Yamaha CL5 Howls at Mohegan Sun's Wolf Den

	Standing Mat Diamond, lead audio technician; seated: Curt Wade, front-of-house engineer, Wolf Den. Photo: CM Photos

Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut opened in 1996 by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut, and is a destinations with New England fine dining, hotel accommodations, retail shopping, live entertainment, and sporting events. Located in the center of the action, in Casino of the Earth, the popular 350-seat Wolf Den offers a state-of-the-art sound system for nightly performances. The Wolf Den entrance is on a first-come, first-served basis. Recently, two Yamaha CL5 digital audio consoles were installed to enhance the sound system, one at front-of-house and the other at the monitor position including Rio 3224-D and 1608-D input/output boxes.

Mat Diamond, lead audio technician for entertainment at the resort said the decision to add two Yamaha CL consoles to the entertainment arsenal was a departmental decision. "As the head of the department, I had the final say, but I don't get to use the equipment as much as the rest of the department which is why it is important to make the decision as much a group decision as possible. We already own two Yamaha M7CL-48 digital consoles, two Yamaha LS9-16s and an LS9-32 so between that and the price point, the CL5s seemed like the next logical step." Diamond said the custom knobs and fader banks, storing system scenes that can be recalled, EQs, and built-in premium rack that can be used together or independently are all valuable features. "I love the idea of the premium rack and hope that more effects will be added down the road. I personally like to use the Portico 5033 as my EQ for masters. I really like using the dynamic EQs for vocals. I love how the Yamaha CL allows me to control certain frequencies without eliminating them entirely."

With regard to the CL learning curve, Diamond said his staff picked it up fairly quickly but since they own several Yamaha consoles, they just needed to learn their way around the CL. "Most of the visiting engineers just need a quick walk through if they haven't used a CL in the past."

Since the Yamaha CL consoles have been installed, artists that have performed in the Wolf Den include Macy Gray, Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, Foghat, G. Love & Special Sauce, Walk Off the Earth, Chuck Negron, Gin Blossoms, Uncle Kracker, Los Lonely Boys, and Eddie Money.