While on the road with Bruno Mars, Grammy Award-winning recording engineer Charles Moniz and live sound engineer Chris Rabold utilize JBL Professional 708P reference monitors for front-of-house mixing as well as recording backstage.
Mars and his backing band the Hooligans, and most recently, with Anderson .Paak as the R&B duo Silk Sonic, frequently work on new songs while on the road and needed a quality mobile recording setup that could be easily assembled. Moniz, who worked with Mars on his 2012 album Unorthodox Jukebox and 2016’s 24k Magic, says he selected the 708P monitors for their sound quality, high output and balanced coverage. In addition, Rabold uses them to dial in a consistent live mix .
“We often record in dressing rooms, locker rooms, kitchens, workout rooms — I had a setup in a bullfighting ring in Spain one time,” says Moniz. “The 708P monitors have a lot of onboard processing to help you tame unruly spaces. A few tweaks with the built-in EQ can help you avoid overcompensating for those frequencies in your mix, as well as enhance the listening experience for everyone in the room.”
Carrying an eight-inch Differential Drive low-frequency transducer and a 2409H high-frequency compression driver, the monitors carry a built-in LCD display and rear-panel controls designed to help dial in the right settings for recording and mixing in less-than-ideal spaces. In addition, their compact form factor makes them easy to take on the road, with Moniz adding that he most enjoys the wide “sweet spot” created by the patent-pending Image Control Waveguide.
“The first time I heard the 708P monitors, I was sitting in front of the console and thought they sounded great,” Moniz explains. “But what really impressed me was when I walked across the room, it still sounded like I was sitting right in front of the console. That’s a huge deal — having things sound balanced throughout the space is such a benefit.”
“The 708P monitors never deceive me and always make my mix sound bigger,” adds Rabold. “The low end is thick and punchy, the midrange is honest and intact, and the highs are not overly bright or deceptively sparkly. There’s no hype or coloration to them, and because of this, I know that what I’m hearing will translate to any environment.”
