NEW ORLEANS – More than three decades have passed since Stevie Wonder made a spontaneous appearance at the venerated New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. This year, he returned as a headliner at the rejuvenated post-Katrina fest on May 2. Dual DiGiCo D5 monitor consoles, under the direction of veteran engineers William Barnett and Dwayne Jones, managed Wonder’s extra-long input list — comprised of personal monitor mixes for three musicians, background vocalists, Stevie and floor monitor mixes.
Barnett had previously used the DiGiCo D5 at FOH on the “Best of Both Worlds” 2007-2008 tour with R. Kelly & Jay Z, and was impressed with its ease of use, sound quality and the “ability to control so many variables within such a small package.” Both Barnett and Jones concur that the DiGiCo D5 is one of the best sounding digital consoles available.
“I have been using DiGiCo consoles for five years on and off, but specifically for handling the Stevie Wonder tour in-ear mixes this past year,” says Barnett. “I find it to be far superior to some of the other digital consoles I've used in the past. We have a large input list and no other console gave me the ability to house upwards of 80 inputs in such a small frame and give me good sonic quality with ease of use as well.”
Having the ability to customize his layout as needed, without having to delve too deep into digital menu layers, is among Jones’ favorite features of the D5. “I like the touch screens very much and the fact that I can get to any of the band mixes quickly to make adjustments during the show,” he explains. “It has solved the challenge of being able to customize and change the layout of the desk on the fly so that with the touch of one button, I can get to any bank of inputs and outputs without searching through menus and layers like some other desks. Also, the standalone software allows me to make adjustments to my mix file without having the console in front of me, which is invaluable when you’re on the road.”
On this particular tour with Wonder, both Jones and Barnett have made use of the onboard 31-band EQ. For onstage floor monitors, Barnett uses a handful of internal effects including reverb plate for vocals and reverb room for acoustic guitar; Jones dials in compression and gating on some channels but virtually no effects. “All of the musicians are so great that the signals that they give me are exactly what they want them to be,” says Jones.
Working with Wonder, and mixing his in-ears in particular, might seem a bit unnerving. “Actually it’s not that difficult,” confesses Barnett. “I just try to put together the most perfect mix I can possibly muster up and it is usually acceptable for him! He is a very patient and understanding artist and I think he responds much better to technical problems and hiccups much better than me as well. Doing in-ears for him with the DiGiCo D5 has definitely made me a better engineer!”
ACTION ITEM:
For more information, please visit www.digico.org
