Customer Showcase: Quaker Steak and Lube

“You could hear vocals and 6 string guitars again, and all the mid sounds came to life. It seems like a place that considers entertainment important, not just a band stuck in the corner sounding like the fingernails on a chalkboard.”

- Mike Bomback, Lead Singer, Threadfinger

“It has helped the space ten-fold. The sound quality in that room is so much better than any of us imagined”

- Stephanie Sobotka, Quaker Steak and Lube

The Problem

This Quaker Steak and Lube location is very unique in its size. It has a very large room with high ceilings. The restaurant owners had hoped to include many live entertainment events, everything from full bands to DJ's, but were running into a lot of problems with the sound. Ms. Stephanie Sobotka, who approached us looking for a noise control solution, remarks, “it honestly was almost unbearable to be in that room.”

Mike Bomback is the lead singer of the band Threadfinger, which performed at this location both before and after the noise control acoustic treatment installation. He told us in detail about the acoustic problems the space was experiencing: “Prior to sound proofing, the room was very ‘tin sounding.’ If the drummer hit a cymbal it just seemed to carry, as all you could hear was the highest highs and bass. Bands asked me what I thought of them, and I said it would not be realistic to have an opinion in that room as it is. [The room had] high metal ceilings and a lot of glass - a sound man’s nightmare.”

Something needed to change this in order to use the space to its full potential and have year-round entertainment, instead of just in the summer when they could open the doors.

Concrete walls and decorations with hard surfaces destroyed the sound of bands and other performances on Quaker Steak and Lube's stage, and made the room uncomfortable for restaurant patrons.

AcoustiColor® Panels coated in green, black, and white, covers all wall surfaces surrounding the stage.  The look is enhanced by a custom guitar-pick shaped AcoustiColor panel.

The Solution

Audimute recommended a multi-pronged approach, the goal being to install a large amount of AcoustiColor Panels in order to control reverberation and eliminate the overpowering high frequencies to balance sound in the room.

Ms. Sobotka noted that maintaining the restaurant’s signature décor was a high priority: “We needed to still be The Lube when doing all of this.” AcoustiColor Panels were custom coated in The Lube’s signature green, and concealed in the ceiling trusses and on the walls; a hidden noise control solution. The stage area was made the focal point of the room, using black and white checkerboard pattern made of AcoustiColor Panels overlaid by a custom shaped and framed AcoustiColor Panel made to look like a guitar pick.

Normal restaurant noises became unbearable when they reverberated in the restaurant's unusually high, metal ceilings.

Custom AcoustiColor Panels were used with a color matching the ceiling, and hidden within trusses to prevent interference with the ceiling's unique look.

The Outcome

As soon as the Panels were installed, the effects were instantly noticeable. Ms. Sobotka told us, “It has helped the space ten-fold. The sound quality in that room is so much better than any of us imagined.”

Mr. Bomback explains, “You could hear vocals and 6 string guitars again, and all the mid sounds came to life. It seems like a place that considers entertainment important, not just a band stuck in the corner sounding like the fingernails on a chalkboard.”

Finally, QSL Sheffield Village was able to make use of its indoor performance space without driving guests (and bands!) away.