57
SPECIAL FEATURE
March - April 2015branded lighti ng fi xtures. They seem happy
to get copies installed. Of course for the more
renowned venues, they ensure that they get
quality lighti ng.
Operators are also diversifying and trying
to ensure maximum revenue by creati ng
mixed developments of restaurant cum bars
or dance clubs. This way they can operate
longer and get additi onal revenue from their
food businesses. This has resulted in budgets
moving more into sound systems due to
customers relying on Asian manufacturers to
do the simple job of providing lights.
Audio
For the audio segment, European and
American manufacturers can take a breath
because club operators/owners in Singapore
sti ll see fi t to in invest in high-quality audio
systems.
To discover more, we spoke to Godwin
Pereira, Co-founder of Limited Editi on
Concepts Pte Ltd (LEC). Based on their
licenses, LEC are one of the largest club
operators in Singapore. Even though
nowadays, Godwin is specifi cally focused
on creati ve marketi ng and operati ons of
the company's many outlets, he started
his career as a roadie and rose through the
ranks.
Interesti ngly, the shift in budget prioriti es
from lights to audio has led some operators
to over-spec sound systems. "If my club
fi ts 400 people, I'm going to build a system
that fi ts 1200 people,” Godwin said. “My
understanding is that if I have a lot of power,
I never overdrive the system. I may never use
the power but it's good to know I have it.”Adding, "If you build a system just based on
the parameters of what it does, your system
is going to blow. Aft er four drinks, nobody
has good volume control. They are always
driving the system on redline. That's the
theory I have anyway, so I have learnt to
over-spec things. And because of that, every
bar and club that I have designed since has
always been built around the sound system."Unfortunately, Godwin's ideas are not
shared by other club operators. According
to him, many that buy sound systems don't
understand what they are buying. Leading
the responsibility of getti ng the right
equipment for the job to fall on the shoulders
of the audio consultant. It is no secret
in Singapore that alliances are regularlyformed between distributors, suppliers and
consultants. This results in a certain bias
when it comes to specifying a product for a
new venue. Godwin's thoughts?"I go for a couple of components when I'm
buying a sound system. I always think about
the maintenance of it later. I ask myself, 'how
long the supplier has been in the game – is
it for a long ti me or is he new?' Speakers,
just like music, are subjecti ve. Everyone's
ears are diff erent, some people think a
bigger sound system sounds bett er than a
smaller sound system but I don't think that's
how you should gauge it. I always think its
the technology of how the system is built
and how you set up the parameters of the
speakers that's more important."For his own outlets, Godwin has stuck with
local distributor/integrator, Electronics &
Engineering Pte Ltd (E&E). Having worked
on numerous projects together, Godwin
considers himself a partner of E&E and trusts
the quality of the EAW products they provide.
He states the service and backup as the two
main factors that have kept him going back to
E&E over the years.However, at the end of the day, while the"If you build a system just based on
the parameters of what it does, your
system is going to blow because DJs
are deaf... I have learnt to over-spec
things. And because of that, every
bar and club that I have designed
since has always been built around
the sound system."- Godwin Pereira.
“Business directi ons have shift ed
and this has led many to make the
conscious decision to stop investi ng
in Western lighti ng because they
don't feel the need for such high-
quality lighti ng.”