The Wild Honey Pie, a US Brooklyn-based media and experiences company that produces and records live performances, recently released its latest season of On The Mountain, an original music video series recorded on location at Stratton Mountain in Vermont.
The Wild Honey Pie recording team chose a Harman Soundcraft Si Performer 2 digital audio console and JBL EON portable loudspeakers for extreme sessions. Each episode of the series comprised two to three live videos recorded on set featuring the bands Ra Ra Riot, Magic Man, The Orwells, Tei Shi, Modern Rivals, and Wilsen. Each band’s performance told a story set to a backdrop of various snow-filled mountain activities. The schedule involved recording two bands each day, which required the technical team to set up and break down the gear each time. Having a high-quality mixing console that was both portable and resistant to the harshness of the mountain and snow environment was instrumental to the success of this project.
“We got the Si Performer 2 console because it is portable. This Soundcraft console is very easy to use, allowing incredibly quick transition from main mixes to aux mixes or monitors, which gives our engineers a lot of freedom. I definitely love the features that come with this board, such as the automated faders, the GEQ’s, the on-board effects, and the recall ability, the ability to save settings and pre-produce the live sound gives us a lot of room to play with,’ says Jon Lurie, senior director of Production at The Wild Honey Pie.
For the PA system, the team opted for two JBL EON615 loudspeakers for the main system, three EON612 loudspeakers for the wedges and two PRX715XLF subwoofers. Lurie believes that the sound is mainly attributed to the skills of the engineer, rather than the complexity of the gear. As such, he greatly appreciates the seamless controls of the Soundcraft consoles and the natural sounding JBL loudspeakers.
“At the end of the day, whatever sounds great and is lightweight enough will be helpful for the production. The JBL EON600 Series loudspeakers fit the criteria perfectly, the 612’s were the ideal size for wedge monitors, and the subs were fantastic and the 615’s sounded rock solid. I think every sound can be made great; it just depends on the engineer. Though having an easy board and reliable loudspeakers to work with allows the engineer to get to that sound quicker and easier,’ concludes Lurie.
