WASHINGTON, DC – Crosby, Stills & Nash are still touring, with 2010 dates in a variety of venues and festivals in the U.S. and Europe. FOH engineer Kevin Madigan is using his DiGiCo D5 to bring their harmony-infused, mellow protest songs to old and new fans.
"I've been using DiGiCo for about five years, and there's still no better digital console in my opinion," said Madigan. "I sometimes have to use other consoles on a one-off basis, but I always come back to my favorite because of its excellent sound quality and layout."
The tour is using a d&b J Line main system, with J-subs and B2s. Madigan sends left, right and sub outputs from the D5, from which sends for in, out and front fills are derived. All processing is done within the D5, except for Manley ELOP electro-optical limiters on vocal inserts and a Manley Variable Mu over the L-R outputs. "I don't have to use them, but I love them," Madigan noted.
With venues ranging from theaters to arenas, sheds and open air festivals, the DiGiCo console has been coping with a wide range of audience sizes. Along with the range of venues, Madigan credited the console for also handling wide temperature extremes – even if that's not so much a factor on this particular tour.
Madigan also gave the console high marks, not only for helping him let CS&N's vocal harmonies sit perfectly in the mix, but also for the console's ability to not bring attention to itself. "It's great when the audiences appreciate the sound, but the best thing is actually when they say nothing," said Madigan. "If the FOH sound just becomes part of the music, that's great."
For more information, please visit www.digico.org.
