NASHVILLE – Cam Beachley, monitor engineer for Carrie Underwood and French rocker Johnny Hallyday, is now using Type 10 and Type 10S direct boxes from Countryman Associates to enhance the sound quality from acoustic stringed instruments.
Beachley, who has also mixed for Demi Lovato, Peter Frampton and Keith Urban, among others, resolved the challenges posed by long cable runs from the instruments on stage to the splitter box that supplies feeds for the FOH and monitor consoles with the Countryman gear.
For Carrie Underwood's shows, for example, Beachley used six Countryman Type 10 DIs and a pair of the stereo Type 10S direct boxes for a number of acoustic guitars, fiddle and bouzouki to guard against RF interference, hums, loss of fidelity and other less-than-desirable sonic qualities.
"Prior to the Type 10 and Type 10S DI's," Beachley noted, "we had been using another popular line of direct boxes. The moment we switched to the Countryman Type 10s, the instruments sounded much more open and natural. It was literally a night and day difference.
"As far as design and reliability goes, the Type 10 and Type 10S have been bullet-proof," Beachley added. "We've encountered no issues whatsoever. These direct boxes are two more examples of rock-solid Countryman product designs. They are extremely clean and clear sounding."
Beachley also credited Countryman Associates' tech and customer support as "first rate…Whenever I send Chris [Countryman] or Omer [Inan] an e-mail, they respond very quickly. They understand what I'm looking to accomplish and go the distance in seeing that I get taken care of."
In the eight months Beachley has been working with the Countryman Type 10 and Type 10S DIs, it's been smooth sailing. "I move these boxes back and forth between two different touring companies and, in the process, they literally go all over the world," he said. "I couldn't be happier with the performance of these products."
For more information, please visit www.countryman.com.
