Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon has partnered with Heil Sound to add a stage full of pro microphones to its inventory. The venue, located in the heart of downtown, opened in 1994 amid the line dancing craze when people literally lined up for Brooks & Dunn’s Boot Scootin’ Boogie, Shania Twain’s Any Man of Mine, and other hits of the day.
The 66,000 square foot building has remained a top tourist destination for music lovers with over a million visitors each year. The three-floor venue features a restaurant, catering/banquet service, several bars, and a concert stage that hosts acts, both national and local.
While there is no “typical day” at the Wildhorse, they generally host four bands and up to eight free line dance lessons every day. As expected, much of the venue’s audience is made up of tourists – often arriving by the busload – varying widely by age. The typical crowd size during the week is 700 with weekend crowds swelling to 2000.
Brian Belcher, production manager at the Wildhorse, oversees all facets of production at the Saloon. He first contacted Heil Sound after using the RC35 capsules on his wireless systems, saying, “It was an amazing problem solver and we wanted more Heil in the venue.” The new Heil Sound inventory includes PR35s, PR30s, PR40s, PR31BWs, PR28s, a PR48, in addition to the RC wireless capsules.
These mics get used through the formidable PA that features JBL 4888s and 4880 subs powered by Crown amplifiers with Lake processing. Monitors are Clair Brothers 1.0am/1.5am powered by Lab Gruppen amps. Both front of house and monitors consoles are AVID S6L-32s with E-144 engines.
Aaron Sollman is a staff sound mixer at the Wildhorse and has noticed a sonic change with the Heil Sound microphones, calling the move a definite upgrade. “I could hear a difference from the other mics when we put the PR31BW on a guitar cabinet. It sounded like there was more ‘life’ to it. The house drum system is also much improved. The Heil mics stay on the kit unless we need to move it for an act that is carrying backline. We use PR28s, PR30s, and a PR48. I also use the PR35 vocal mic any time there is a hardwired vocal.”
