The Black Keys, with Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums), are out supporting No Rain, No Flowers, their 13th album. The band’s high energy kept the crowd engaged in a great performance that mixed new material with deep cuts and hits. We spoke with engineers Jason Tarulli (FOH) and Neal Jensen (monitors) about mixing the tour.
The FOH View
Jason Tarulli has mixed on almost every digital console out there as well as a pile of various analog desks. He’s currently mixing on the Yamaha Rivage PM3. “Early on with TBK [The Black Keys], I used whatever desk the venue would throw at me. This was around the time when you would see about 50/50 digital or analog desks. I would get a Profile one day or maybe some older Allen & Heath analog desk, or a nice Midas XL4 or H3000 — with (or without) a varying complement of outboard gear and P.A. It was a wild time, so you needed to be mentally prepared for anything. Eventually I did get to choose my rig, but choices were limited based on time, budget, availability and space.”
Having come up in clubs, Tarulli developed the DNA to roll with what you get and make the best of it. “Eventually, as the tour grew, out of budget, convenience or familiarity, we [TBK] started with the Avid Profile. Then, we quickly moved to the DiGiCo SD10 when it came out, a far more powerful desk. I eventually switched to the Midas PRO9s based on their more familiar analog feel.” After TBK returned from a 4-year hiatus, with almost no time to prepare, Tarulli went with the then-fairly new DiGiCo SD12. “Going into that ‘Let’s Rock’ tour was tough, with virtually no band rehearsal for me to get acquainted with the new material or a new desk. I literally flew in from another tour that just finished up in Berlin straight into the start of the tour in L.A. After that tour started picking up steam, Covid hit, with another long break from TBK and touring. Once touring opened up again, I was back with TBK, and with proper rehearsals lined up, I moved to the Yamaha Rivage.”
Although Tarulli had some reservations on the earlier Yamaha desks, he had a listen based on a recommendation from Owen Orzack at Eighth Day Sound and other engineers he respected. “And hearing that Neve had a hand in the thing got me curious. Through Eighth Day Sound, I got a hands-on demo at Nashville’s Blackbird Studios. I liked what I heard as well as the console’s layout, and sonically, it really clicked for me. Before going out with TBK, I got to know the Rivage on tours with Courtney Barnett across the U.S., Canada, and Europe.”
Mixing In-the Box
“I really like the Rivage onboard plug-in options. Some are strictly utilitarian. For instance — the phase alignment tool is incredibly useful when aligning drums, multiple guitar amps, bass guitar amp to DI,” Tarulli continues. “FX plug-ins are used sparingly. There’s a bit of slapback delay on the vocals using the classic Yamaha 1010 plug-in. BGV’s get a touch of the Rotating Speaker (Leslie) plug-in, and of course, a touch of the Bricasti Reverb for drums and/or vocals.”
Tarulli sneaks in a bit of SPX90 Distortion on the snare to crunch up the bottom mic, bringing the snare a little forward without moving the fader to do so. “And the Primary Source Enhancer and Danse are excellent in minimizing stage volume bleed into the vocal mics,” he adds.
“Since the performance, arrangements and instrumentation can be quite different than the records, over the years I learned to let the live performance be its own thing, with the records serving as a reference for levels and general vibe. However, I will approximate certain drum sounds, or some FX here and there and lean into the recordings’ analog vibe across the live signal path as much as possible, with actual analog processing or well-thought-out plug-ins. Regardless, what you hear in the house is what the band are giving directly from the stage.”
Onstage, literally everything that’s not a drum or vocal mic has some sort of overdrive, fuzz or massive amounts of spring reverb, notes Tarulli. “With TBK, vocals can be a bit challenging in getting the clarity needed, due to saturated instrumentation taking up space in the mix, but also the close proximity of drums and the massive guitar rig directly behind the vocal mic.”
