The Biloxi Grand Casino on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast has upgraded itsmultifunction showroom with the addition of a 48-input ATI Paragon IIMonitor console from Audio Toys (www.audiotoys.com). The Biloxi Grand Theater is an1,800-capacity room that hosts Broadway and Las Vegas-styleproductions, musical entertainment and corporate events. The ATIParagon II was installed in mid-March to complement the existing FOHsystem and an extensive Clair Brothers monitor speaker system.
“The monitor rig is supplemental for guys not carrying their ownstuff,” explained Earl Driggers, a New Orleans native and the theater’saudio engineer. “The Paragon matched what we were able to do with theClair rig that we purchased, in terms of outputs. We’ve got 24 Clair12AMs on 16 dedicated stage mixes, with two ML18s for drum subs.”
Originally planning to buy a competing product, he noted, “We foundthat, for the same price range, we could get the Paragon. The Paragonis unparalleled in the industry for features, with a gate andcompressor on each input. Plus, being able to do 32 outputs or 16stereo mixes, there’s no comparison. That’s quite a nice feature tohave.
“Invariably,” he continued, “I wind up mixing monitors for a lot ofacts that come through with [in-] ears, so one feature that I reallylike is the two cue buses. Having the separate wedge and ear bus, whereyou don’t have to listen to the ears on the wedge or vice versa, isreally nice. The cueing system is phenomenal, as far as versatility andwhat you can cue and where you can cue it. It’s wonderfully laidout.”
Driggers, whose first show on the newly installed monitor consolewas comedian, singer and impersonator Finis Henderson, noted that theGrand Theater offers an eclectic mix of artists and acts. “It runs thegamut of entertainment. We did Starlight Express for the wholemonth of April, which was followed by a quick turnaround to WillieNelson. We’ve also got The Odd Couple, Saturday NightFever and The Sound of Music coming, plus Sheena Easton,Clay Walker, The Temptations, Phil Vasser, Lee Greenwood, Tim Conwayand Don Knotts.”
At 250,000 square feet, the Biloxi Grand, which also incorporatesthe 12-story, 500-room Grand Casino Hotel, is the largest floatingcasino in the world.
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