I have been privileged to provide audio gear and production for Good Charlotte on a few occasions and the band has always sounded great–a fact that I attribute not only to the equipment, but to the professionalism of their seasoned engineers. I was scheduled to arrive at the Good Charlotte show at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia to interview their audio engineers, but true to form, I got overbooked and couldn't make it. Fortunately, I managed to catch up to Vince Buller (monitors) and Gary Ferenchak (FOH) in cyberspace for a conversation, and they were sporting enough to make the dialogue happen. Who decided upon the system you are using on this tour and was it designed for a specific type of venue (i.e. amphitheaters) or for a variety of venues? Can you explain the setup?
Gary Ferenchak: I chose the system with Owen Orzack from Eighth Day Sound. We were looking at either d&b or V-DOSC, and we went with d&b. We both agreed that this would be the smarter choice on several fronts not to mention this is also my favorite system on which to mix. It is a great system in every situation I have seen. It sounds amazing whether hung or stacked. It is also very lightweight, and packs tightly in a truck. I was told we were only able to have half of a 53-foot semi trailer for the whole P.A./monitor system. This system took up 28 feet.
Vince Buller: The system that was used on the Noise to the World U.S. tour with Good Charlotte and A Simple Plan was a d&b system. It was designed to be able to be used in many types of venues.
Why did you choose a d&b system instead of an EV or some other rig? Are you flying the rig every night or stacking it some nights?
GF: The d&b rig is a great rock rig. You do a really aggressive rock mix and still mix in "hi-fi." We flew most nights, but on occasion, we had to stack.
Are there any difficulties in mixing the band at Front of House or monitors, and do you need or like any specific equipment to counter these problems?
GF: They are a pretty straightforward bunch to mix. The singers are not very loud and their stage volume can be a challenge. I have been using Audio-Technica microphones on the vocals with great success. I use a 5000 series wireless on the lead vocal with an AE3300 capsule. I can get his voice right where I need to in spite of the loud guitars and cymbals. I use an AE6100 wired microphone on the backup vocal. It's the first microphone that I've used where I don't have to always turn his channel on and off every time he sings.
VB: Good Charlotte is not difficult to mix; I just need to keep my eye on them cause they do a lot of running around.On that note, are there any toys that you just need to have to enhance the show?
GF: I like to stereo sub-mix the drums, compress the hell out of them and crank the outputs. I usually use a stereo summit for that. Or just slum it with dbx160s. Oh, and a Midas XL4 helps too.
VB: No, I don't use toys; I just EQ the monitor system correctly.
Why do you have the Midas Heritage 3000 at Front of House and the DiGiCo D5 at the monitor position? Do you have any preference for digital or analog, and do you think one sounds better and is easier to use than the other?
GF: I didn't see any real need to have a D5 at FOH. We had the channels we needed and D5s are still pretty pricey. I enjoy mixing analog, but I am not opposed to going digital if it makes more sense.
VB: I use the DiGiCo D5 because there were two headliners and an opening act that all wanted their own specific channels. The capability to recall a specific band in the change over time made life a lot easier. No, I don't have a preference over digital or analog. The digital console was the way to go.
Any special microphones that you use? If so, why?
GF: I have been using the Audio-Technica AE2500 dual capsule microphone on kick drum as well as my two main guitar rigs. They sound great on guitar and it's only one microphone to place if you use a Z bar with no stands.
Vince, how are the monitors configured for the band? I see that there are six mixes of PSM700, but you also have side- fills/drumfills and 12 d&b M2 wedges. Is the band mostly on PMs?
VB: The monitor system consists of stage left and stage right side-fills, four mixes across the front, one butt mix and one drum mix I also use for the upstage right and upstage left guitar tech mixes. On top of that, I use four IEM mixes for Good Charlotte. For A Simple Plan, I used five IEM mixes and no floor monitors. I used d&b monitors for GC as Joel doesn't use IEMs, and I prefer the lowend response from a floor wedge.
Vince, do you find that you are mixing each song for the band while doing monitors, or do they settle in and just play dynamically once you've got them all dialed in?
VB: No, I don't find myself mixing each song, but I make slight adjustments as the show goes on due to the change in the way the band plays.
What was the most challenging audio moment for you while mixing the band? GF: Once, I had to mix them using a small Mackie board and a small Peavey board at the same time. Into two different P.A.s that were stacked together. This was FOH and monitors. Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huckjam was tough as well. They put you way up in the second tier of the arena, off to one side, because they need room for the skateboard ramps and the cycle jumps.
With which other bands do you work?
GF: Well, before Good Charlotte, I did FOH and tour-managed for GWAR.
VB: I've worked in the business for 20 years and I have too many bands to list. The most recent are Prince, Tracy Chapman and Björk.
How long does the band usually tour, and do you take all the same gear when you go out of the country?
GF: They usually do about 18 months per album cycle with very few breaks. I take our microphones everywhere. We will now start to carry our PM racks that we got from Futuresonics.
Do you ever rely upon local providers for your shows?
GF: Very often. I'll mix and or drive anything!
VB: Yes, but I carry my own PMs.
Who's the better engineer?
GF: Vince is a much better monitor engineer than I.
VB: I don't think it's a competition between FOH and monitor engineers. We are both there to do a job at the best of our ability.
How much beer can you drink before the mix gets sloppy?
GF: I don't drink beer. Think of something green…
VB: I take my job seriously and don't drink.
Who gets the most girls?
VB: The profession I'm in has a bad rap with regards to girls, drugs and alcohol. I have a serious relationships and family life at home. I'm out on tour to do my job and I don't care about the women. I've spent years being looked down upon as a dirty roadie, the fact being I've spent years becoming a professional audio engineer and in charge of an audio crew on a tour–yes, a monitor engineer can be a crew chief. Every year, technology changes and I'm learning all the time. Bottom line is I'm a professional touring guy, not a dirty roadie, and don't have any time for ignorant people who think it's all about partying. An 18-hour day to me is not a party.
Do you think girls are more impressed by an engineer who uses a digital or analog board?
GF: Analog! They are bigger with more knobs.
