NEW YORK — Engineer Chris Rabold has guided rock band Widespread Panic’s sonic path live on tour since 2001. A total of 60-plus inputs accommodate everything from the six-piece band’s gear (the percussionist uses 21 alone), triggers and audience mics for recording — plus an allotted six lines for guest artists, so there’s a lot to manage at all times. Given the opportunity, Rabold jumped at the chance to take an SD7 out for a spin on Panic’s U.S. fall dates.
“I’ve been mixing this band for a while now, and am continually looking for ways to improve their sound,” offers Rabold. “I used a D5 in 2005 with very favorable results but spent the past few years on another desk, which was a fine product in and of itself. However, when I went back and listened to mixes I had done on the D5, it reminded me of just how astounding the depth of field was with the DiGiCo — something that I specifically remember commenting on when I first mixed on one. Eighth Day Sound has always been a very strong proponent of DiGiCo, and after a few playful nudges from the guys, I decided to give the SD7 a look. “
I knew the DiGiCo would give me a better, purer input than anything out there and after flying up to Eight Day’s shop in Cleveland to give the console a spin, I knew my thinking was correct. I literally sat up for three all-night mixing sessions, playing back tracks I’d recorded through converters other than that of an SD7, and taking the desk through its paces. The processing power the desk affords you, as a mixer, is pretty impressive to say the least. My EQ moves were minimal, the dynamics were phenomenal (never thought I’d say that about a digital desk) and the summing busses never had that ‘choked’ sound common on other digital consoles. Needless to say, I was totally blown away by the sonic quality of the desk.”
With a few thousand miles and a bunch of shows under his proverbial belt with the SD7, Rabold says his satisfaction rate has increased exponentially. “Now that the desk’s converters are being put to use live, the inputs themselves have never sounded better. The top end on the desk is so smooth and so distinctly different from any other console on the market. You can just place things so easily within the soundscape without a lot of fuss. I don’t feel like I’m trying to jam everything together; there’s space and there’s depth.”
Rabold also expressed a desire early on to get back to a console where he didn’t need to embellish or augment it with external plug-ins and/or effects to get the sound he was looking for.
“I’ve grown tired of ‘dolling up’ my inputs with processing just to get them to the point where I felt satisfied with them. I do have a few of my favorite analog dynamics pieces inserted, but I’ve found myself turning units off that I’ve relied on for years. I just don’t need to go too far to get the sounds I’m looking for with the SD7.”
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