The difference between what we have now is night and day; it is miraculous.”
Theodore PaganoCreative Director, The Bitter End
For more than sixty years, The Bitter End has been a beacon of live music in New York City and beyond. From its earliest days showcasing folk icons like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell to hosting landmark performances by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Lady Gaga, the club has set the stage for some of music’s most memorable moments. With a new state-of-the-art Meyer Sound system, The Bitter End offers premium sound worthy of its legacy.
“As a cornerstone business in live entertainment, premier sound is of the utmost importance,” says The Bitter End’s owner, Paul Rizzo. “All we do in this room is music.”
When The Bitter End opened in 1961, club PA systems didn’t exist. Over the decades, its sound system evolved from a single microphone and speaker to a mixed collection of big, bulky loudspeakers. By 2024, the venue was ready for a modern sound system.
“I try to think about how to honor the club’s history while exciting the people who maybe one day will wind up on our wall of fame,” says The Bitter End’s Creative Director, Theodore Pagano. “This was the perfect opportunity to create a scenario where the club is moving into the future by investing in really good equipment. I thought, ‘let me start at the top.’ I sent a cold email to Meyer Sound, and they called me an hour later.”
The Bitter End’s new Meyer Sound system centers around four ULTRA‑X40 compact loudspeakers and two 900‑LFC compact low-frequency control elements, supported by two ULTRA‑X20 front fills and managed by a Galileo GALAXY 816 network platform. “ULTRA-X40 is a great multipurpose speaker,” explains Meyer Sound’s Director of System Optimization, Bob McCarthy, who designed the new system. “ULTRA-X40s have plenty of power to cover this space, but they open up really quickly, which you want to have because you’ve got people right up close. We were able to put them on their sides and mount them up high to get a nice, low profile and keep them out of sight.”
With its deep (100-by-25-foot) rectangle footprint, low ceiling, and stage oriented along a long side wall, The Bitter End is famous for its lack of true distinction between the stage and the audience. “Curtis Mayfield has a famous quote saying that The Bitter End was his favorite venue because ‘you’re one with the people,’” says Pagano. “Because of the size of the space, whatever’s happening on stage is part of the house sound, so you have to take that into consideration. So we put in some ULTRA-X20s to cover the front space.”
900-LFCs bring tactile low end, he adds. “What I love about these subs is that they allow you to feel the punch of the kick or the bass guitar, and hear those frequencies nicely placed in the mix rather than them beating you up or confusing the mix.”
The new sound system is also transforming the experience for musicians onstage, making it easier for them to connect with their audience and each other. “You want to make the people onstage as comfortable as possible, and the better their monitors sound, the better the performance they’re going to give,” Pagano explains. Stage monitors include flown ULTRA-X40s and ULTRA-X20s: “They’re mounted up high, so they’re close to your head and very easy to hear,” Pagano says. “They’re so super clean. It’s fantastic.” Two MJF‑208 high-power stage monitors provide additional, flexible support.
“The artists come off the stage sometimes and say, ‘wow, we finally heard what all four vocals sounded like,’ or, ‘I’ve never heard his guitar part,’ adds Rizzo. “The clarity is so great that everyone notices it.”
The clarity and precision of the new system also elevate the quality of the iconic recordings made at The Bitter End. “So many great ‘Live at The Bitter End’ recordings were captured here: the Isley Brothers live, Donny Hathaway live, Randy Newman live,” says Pagano. “Having this clean, time-aligned system improves the live recordings that we do. The sound that’s hitting the microphones and going to tape, per se, is so much cleaner.”
For both seasoned performers and longtime patrons, the upgraded sound system is a game changer, bringing a new level of audio excellence to The Bitter End. “People notice it as soon as they walk in the door, which is important,” says Rizzo. “I’ve asked most of the musicians who play here on a regular basis what they think, and every one of them has said it’s a great improvement.”
“The difference between what we have now is night and day; it is miraculous,” adds Pagano. “The quality of sound and the clarity that we’re getting from this system is having a knock-on effect with the musicians that are playing the venue, which is having a knock-on effect with the people who are coming to see the musicians.
“The best part is just the smiles on the faces of people who come in on a regular basis when they turn to me and say, ‘Wow, it sounds so good.’”