Maybe it's the fact that, as the owner of a mid-level company, I never get the chance to slow down long enough to get complacent, and instead find myself looking at every aspect of the rig, crew and all the other details that can make or break a gig, examining them over and over again to make sure nothing is missed. Or maybe when you travel with the same act for a while you just naturally get used to a specific way of doing things. Or maybe it's both. Whatever. But I had a gig recently that made me think about what we think about. The show was with a major act who normally travels with a full rig. This gig was a oneoff that was not part of the scheduled tour, so they decided to make it a fly date at a venue where my company handles all of the larger shows. We were hired to do full audio and backline production. We do this for other acts at this venue and other venues, so on the surface it didn't seem like a big deal. The important part of that sentence is the part that says "on the surface."
We put together the backline with SIR Las Vegas, and they had everything the client requested. So far, so good. The band required 16 personal monitor rigs and 12 RF mics as well. Again, no real issues there… The FOH and monitor guys both wanted digital consoles. I didn't have an issue with this, either — give 'em what they want, right? The problem was in the "why" of wanting those digital desks. I was thinking they wanted them because it was what they were used to using on the tour, but I was only partially right. Evidently, their thinking was more like, "Lets make it a real easy day. We can just put our disks in and go! No sound check!" Yeah, right.
This is not a rant about digital consoles — I own four of them. No, this is a rant about incorrect assumptions and expecting the gear to do the heavy lifting for you. Using those digital consoles on tour with the same PA, same mic package, same personal monitors and same backline makes perfect sense to me. Nothing of real relevance changes. Gain structure is basically the same. Maybe some subtle EQ changes, but basically you're good to go. You gotta love that digital console! But when you're flying in for a one-off with a different PA, different mic package and rented backline, how can you expect your disc to set up the console for you? Sure, basic I/O routing will stay the same, but anything else has the potential to change.
Back at the gig, the monitor guy is freaking because his gains are off the map for his PMs. The FOH guy is complaining that the PA "doesn't sound right — what's wrong with it?" They seem so befuddled that things are not the same as at any other tour stop. "I mean, I put my disc in so it should be fine."
My outside voice: "Well, dude, what vocal mics are you touring with? Oh, well, remember we gave you these other mics you asked for because you said you wanted to try them?"
My inside voice: Of course they don't sound the same and the gain is way off.
My outside voice: "What line array are you touring with? Yeah, this ain't it. That big sound company doesn't sell their speakers so, um, maybe you should flatten the EQ and start over?"
Maybe if we had forced them to use a trusty Midas XL-4,or a Soundcraft Series 5 and made them actually do their gig, we wouldn't have been there all day while they figured it out. You know? "Let's make this a real easy day; just put our disc in and go." Hmmm…
Maybe I'm wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time. Hell, it wouldn't even be the first time today, but maybe the digital console doesn't always meet the fly date rider in real life. I am going to Hell for writing this, aren't I?
