The James Taylor tour recently completed its seven-week European itinerary in London. My original intention was to spend a few extra days in that familiar and beloved city following the final show at the Royal Albert Hall. During that stay, my day-off-buddy and monitor engineer, Rachel Adkins, and I had planned on hitting up some museums, eating great curry, taking a drive out to Stonehenge and catching up with old friends. That appealing script, however, had to be altered before we even left the USA.
My good friend and colleague, Chris Lantz, contacted me and asked if I would be available to mix a Seal performance at an event benefitting the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. That new commitment required me to fly the 11.5 hours straight home to L.A. from Heathrow on the day following our last London show. I would then need to be at work for the next two days at the downtown Los Angeles show venue and rehearsals at S.I.R. in Hollywood. Fortunately, the eight-hour time difference between London and L.A. made this bit of job-site madness possible.
Giving up my plan to spend a few days off in London also allowed me to participate in a panel discussion that was being held at the AES Convention in Los Angeles. This event took place on October 12, the Sunday morning immediately after the Saturday night Seal show — jet lag be damned! The panel, organized by Paul Chavez from JBL Professional, included Louis Adamo (chairman) from Hi-Tech Audio, Patrick Baltzell from ATK, independent FOH engineer Harold Blumberg and myself. The focus of our discussion was directed toward the programming and operational aspects of the different user interfaces that have evolved within the family of digital consoles for live sound mixing.
Many Issues, Fewer Answers
Among the many topics raised throughout this two-hour conversation, one issue that provoked much commentary involved the inability to share data among the various manufacturers’ digital operating systems. Once committed to a brand of consoles, a user becomes, quite literally, locked into that choice for the duration of a given project, show or tour. Data created on Platform A is completely incompatible with the operating system on Platform B. Along with the steep learning curve that is characteristic of many digital console platforms, data obsolescence looms as an intimidating obstacle that too often discourages engineers from migrating away from their existing console choice.
The discussion turned toward speculation about creating a master program that could translate data from one operating system to another. How much of an investment in time, money and energy would be necessary to make that wish a reality? Would the creator of such a unique piece of niche software ever sell enough copies to recoup? That type of project would also require intensive cooperation and the sharing of proprietary information among the multiple participants in a fiercely competitive market. At this point in time, the probability of a cost-effective, universal translator being developed for what, in truth, is a very small market seems rather unlikely. It seems more probable that the pursuit of market share will continue to drive the development of console-exclusive operating system software.
A Real-Life Example
As it turns out, the Seal show I had just completed and the topics discussed at this AES panel had many things in common. Delicate Productions had been chosen as the sound provider for the Children’s Hospital event at which Seal was appearing. While I was still in Europe with James Taylor, Delicate’s Chris Smythe asked me via email what my console preference would be for the Seal performance. He was aware that I was currently using the DiGiCo SD5 and wondered if he needed to make one available for me to use in L.A. Sounds like a simple question, doesn’t it?
In reality, the answer needed to be given greater thought than simply indicating that I wished to use the same console that I have successfully employed all year on the James Taylor tour. With the exception of the Waves plug-ins settings from the SoundGrid effects rack, I have not yet built up a complete preset library for the James Taylor show on the DiGiCo. This was a project I have been saving until nearer the end of the tour when I was sure that no more significant changes would be occurring in any of the various areas of the console. Before diving into the detailed task of archiving the many console settings, I will need to learn how to save complete input and output strips as well as isolating individual equalization, compressor and gate settings for specific mics or instruments. I also need to discover where every parameter is stored and determine how to export each block of console data and Waves data to a USB key for future use so that I am able to copy individual elements to a console file being created for a different show.
After mixing on the Avid VENUE platform for eight years, I have developed extensive knowledge regarding both archiving and recall tasks within that format. This knowledge base, used in conjunction with my library of stored information, allows me to quickly build a new show file by knitting together various pieces from several separate show files.
This rapid access to one’s complete digital history is the distinct advantage of having established a continuous and meticulously documented relationship with a particular console platform. During this final leg of this year’s James Taylor tour, I will undertake building a complete DiGiCo SD5 database that will become the cornerstone of a new library of console specific information.
As setup time for the Seal date was extremely limited, it made greater sense to go with an Avid Profile at front of house so that I could take advantage of the wealth of console data already in my possession. I communicated that preference to Delicate and they indicated that Sergio Mendez’s FOH person with whom I would be sharing the desk had also requested the VENUE Profile. When I arrived at the venue on the set-up day, I quickly loaded Waves 9, T.C. Electronic VSS3 and DVR2 algorithms, plus a variety of pre-set folders gleaned from my more recent years of touring with James Taylor, Joe Walsh, Cher and Mariah Carey. From that starting point it was only a matter of entering the new Seal input list and then matching the best suited, closely linked input settings and plug-in parameters from the available preset data transferred off my USB sticks.
Had I had the opportunity of having the FOH console for a full day at the rehearsal venue, I may have opted for the SD5. I am extremely comfortable with both the sound and the operation of my SD5 and results so far have been especially pleasing. But this year on the SD5 has also been a constant work-in-progress and many settings, routings and plug-in choices have been in a state of flux as I have striven to unite my artistic goals with the console’s audio character and technological capabilities. I needed to make a choice that was best for all aspects of our production given the circumstances of this performance.
Toward the end of this year, there will be another Seal show for which my work process will also be significantly constrained by time, budget and equipment availability. I will be flying in on the morning of the show to adapt a significantly expanded input list because this performance will include a larger band than we saw at the Los Angeles show. The VENUE show file saved from this previous performance will still be the best starting point to produce rapid workflow and provide a predictable result. The local promoter has now agreed to make Profiles available for both monitors and FOH. Simple solutions are usually best for isolated one-day quick-hitters.
A second Seal performance before Christmas will finally give me the chance to build a complete show on the SD5. I will have as many as four rehearsal days with the full band to implement the changeover. Once the large band has been programmed onto the DiGiCo platform, I will gain a huge amount of flexibility. Having all of the patching, input and plug-in data available to me will allow me to customize the console setup for any combination of band members. DiGiCo also provides a program that translates a show file created on one SD format console to work on any of the others in their SD line, adding flexibility with local sound company inventories and the budget for a particular event. History in the making!
The very specific aspects of the various proprietary console interfaces continually influence my decision making for each project I take on. And the process of learning and growing goes on forever. Safe Travels!
