Marking its 9th year, Neon Carnival returned to Thermal, California earlier this month to re-affirm its position as one of the most coveted after-parties of the year.
Producing an event of this magnitude is no place for the faint of heart. With royalty often topping the guest list and a slew of notable DJ’s spinning well into the morning hours, finding the right audio solution is essential. To ensure success, organisers tapped Hollywood-based Neptune Productions, who specified an all VUE audiotechnik system.
“The organisers wanted to create a very immersive audio experience,” explained Neptune Productions President, Raffi Ganoumian. “Since the venue is relatively open and flat, and the stage has a low ceiling height at just 16 feet, our solutions needed to be both compact and visually inconspicuous while offering a high level of fidelity and output.”
To achieve the objective, the Neptune team deployed a total 6 VUE audiotechnik al-Class line array systems—taking full advantage of VUE’s Continuous Source Topology, which allows different sized al-Class elements to be seamlessly combined into a hybrid, mixed-element arrays.
For the main stage, left and right hybrid arrays were comprised of 4 al-12 elements with an additional 4 al-8 elements as underhang. In addition, 4 al-8 elements were flown from lifts on both sides of the stage as out fills.
On stage, the all-VUE audiotechnik theme continued. A full DJ monitoring system included 4 four VUE al-4 subcompact line array elements stacked on top of dual hs-28 subwoofers. 24 VUE hs-28 ACM subwoofers were also positioned across the front of the stage for low-frequency support throughout the venue.
“The ability to mix and match VUE elements makes it really easy to customise arrays for challenging environments like this,” explained Ganoumian. “We had a lot of creative freedom to address everything, sight lines and coverage to weight while being fully confident that voicing would always be a consistent and top notch. And what can I say about the subs? They just kick ass.”
Neptune flexed their creative muscle throughout the rest of the venue as well. At FOH depth, the team flew two additional four-box al-8 arrays on each side. One left and right pair was delayed to provide auxiliary support to the back of the venue, while the second left and right pair faced forward to complete the immersive sound experience that event organisers initially requested.
“The VUE line arrays deliver a level of flexibility that allows us to be incredibly creative and get a lot of value out of a single inventory,” concluded Ganoumian. “Plus, they just sound really amazing. Regardless of how hard we push them, they always have more to give — especially at the high end.”
For the Neptune team, the real measure of success at any event is client satisfaction, and in that measure, Ganoumian is pleased to report that VUE has earned a coveted spot on A-list. “They were very pleased with the end result. We’re already talking about future collaborations.”
Neptune plans to next deploy its VUE audiotechnik line array systems over the Fourth of July weekend at the annual Navasartian Games, an Olympic-style event for Armenian-American athletes, which is expected to draw over 30,000 participants and spectators.