Sound engineer Wayne Griffith mixes a concert inside McCabe's mixing booth. Photo: Kenneth Scott.
McCabe's Guitar Shop on Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica, located two blocks west of the Santa Monica Freeway's Centinela Avenue off-ramp, is first and foremost a musical instrument store that opened in 1958 and specializes in acoustic and folk music instruments, offering sales, rentals, repairs, private lessons and classes. Since 1969, McCabe's has presented weekend concerts in a back room with an 8-foot-deep stage, a mixing station built into one wall, folding chairs, and walls that are adorned with stringed instruments.
The shop showcases the practitioners of folk and acoustic music, as well as performers who are interested in putting on a special acoustic or stripped-down show (think MTV Unplugged), from local and up-and-coming acts to internationally known artists. A few of the more well known artists who have graced McCabe's stage include Beck, Memphis Slim, Tom Waits, Vince Gill, Jackson Browne and Emmylou Harris.
McCabe's P.A. system is powered by a QSC PLX1804 power amplifier and comprises two JBL SR4738 three-way speakers with 18-inch woofers, with two JBL SR4722 speakers flown above the stage for monitoring, plus one JBL SRX712M floor monitor. The console is a hybrid Midas VeniceF32, and outboard processing includes six channels of dbx 166 limiting and a BSS FCS 966 graphic equalizer. Microphones include Shure Beta 57s, Beta 58s, SM57s, and two Neumann KMS 105 condensers for vocals, and the Studio Projects C4 small diaphragm condensers for acoustic guitars.
Visit McCabe's Guitar Shop online at www.mccabes.com.