We catch up with Brad Madix, Brent Carpenter and Rush.
To say that Rush is a damn good rock band would be the understatement of the last four decades. Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson are three of the best at what they do in the world. When they perform live, it’s a mind-boggling experience. Since the release of the band's self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on science fiction, fantasy and libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional and environmental concerns.
They were in this when live sound reinforcement was just a scared little kid. Now that our industry has grown up by leaps and bounds, Rush’s sound has evolved along with it.The show went well and Madix drove the rig at about 101 to 103 dB throughout most of it. Our handheld SPL meter spiked a few times and only on some controlled accents. Above all, the acoustical challenges of the Marcus were only a small drizzle of rain as they opened the gates, dampening the sold-out Summerfest performance. These guys get it!
We caught up with them in Milwaukee, Wis., at the Marcus Amphitheater, a small (23,000-capacity) shed on the shore of Lake Michigan. This was the middle of the band’s 2008 Snakes and Arrows North American tour. The crew had flown the Clair I4 rig in what almost seemed to be a land-to-air record. Then a small problem arose, and the stage right fly had to come down right before sound check. They had it back in the air in no time. After sound check, we sat down with FOH engineer Brad Madix to talk about some of the perfunctory issues on this swing of the tour. Sitting behind a Digidesign Venue, he started out with much enthusiasm.
FOH: So what sold you on the Digidesign Venue for this particular tour?
Brad Madix: I used this desk with Shakira, so I wanted to bring it over from my experience with that. I like the smaller Profile version of it. The plug-ins for this are studio-quality. During my stretch with Shakira, I talked with them about what they used on the record and how they made the record, and we went and got the same stuff, and it was exactly the same stuff.
Who chose the mics on this tour?
Brent (monitor engineer) and I do in tandem with the band. Rush pretty much likes what they hear. These guys told us “you guys need to use what works for you!” Geddy’s pretty particular about the vocals and what works with the vocals, of course. We took five or six mics and narrowed them down to one and that’s how it worked out.
Do you use any standard outboard gear in your mix?
There’s not much outboard. I run Geddy through a Lake IO just for EQ. It’s a very flexible EQ. It serves as both a shaping as well as feedback control, and you can keep it pretty tight… Then I use a Pro Tools record rack. They are very handy for tuning the PA. Plus, if there is something that is not quite working in the room for you at that venue you can touch it up before the band walks on stage. The rest is plug-in. I use Eventide Anthology, and a few other sidekicks are in there as well. Then there’s the incredible potpourri that comes with the desk, which is highly functional.
Monitor engineer Brent Carpenter masts some heavy duties. Just about a half hour before the show, he found time to clue us in on the monitor situation.
What kind of personal monitors are you using with this tour?
Brent Carpenter: All three band members are on Ultimate Ears UE-7 Pros. I find that the isolation that I get from the UEs, the way they are manufactured and the materials they use are really far superior to the other major personal ear monitor companies. There may be someone else out there, but I haven’t found another company that does a better job.
How’s the service from Ultimate Ears?
They have treated me like I was the only guy on the planet, and that goes a long way when you’re in the middle of a large tour. They call me all the time and ask me if things are cool. I have never had a problem on this tour, but when I have on previous ones, I send it, they fix it and sent it right back to me. I have never missed a show with them.
Why do you like their molds so much?
The UEs are way better molds than I have been able to find out there. The band is extremely pleased with them. The EQ circuitry that they’re using now, even from last summer, is superior in just that short amount of time. They actually take your impression and put it in a 3D laser scanner. Then they have a laser cutter cut the ear monitor out of the material.”
What kind of new things are you doing on this tour in regard to miking?
Most of the mics on stage are Audio-Technica, with a smattering of Shure products as well. We use three Shure SM 98s to pick up certain points on the cymbals that are not being picked up well with the overheads. That’s because Neil plays with a very wide, open kit and it’s hard to pick up every cymbal like he wants to hear it with just two overheads.
On the Kick, we’re using the Audio Technica AE 2500 — it’s a duel element mic so there’s two elements in one shell, and they’re perfectly time-aligned with each other, which is really nice. The snare is a 23 HE on the top. It’s a good all around mic, kind of like an old Shure SM product. On the bottom is an AE 5100 and that is their pencil condenser. Then we went with an AE 450 on the hi hat that is a side-address pencil condenser. Neil’s kit is so tight that it’s really hard to get a mic in there pointed down. So, we went with this side address. We can’t stick it in there from the side because it has a polar pattern that points straight down. I have to say that a lot of what we do couldn’t be done without our system engineer Joe Ravitch and our monitor tech Anson Moore — it just wouldn’t be possible!
