Recent years have seen the New York club scene pass through a phase of relative indifference. A period many have attributed to the latter years of iron fisted former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani during which numerous clubs opened and closed their doors almost in tandem.

More recently however, a new breed of clubbing venue has steadily brought about a change in direction and a return to the dancefloor for the city's clubbers. Alongside Avalon (also featured in this issue), Crobar has become one of THE New York clubbing destinations of the moment, combining cleverly a mixture of unpretentious music focused atmosphere with sleek design aesthetics and a serious sound system.

Crobar has managed to recreate the feel of a glam New York party in a large, industrial space with the help of an imaginative interior design scheme from I Crave and an intelligent architectural lighting design from Focus Lighting.

The club itself is centred around the large main room which features a mezzanine level that wraps itself around the opposite end of the club from the main DJ booth. Two smaller rooms offer chilled sanctuary for those in search of an alternative to Crobar's varied but upfront music policy.

Pretty much everything about Crobar is big - big space, big dancefloor, big bar and big, very big speakers. The club is one of the latest venues to feature the legendary audio work of Steve Dash and Phazon Audio. Working in partnership with long time associate and partner, Walter Mosetter of Philadelphia Sound Productions, Dash has created a sound system for Crobar based on the latest technology and the know how which has seen the Phazon / Philadelphia team complete sound systems for clubs across both New York and the world. Names such as Roxy, Arc and Twilo offer just a hint of the baton which Crobar now takes on. "When the club first opened back in December of last year it provided both the debut of New York City's hottest new club and a showcase for the very latest in digital audio technology," says Dash. "The Philly Sound installed system continues to perform flawlessly."

Crobar's main house system is made up of a battery of custom modified and standard JBL loudspeakers alongside Steve Dash Audio (SDX) and Phazon bass units. Phazon and JBL also cater for peripheral zones and the club's smaller rooms (VIP and Hip Hop). The system is powered by amplification from a range of Crown products (MA and CTS series) with signal processing catered for via a combination of SDX and BSS units.

With such an array of bespoke audio equipment on offer it is little surprise to see the Crobar guest DJ list crammed with a veritable who's who of international talent playing everything from progressive to tribal, hip hop to high energy on a regular basis.

With lighting design specialists Focus taking care of Crobar's architectural and ambient lighting needs with a scheme which enhances both the futuristic and imaginative elements of the club, dancefloor lighting has been installed by SJ Lighting and is based mainly around Martin Professional effects such as Mac 600s, Mac 2000s and Mac 250 Kryptons.

technical information

light
10 x Mac 600; 16 x Mac 2000; 8 x Mac 250 Krypton; 18 x Martin Atomic 3000; 50 x Source 4 Pars; 10 x Source 4 Lekos; 64 x 1' icove strips; 1 x 4' Mirrorball; 4 x Magnum Pro 2000 Fogger; 4 x CITC Snow Machine; 2 x 8 Lites; 1 x 10w Copper Vapor Laser w/2 Fibre Optic Heads; 1 x High Speed Motor System w/Motion Labs Controller; 1 x 48 Channel ETC Sensor Rack; 6 x Coemar i Spot 150 (VIP room)

sound
Loudspeakers: 16 x JBL Custom Modified HLA 4897a; 8 x JBL 4894a; 10 x Steve Dash Audio (SDX) Sub Bass Horn; 10 x Phazon sdx Sub Bass bin; 12 x Phazon sdx3800 4 way Custom speaker (VIP & Hip Hop Rooms); 30 x JBL Modified MS 28; 30 x Community Cloud 1299; 8 x JBL Control 24 CT (Tunnel); 4 x SDX Sub Bass bins (Main DJ Monitors); 4 x JBL 4892a (Main DJ Monitors); 2 x JBL 2405 Bi Radial Tweeters (Main DJ Monitors); 2 x JBL SP 212 (VIP DJ Monitors); 2 x SDX 15:" subs (VIP DJ Monitors); 2 x JBL SR 4725 (HH DJ Monitors); 2 x SDX 15" sub (HH DJ Monitors) Amplification: 12 x Crown MA 5002; 14 x Crown MA 3600; 2 x Crown MA 3600 X 1200; 11 x Crown CTS 3000; 11x Crown CTS 2000; 4 x Crown CTS 1200; 1 x TOA P 924 70 volt Signal Processing: 2 x SDX 3700 Professional DJ Mixing system; 1 x Rane MP 44; 10 x Technics SL 1210 MK 5; 10 x Stanton 680 Cartridges; 5 x Panasonic CD1000; 1 x BSS Soundweb (8x16) & Jelly Fish control; 4 x BSS 366t DSP Speaker controller; 2 x BSS 380 DSP Speaker controller; 1 x DBX Drive Rack 260; 11 x BSS 966 Equalizer; 2 x BSS 402 Limiter; 1 x DBX Blue Line 160xl Limiter; 6 x Middle Atlantic MRK Racks & accessories; 1 x Custom Lyntec High Voltage Sequencing Power System; 3 x SDX 3000 Pro DJ Crossover; 3 x SDX 5000 Pro DJ Equalizers tone controller; 3 x SDX 8000 Patch Bays; 3 x SDX / Phazon DJ Console

links: www.crobar.com