SAN FRANCISCO — Train’s California 37 tour has been rolling along with gear provided by Delicate Productions, including Martin MLA system, DiGiCo SD10 consoles for FOH and monitors, Martin Audio 5.2 amplifiers and Sennheiser G3 IEM personal monitor systems. The tour crew included Train’s FOH engineer Rob Thomas and monitor engineer Rob Greene, along with system engineer Phil Reynolds and system techs Kenny Kaiser and Russ Cunningham.
More details from Martin Audio (www.martin-audio.com):
Train’s sold-out California 37 tour, which ends Sept. 30, followed on the heels of their sixth studio album of the same name; it has already produced the certified platinum single “Drive By” (#10 on Billboard’s Hot 100), and “50 Ways to Say Goodbye.”
Based in San Francisco, Train consists of a core trio comprising Pat Monahan (vocals), Jimmy Stafford (guitar) and Scott Underwood (drums). Over the years, the band has produced successful albums such as their eponymous debut Train with hits including “Free” and “Meet Virginia;” Drops of Jupiter, which yielded the Grammy award winning single “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me);” My Private Nation with their third Top 20 hit “Calling All Angels” and Save Me San Francisco in 2009 with the catchy, ukulele-based “Hey Soul Sister,” a quintuple platinum hit and Grammy Award winner.
The California 37 tour started in Canada and has ranged throughout North America in a variety of venues including amphitheaters, arenas and theaters. Delicate Productions of Camarillo and San Francisco, who has already successfully deployed Martin Audio’s award-winning MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) system with Selena Gomez, relied on a system for the tour that consisted of 11 MLA and one MLD (downfill) enclosures per side and 12 MLX subs. These were supplemented with 16 Martin Audio W8LC and six W8LM cabinets for side and front fill.
Commenting on MLA, Delicate president Jason Alt said, “The tour is going well, everything has gone very successfully with the MLA system. The only show where we had to add more boxes was Red Rocks, where we went to 16 MLA per side instead of the usual setup because of the size of the venue.”
Asked if the different type of venues provided a challenge in terms of getting the control and coverage Delicate needed, Alt responded, “Not at all. The MLA system actually performs really well on every level in every kind of venue that Train has played. All of the reports we’ve gotten back from our crew about reactions to the system from the band and their engineers have been extremely positive.”
Delicate also used DiGiCo SD10 consoles for House and Monitors along with Martin Audio 5.2 amplifiers and Sennheiser G3 IEM personal monitor systems. The tour crew included Train’s FOH engineer Rob Thomas and Monitor engineer Rob Greene, along with system engineer Phil Reynolds and system techs Kenny Kaiser and Russ Cunningham.
Expanding his comments, Alt added, “MLA is a really good solution, especially its small truck footprint that gives you a definite transportation advantage for tours that need every square inch of space they can get. The technology has really given us an edge because it is such a distinctive product in terms of its capabilities and flexibility. We feel MLA gives us a bit of an edge when we’re bidding on new projects.
“Clients are starting to be very aware that the flexibility of the box and its controllability and rejection capability is what a lot of artists are looking for. With MLA, there’s not a lot of energy on the stage, which makes it better for performers and improves the audience’s listening experience.
“And the MLA owners’ network in the United States has been a real asset as well,” Alt concludes. “We’ve all been able to work together sharing resources, equipment and technical information, something which has proved to be a major benefit for every one of us.”
More details from DiGiCo (www.digico.org):
With Dual DiGiCo SD10s Tour’s beefed-up band and increased input list required larger SD10 systems at FOH and monitors provided by Delicate Productions; dual consoles helped simplify the production and the technology.
Grammy Award-winning pop-rockers Train have been laying tracks across the continental United States and Canada this summer and fall with their San Francisco 2012 tour. The band pulled out all the stops, rolling through material both old and new, including songs from their latest studio album, California 37. Because of the tour’s beefed-up band and increased input list, engineers Rob Thomas and Robert Greene opted for a pair of SD10 systems at FOH and monitors (provided by Delicate Productions and Hi-Tec Audio), to simplify the production and the technology requirements.
“Rob Greene and I have used many different platforms working together with Train over the years,” Thomas explains, “but for this tour, it got a little more involved. Train is typically a three-piece band, but with this tour there are eight musicians onstage and we needed at least 52 inputs/outputs for the band and the accompaniments, including bass, guitar, vocals and background singers, in-ear mixes and stage monitors. We wanted the best-sounding console and one that was most configurable, and that’s how we came up with the SD10s. Having two of the DiGiCo’s out there was the best option for the tour, allowing us to pick each other’s brains about functionality and also streamline the technology. This is the first time that I’ve toured with a DiGiCo product, although I’ve used and am familiar with the D1 and D5 Series. In my time with the SD10 at FOH, I found that it truly sounds great; it’s one of the best-sounding digital consoles that I’ve been able to get my hands on. Choosing DiGiCo was one of the easiest decisions we had to make early on.”
For more about Delicate Productions please click to www.delicate.com.