In terms of the main bus, “I like to use the Portico Main Bus Processor mainly for its Mid-Side and Silk Feature. The Mid-Side EQ is great for imaging and low-end focus. Once I’ve got the P.A. where I like it — that is, once [systems engineer] Kyle Walsh does his magic and hands it over to me, I run a virtual sound check and adjust accordingly to taste. Generally, I adjust again during the first song or two with a full house. Same goes for the Silk settings on the Main Bus Processor. I usually go for the “red” at around 4-6 o’clock on the dial. My other Bus processing — the Pultec EQ and a Multi-band EQ — is slightly adjusted on a daily basis.”
Tarulli swaps out outboard rack gear from time to time to try new things. “I started out mixing when digital was just working its way into the live world. So I still really have an affinity for tactile hardware that generates a little heat. In the past, I carried all sorts of esoteric tube compressors, EQs and FX processors. Even though plug-ins have come a long way in fidelity and stability, I will probably always carry a bit of analog processing… just because.”
SPL’s Transient Designer is a must-have for drum processing, says Tarulli. “There could not be a simpler or more effective tool in dialing up as much punch or sustain from drums. However, I do prefer the hardware rack version over the plugs or the 500 series versions. The rack unit has more ‘oomph’ and at the same time, seems to be the easiest to dial in.”
Tarulli also carries two dbx 160A compressors. “Played with fingers, the bass can get a little thumpy or cracky sometimes, and the 160A seems to easily smooth that out. The other is for the snare drum, following the SPL Transient Designer. Last but not least, a Manley Variable Mu Stereo Compressor. I like the ones with the high-pass side-chain feature. I find this necessary to keep the kick drum and other lows from over-pumping the mix bus.” He notes that running the output to a few dB above unity hits the sweet spot for a hi-voltage, hi-temp analog feel.
“I’ve also recently implemented an outboard UAD Apollo x16D plug-in processor. It’s a 16-channel Dante I/O processor that easily taps into the console’s Dante network via a network switcher and Dante card.” In terms of UAD processing, Tarulli’s getting solid results processing vocals through the FATSO SR compressor and Manley Massive Passive EQ, with a bit of drum processing using the API Channel Strip, Hitsville EQ and UAD Precision Limiter on kick.
Tarulli has been using Palmer Speaker Simulators on all electric guitars, which allows for total isolation. “We’re still using the very same ones we got a decade ago.”
Dan Auerbach’s guitar rig consists of three amplifiers — a vintage Danelectro Combo, a Fender Bandmaster and a custom 12-watt tube amp that Tarulli hand-built. It’s plugged directly into the Palmer speaker simulator, which is also a load box.
“Dan’s vocal mic is a Sennheiser 431,” Tarulli adds. “I’ve been using the Soyuz Launcher [inline preamp], which adds a bit of FET and transformer mojo that pushes the vocal sound more in the direction of the record without oversaturating”
The System
Eighth Day Sound has supplied every TBK tour, starting with the first control package around 2010 to the full P.A. and control they use today. “A big thanks to [Eighth Day Sound’s] Owen Orzack for making it happen so well all these years,” says Tarulli.
“As for the Adamson P.A. we currently carry,” an E15/E12 system, “I first encountered a version of it a several years ago while on tour with the Decemberists in Amsterdam. It stood out as very detailed and up front without being brittle, mid-forward or bright sounding.” Tarulli credits the system for “great intelligibility, with imaging consistent and coherent, along with a complement of great sounding subs.” He also appreciates having a “solid, experienced systems engineer” — Kyle Walsh — on the tour, calling him “absolutely essential in making the shows sound great night after night.”
Tarulli adds that, aside from gratitude for being able to do what he does for the past 18 years with some the best people to do it with, he’s learned a few things along the way. “When I was younger, I felt I needed to mix as loud as I could get away with, or louder. I’ve since learned that keeping things around 100 dB (or less) can still have proper impact.”
Monitor World
Neal Jensen is mixing monitors on the Midas HD96 this year. “The PRO X was getting a little sketchy, and they’re starting to show their age. The HD is quite a jump in processing power; it’s been an awesome desk and I’m looking forward to staying with it for some time.”
