ToneMesa, Inc. is a location/post audio service and rental company based in Los Angeles. Their high-profile clientele includes Nickelodeon, several major consumer brands and top-rated television shows such as The X Factor. Company partners Daniel McCoy and Stanley Gonzales were recently on location for an outdoor video shoot during filming for upcoming episodes of the popular TV show The X Factor. They needed a portable, modular and inconspicuous sound reinforcement solution, so John Karr at Rat Sound Systems, Inc., a local touring sound, sales, rentals and installation company, set them up with an HK Audio Elements system as an ultra-compact playback system.
As John Karr recounts, “I recommended HK Elements, as it’s the best sounding, most cost-effective solution for a portable line array within the allotted budget. The HKs sound much cleaner and more professional than the equivalent from other well-known lines, hands down. So, recommending Elements was a no brainer. It’s small and lightweight, with a professional sound that’s excellent for playback and small acoustic acts – a definite winner in our book for these types of applications.”
McCoy and Gonzales chose a “Band Two” configuration (four mid-high units, two amps, two subs, two active subs and mounting hardware) to provide the sound and power they needed in a discreet footprint that was also easy to set up and transport.
Partner Stanley Gonzales explains how it solved some of their critical requirements: “My partner Daniel is the audio supervisor for The X Factor. As with most clients, he was asked to ensure that the gear wasn’t visible, so we needed something low-profile and easy to hide, or if it was seen, it was something very sleek. The Elements system proved an easy solution for that challenge. They could put a small tree in front of it and it would disappear! The other challenge was that while the speakers needed to be unobtrusive, they still had to be close to the talent, and we found that feedback was never an issue, despite the high SPL. And of course, we needed something that sounded great. In fact, many of the top artists on the set took notice, were wondering what it was, and were amazed and impressed with the sound. HK really delivered for us, on all levels!”
ToneMesa is also using their HK Elements system for current Nickelodeon TV shows and other applications that require the gear to “disappear, yet deliver.”
For more information about HK Audio, visit: http://www.hkaudio.com/us; for Rat Sound Systems, please visit: www.ratsound.com; for ToneMesa, please visit www.tonemesa.com .
