO is the first company I've used everything, top to bottom. In my systems, that has incredible synergy with the processing in my racks, to the front end in the DJ console, to the SBS Designs amplification. It just allows me to create something amazing that an over the counter choice will not allow me to deliver. In my showrooms, you can test system with full processing, loudspeakers and amplifiers. Out of the box systems can't offer what SBS Slammer can with the Faital Pro components"
