Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut opened in 1996 by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut. The casino recently took delivery of a Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 Digital Audio Console purchased through HB Communications, New Haven.
“We already own two Yamaha CL5 Digital Audio Consoles positioned in the Wolf Den, our live music lounge,” said Mat Diamond, lead audio technician for entertainment.
“My decision to go with the RIVAGE PM10 was made before I saw it on any rider. I was very impressed with the whole direction Yamaha was going with the better sounding mic pre’s. Also, a huge benefit for me was the Yamaha partnering with outside audio manufacturers like Dan Dugan Designs and Rupert Neve Designs and incorporating their effects directly into the DSP. We had demoed several other desks and after that first RIVAGE demo, I was glad to find that our crew was as excited about the console as I was.”
In addition to the Dugan and Neve on-board features, Diamond said the addition of the tc Electronics and Eventide on-board effects and SILK feature also played a role.
“And, if that’s not enough, you can also operate the console in almost any configuration you want," he said. "It’s very versatile and powerful. We have found that many of the tours coming through Mohegan Sun to perform in the Arena now have Yamaha RIVAGE consoles on their rider, so that was a definite deciding factor.”
Diamond said that almost from the beginning the casino venues have used only Yamaha digital desks. “When I first started working here, there were already three Yamaha M7CL consoles and a couple of LS9s,” he said. Since then, in addition to the two CL consoles in the Wolf Den, Mohegan Sun purchased two Yamaha QL5 and two QL1 mixers to float around the building. “The Dante over Ethernet makes shows in our ballroom very easy," said Diamond. "I can patch my console through the infrastructure in the room to the Yamaha Rio rack with no need to run a snake.”
On a recent stop at the Mohegan Sun Arena, Tom Young, production manager and front of house engineer for Tony Bennett used the casino’s new console.
Young said, “having used Yamaha consoles and the RIVAGE PM Series in the past, Mohegan Sun’s sound department has raised the bar on their arena audio system by acquiring the PM10. It is the best sounding live digital audio console available today, and very user friendly for anyone who has operated a Yamaha CL5.”
