Serving the Ohio and Western Pennsylvania region, Hughie’s Event Production Services recently replaced some of its older A/V rental equipment with new technology including EAW’s ADAPTive line.
From its inception in 1953, Hughie’s Event Production Services has prioritised quality of service. To this end, the Hughie’s team embarked on an 18-month search to find its new PA system. ‘We’ve known that EAW has made quality products for a very long time and that’s one of the main reasons they were on our radar during our upgrade search,’ says Project Manager, Jim O’Connor. ‘When we heard about EAW’s ADAPTive line, we were very intrigued. It was clearly a system that we had to take a better look at.’
‘We knew EAW’s ADAPTive system was the right call from the minute we heard it. The sound and the sheer versatility of the different types of events that we could do with it was very appealing,’ he adds. ‘With our new EAW ADAPTives, we can take a few cabinets for small, ballroom type applications, or we could take many of the same cabinets and do our large outdoor events like graduations, church functions or political gatherings, which are becoming the standard in today’s social distancing environment. The scalability really blew us away.’
In all, Hughie’s purchased 24 Anna three-way full-range array modules, 12 Otto subwoofers and 40 RS123 two-way active loudspeakers. The steerable technology of the ADAPTive line allows Hughie’s to make adjustments and change parameters on the fly.
‘I often use the Ottos as end-fire arrays, which is a non-traditional way to stack the subs,’ O’Connor says. ‘Instead of a horizontal line, you set them up in a vertical line. This allows you to direct all the energy from the subs directly at the audience instead of as a typical omni-directional set-up. The EAWs don’t skip a beat, regardless of how they are set up; this adaptability makes them best-in-class.’
Another benefit is ease of set-up and reduced need for overall equipment. ‘With EAW, we can go in and use half the amount of equipment to cover the same area that we have used in the past,’ O’Connor confirms. ‘This cuts down our operating costs because the setup time is significantly decreased. It helps us get in and out a lot quicker. You can’t really do that with other systems and there is just no comparison.’
Hughie’s continues to support events in the region including an influx in outdoor events, and recently deployed an EAW system for The FEST, an annual outdoor Catholic event with a live mass, music and a range of activities. Hughie’s has been involved for several years and while onsite attendance was significantly reduced this year, the smaller-scale onsite event was complemented with a live stream. The EAW system was also deployed at a range of outdoor commencements including St Ignatius and St Edward High Schools.
The team at Hughie’s is also impressed with the customer service and support they have received from EAW. ‘Paul Lamarre, Jim Newhouse, and TJ Smith are really great to work with,’ says Hughie’s President, David Wheeler. ‘EAW is not only amazing on the product side but also on the administrative side. We are really appreciative to be doing business with such a fantastic company. Our new PA system sounds amazing.’
More: www.eaw.com
