Artist and Production Manager Crafts Mobile Masterpieces With All-in-one Monitor Solution
LOS ANGELES ― After wrapping up a string of on-the-road gigs with Mariah Carey this past winter, it’s clear that Producer, Stage Manager, Backline Crew Chief, and Production Manager Tremaine “Six7” Williams is no stranger to mobile production. Although he started his career with the iconic music production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, working on GRAMMY®-nominated pieces for artists such as Janet Jackson, Usher, and 50 Cent, Williams has since transitioned to the live events world. He has worked on Carey’s Christmas shows for the past nine years, in addition to touring with Bruno Mars and Swedish House Mafia. With such a busy schedule, Williams doesn’t always have a traditional studio to work from, which is why he recently turned to the KRK GoAux Portable Monitor System for reliable and accurate mobile monitoring.
“I’m moving around every day at this point, so I need consistent monitoring everywhere I go, but I also need to be travel-ready,” Williams says. “It’s the little things that help me ― like not having to use an interface. I can just connect the speakers via USB and treat them as an interface. The ARC feature is also great because I’m in different rooms every day, and now I can get a more accurate bass response, which is what I need for the type of music I’m working with. Plus, being able to set up anywhere is a huge help, as is the travel bag that comes with it. With my previous portable monitors, I had to buy the bag and the accessories. The GoAux system comes with everything included.”
The all-in-one packaging of the GoAux system isn’t the only thing that sets them apart from the previous, industry-standard, portable monitors that Williams used. “Compared to my old speakers, the bottom and top-end on the GoAux stand out for sure; they are both so clean,” he adds. “When I run greatest hits mixes, with songs and masters that span over many years, everything is clean, loud, and not distorted. It sounds really good, no matter what songs we jump to. It sounded great when we were mixing, too, and also translated when we moved into a different space. That’s the biggest part for me ― who cares if it sounds great in front of you if it doesn’t sound great when you’re in another space?”
After using the GoAux with his production partner, Daniel Moore, who is coincidentally also Carey’s Music Director, Williams noted that the monitors already made a lasting impression. “We try to match speakers so that when we’re in different spaces, we can still hear what the other person is hearing,” he explains. “The team consists of all audiophiles, so once one of us finds a good product, it benefits us all to have it. Even on our off days, we end up in each other’s hotel rooms working on different projects, so we all need to use the same speakers. I’m sure the rest of the team will also be making the switch to GoAux. My favorite experience with the GoAux so far was when I pulled them out for the first time in band rehearsals ― everybody lost their minds.”
While the KRK GoAux Monitors have his back on the road, Williams also likes to rely on his KRK ROKIT White Noise Studio Monitors and S10.4 Subwoofer for at-home monitoring and referencing. “The way the ROKITs translated in my room, I knew they were it for me,” he says. “The digital EQ on the back is also great; I love having that to show me the graphic EQ, among other options, rather than having to flip switches up and down to find the settings I need. It’s brilliant. But, again, clarity and translation are everything for me. Since I move around so much, it has to translate from space to space. KRK just works exactly how I need.”