Jensen had done a couple runs using the HD mixing FOH for another band, really dug in to get familiar with it, and didn’t miss the PRO X at all. “A number of years ago, I was touring with a DiGiCo SD7 — after I stopped hauling around the behemoth H3K with all the racks and cabling that went along with those. But I never quite reached that ‘rock band’ sound that all us ‘older’ analog guys were familiar with. When I did this run in Europe, the vendor didn’t have any DiGiCo available, so I agreed to use a Midas PRO9. The mix fell together so easily that I’ve have been using Midas digital since.”
The HD’s onboard effects are surprisingly good, Jensen says. “The new VSS reverbs are awesome, similar to the M7 verb I had racked up in the day. It sits perfectly in the mix. The MD4 is one of the nicest software-based compressors I’ve used. And the HD’s Wave Designer comes really close to the hardware unit. I’m not missing my outboard rack gear at all.”
Dan Auerbach is using a Sennheiser MD 431 for his vocals. “The 431 sounds so good, it gives Jason at FOH and me a little more to work with than the sE V7 we had been using. The V7 was a great choice at the time because we were rocking three sets of stereo sides and a gaggle of M2 wedges. We ran a test and found the V7 could get a bit louder with more clarity than other mics we tried. Now the whole band is on IEMs, so stage volume isn’t a consideration anymore.”
Jensen notes working with JH Audio on their IEMs has been great. JH came to a Nashville rehearsal and fitted them all at the same time. “The 16’s are super-balanced; I could probably do a record mix on these. I’ve worked with bands in the past where the members each had their own IEMs; ones that didn’t match or were from different manufacturers, which makes it more difficult for the monitor engineer, as they’re not voiced similarly.”
Jensen adds that “being on the stage mixing monitors — it keeps me pencil sharp doing multiple mixes. I also enjoy FOH duties, that’s great fun as well, but at monitor world, I don’t have to deal with an audience screaming and whistling in my ear! I have somewhere around 40 outputs — some of these are stereo mixes, but I’m always cruising through them all and checking for things that stick out. In the end, I like mixing in both positions.
“Tom Lawn, my monitor tech, has been a godsend,” Jensen continues. “It’s rare to get a tech who’s on something before I even ask! He is incredibly knowledgeable about how to make a stage run smoothly and efficiently. Getting along with band and crew is at the top of the list and Tom fits in perfectly. We all wish he could stay with us for our next run, but The Who is starting up again and Tom must leave for that. One of the best things about working for The Keys is that we all get along like a big happy family, and that’s really important when you’re packed in a bus together for months.”
Black Keys’ No Rain, No Flowers Tour
AUDIO CREW
- FOH Engineer: Jason Tarulli
- Systems Engineer: Kyle Walsh
- Monitor Engineer: Neal Jensen
- Monitor Tech: Tom Lawn
- Tour Manager: Steve Chapman
- Production Manager: Jay Ballinger
- Backline Techs: Frankie Monturo (bass, guitars, keys, teleprompter); Dan Johnson (guitars), Matt Romano (drums & percussion)
P.A. GEAR
- Sound Company: Eighth Day Sound
- Main PA: (15) Adamson E15’s with (3) E12’s (per side),
- Side Hangs: (8) Adamson E12/side
- Subs: (24) Adamson E119 ground subs
- Front Fills: (6) Adamson S7P
FOH GEAR
- FOH Console: Yamaha Rivage PM3
- Nearfield References: L-Acoustics 108P and SB15
- Recording Playback System: Steinberg Nuendo
- Effects/Plug-ins: In console; plus Universal Audio Apollo x16D (Dante outboard insert/plug-in processor with UA plug-ins)
- Hardware Outboard: SPL Transient Designers; dbx160As; Manley Labs Variable MU
MON GEAR
- Monitor Console: Midas HD96-24 w/onboard effects
- Mics: Sennheiser MD 431, MD 441, e901, e902, e904; Neumann KM184; Palmer DI (all Guitars)
- IEMs: JH Audio JH16s
- RF Gear: Shure PSM1000, TX, AD 4 Q, RX, AXT 600, PA 421 B
More Black Keys 2025 tour photos by Steve Jennings
