Based in Wakefield, MA, Stinger Staging is a versatile full service AV production, installation, management and communications company that recently purchased a Martin Audio MLA Mini loudspeaker system to enhance its capabilities for a wide range of events.
“In terms of shows, we do about 50% music and 50% corporate,” says company principal Chaz Loews. “In fact, we’re setting up the MLA Mini system right now for a concert by the Dropkick Murphy’s at their departure gate in Logan Airport’s terminal E before they leave on a tour of Ireland.
“Last week we had the MLA system at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland for a big corporate event, so we’ve had the Minis out a lot lately.”
The system includes 16 Mini enclosures and four MSX subs and was a logical choice for Chaz, a longtime Martin Audio user. “We’ve had very good results with the W8LC rig for over a decade and we’re big fans of the Martin Audio brand,” he points out.
“So when they came out with the MLA Mini system it was definitely something on our radar that we wanted to take a look at and invest in. We listened to a bunch of other similar sized PAs in a shootout situation and determined that MLA had the control and versatility we wanted and, most importantly, the sound of a big PA. My biggest pet peeve is to have a tiny PA that sounds like a tiny PA.”
“The MLA Mini threw a lot further than other similarly sized PAs, which is great for our clients because we don’t have to fly as many points, or bring in a bigger system. Plus there are no sightline issues and we get the impact of a big PA with less equipment. MLA Mini works equally well for speech and music because we do high tech seminars and meetings for MIT and MediaLab in Kresge Auditorium that are more speech-oriented along with jazz concerts and operas, and the clarity and coverage for both is excellent.”
Chaz also appreciates the control that MLA offers, “in terms of directing sound exactly where you want it and not where you don’t want it. The control software with DSP built into the MSX is very helpful when we’re designing the PA in difficult buildings, especially in an airport where it’s a bunch of walls and glass that are all reflective. We can design the PA so we don’t have those standard issues in a room.”
Asked about reaction to MLA Mini, Chaz responds, “Clients love the system’s profile, that’s a big thing nowadays. For that show at Gaylord’s, we had an 18 x 80 foot screen, which didn’t give us a lot of space to put in a PA and the Mini’s small profile was very beneficial. We could kind of tuck them away and hide them, and it still sounded like a big PA in the room.
“A lot of different engineers mix through it, guest engineers as well as our staff engineers and everyone responds really well to it. The last show a guest engineer was blown away by the gain before feedback you get out of the PA and the general sound of it, nice and flat right from the get-go.”
“We’re very happy with MLA Mini,” Chaz concludes. “It works well for us and as new technology, it really give us a competitive advantage. MLA represents a whole new way of designing and using a PA that puts Martin Audio in a good place for the future.”