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JBL by HARMAN fuels the sound of Elton John’s annual Academy Awards Party

Thu, 11 May 2017 10:45

Photo by Chad Griswold


The Oscars® may be the biggest show in L.A. each February, but the Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards® Party isn’t far off. Audio rental company Mastermind Production Group Inc. was hired to provide live sound reinforcement for 2017’s star-studded event, which featured a live performance from rock-funk band St. Paul & The Broken Bones in the main tent.

With space at a premium, Mastermind needed to deploy a compact sound system that could meet strict weight and size restrictions, while delivering plenty of output and the highest quality sound. Mastermind didn’t know who the talent would be until a couple of weeks before the event, so they also needed a system that could handle any type of performance. In order to achieve these goals, Mastermind selected a JBL VTX V20 rig for its compact footprint, versatile performance and transparent sound quality.

“The VTX system is easy to deploy and the sound is clean, full and punchy,” said Chad Griswold, owner of Mastermind Production Group Inc. “At 88 pounds per box, we were able to hang enough V20 loudspeakers to achieve the performance and output of a much larger rig. The rig sounded great out of the box and we were confident the system could handle any type of performance. We were told it was the best rig they’d ever had at the event.”

The JBL system deployed by Mastermind Production Group Inc. included 8 VTX V20 loudspeakers per side, 6 VTX-S28 subs hidden below the stage, 6 VT4886 per side for out fill, 5 AC18 for front fill, 2 SRX712M monitors for delay and 2 x VRX918S monitors for drum subs. In addition to the VTX system in the main tent, Mastermind deployed JBL Professional speakers for the entire event, including a DJ tent and three ancillary tents that were used for the other festivities of the evening.





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