LOS ANGELES – Veteran mix engineer Jim Ebdon joined Maroon 5's 2011 tour across the U.S. earlier this year using a DiGiCo SD7 console, the new SD192 Rack and Waves SoundGrid bundle. He was no stranger to DiGiCo gear, having used a D5 for many years on global tours with Maroon 5, as well as with Aerosmith, Matchbox Twenty, Annie Lennox and Sting, and credited the SD192 Rack and Waves plugin for providing a ample boost in power, sonics and other subtle enhancements.
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Maroon 5 Bring ‘Moves Like Jagger' To Sold-Out Shows
Veteran Mix Engineer Jim Ebdon Drives The Band's Sound Nightly With A Rock-Solid SD7 Powered By The New SD192 Rack & Waves SoundGrid Bundle
Armed with a new CD and the buzz of leader Adam Levine's stint on the hit NBC show, "The Voice," Maroon 5 are traversing the country on what is perhaps one of the hottest U.S. tours of the summer with fellow indie rockers, Train. The largely sold-out tour hit 40+ venues across the states from July through the end of September. Veteran mixer Jim Ebdon once again handled the band's FOH sound on a DiGiCo SD7, powered by the new DiGiCo SD Rack with the system clocking at a smooth 96kHz. No stranger to DiGiCo, he cut his teeth behind the faders of a D5 for many years on global tours with Maroon 5, as well as with Aerosmith, Matchbox Twenty, Annie Lennox and Sting. Ebdon traded up to an SD7 for Aerosmith's massive 2007 North American tour and as a self-confessed fan of "less is more" at FOH, he was able to find everything he needed onboard the console and has been a happy camper ever since. For the summer Maroon 5 outing, he decided to add the DiGiCo/Waves SoundGrid bundle for some added color.
"In my opinion, DiGiCo consoles-whether it's the SD7 or any of the new ones like the SD8, SD9, SD10-are the best-sounding digital consoles currently available," Ebdon stated. "And I love the extra boost I get in power and sonics now that we've upgraded from the DiGiRacks to the new SD192 rack! So with a great sound right off the bat, I was curious to know why anyone would want to taint it by adding plug-ins, or any other outboard gear? Nevertheless, being a sucker for trying different stuff, I decided to get my hands on the Waves SoundGrid for this tour and was pleasantly surprised. It's subtle but noticeable. As Waves has been an industry standard in studios for years, it's was nice to have access to the plug-ins on the road. The console sounds so good on its own, so I'm not using Waves to make the console better, but rather to achieve a different color, dynamic and depth to my mix. I like being able to hear what the plug-in is actually doing! I went immediately to the SSL Channel EQ and the SSL Stereo Bus Compressor and have used the compressor across my drums quite a bit and love how it just fattens up the drum sound. Waves has a proprietary "H Compressor" and the "H Delay", both of which sound amazing. The delay has some really wacky presets, which can make any sound more interesting! Having used outboard processing for years, these new software-based versions are fantastic and sound equally as timeless. Overall, I've found the Waves plug-in bundle has a lot to choose from and can be a useful tool to add a different ambiance to what the console already offers. But fundamentally, I'm a sound engineer and if I can get a balance up without any of that extra stuff-and capture the vibe of what's happening onstage in that moment-I've achieved my goal. Anything else is just icing on an already delicious cake!"
So how does he capture that vibe nightly, in varying venues both indoors and out? "I EQ the PA every day and I try to keep the sound as consistent as I can. If I'm in a boomy room, there's a certain way I tend to mix, which of course will be different than if I were in a tight room, or if there's no walls at all. Outdoor gigs are great because you can get a fantastic, clinical sound-and that's really what it is, a clinical sound. It can perhaps be a little boring I find. I prefer to get some vibe off of walls and a roof… It just adds to the excitement of the sound. I have never forgotten the excitement of the first live show I went to… Although being on the road for weeks on end some say it can be easy to get kind of blasé about mixing sound and to just go through the motions of doing the show every night, but I really try to create not only a great sound, but also an amazing audio experience for the people that love the band and who only get to see them once a year. And the console helps me to do that by offering ease of use and an accurate sound. I know exactly what I'm listening to."
With the addition of a touring keyboardist, Maroon "6" comprise approximately 54 inputs at FOH for onstage instrumentation and audience mics for the occasional recording. Ebdon's go-to features this time around are the onboard multiband compressor, macros and the DiGi-Tube emulation, which he uses extensively for guitars. "The macros I've found to be very useful. For instance, there are some places during the performance that I'll need to switch off 4 or 5 gates simultaneously or quickly set a different decay time on a reverb… It's now so easy to program these moves into macros. But I'm not really doing anything overly drastic for this tour. The band has grown and evolved again since the last US tour in 2010 and they're sounding better than ever. Fortunately, all the sounds that are coming off the stage are fantastic. It's a win/win situation all around. We also went back to using Pro Tools for this tour for backing vocals and percussion."
After the U.S. leg of the summer tour came to a close, Maroon 5 had a short break before heading to Europe and continue until year's end. "Essentially, this has been one of the best-selling shed tours of the summer, and it's a great double bill with Train," said Ebdon. "Having two-headliners on a tour can be very trying and tense a lot of the time, but the Train crew has been fantastic to work with. With Adam's TV show, as well as the new single, "Moves Like Jagger" climbing the charts, it has kicked everything up a notch. The marketing for this band and the tour has been amazing, as have the reviews, not to mention, it's put the band back in the Top 20. I'm just very honored and fortunate to be along for the ride."
