In this age of digital devices, I am often asked if I have ever considered returning to mixing on an analog console for my touring clients. My answer is always an unequivocal “No!” Since 2006, when I migrated away from analog to an exclusively digital mixing rig, I have confidently embraced the audio technology, the work surface and the software that comprise working in a digital environment. The positive contributions to the successful execution of my art so heavily outweigh any possible negatives that I have never felt any twinges of nostalgia for the massive consoles and outboard equipment racks that once inhabited my FOH mixing position. Digital mixing generates layers of repeatability, recall agility, snapshot complexity and plug-in diversity that, quite simply, are impossible in the analog world.
I am so spoiled by the sheer vastness of the available artistic panorama that moving backwards to a more limited, finite realm is now unthinkable.
Making Choices
During the past seven years, I have employed Avid’s VENUE D-Show and Profile consoles almost exclusively while touring with James Taylor, Cher, Joe Walsh, Stevie Nicks and Bette Midler. Avid has been incredibly supportive in every way on each project in which I have been involved. The results have been consistently excellent, and audiences around the world have been treated to the best audio product I am capable of presenting on any given night. However, seven years is an eternity in the digital processing world. Consider the advancements we have seen in laptop computers, tablets and telephones in that period of time. I have upgraded those devices several times in the last seven years.
In the past year, I have been exposed to two digital mixing platforms that are causing me to consider specifying an alternative to the venerable VENUE for this year’s James Taylor tour. I have been fortunate to spend considerable time exploring the new Solid State Logic L500 Live Console. I have also had the opportunity to mix two shows on DiGiCo SD series consoles and I am very drawn to the SD5 format. Both platforms offer features and capabilities that incorporate seven years of progress resulting in substantially improved design and performance. However, each platform also presents a rather steep learning curve for gaining functional familiarity with both the software interface and the operation of the control surface. Furthermore, moving to either manufacturer’s operating system makes my digital history from the past seven years nearly obsolete. That fact by itself is enough to discourage one from following through on thoughts of change.
The Good Old Days
Contemplating the daunting task of launching a digital console platform shift precipitates a bit of wistful nostalgia for the analog console days. Although it required a bit of study and keeping an operation manual handy, moving from one analog console to another was a relatively easy task. Every channel strip was certain to include a gain pot, a pad switch, a high pass filter switch or pot, an equalizer, an insert point in/out switch, aux send buses with pre/post switches, a mute button and a fader. It only took a few moments to find each function’s location and to determine the various operational parameters for each section. Another few minutes spent studying a line drawing of the signal path could reveal the more arcane secrets of routing and organization.
Each analog desk manufacturer may have had, or has, their own unique channel strip layout and color-coding, but everything was always there in front of you. Observation, identification and subsequent adaptation to an unfamiliar surface presented a rather gentle learning curve. Nomenclature and labeling were often the most confusing items preventing successful integration with the surface, but a few minutes spent gleaning the correct definitions and procedures from the manual was usually adequate to resolve any functional difficulties. The manner in which mute group, subgroup, and VCA group assignments were accomplished as well as the operation of the output matrix were often the most obscure procedures one needed to master.
The rear panels and patch bays of most analog desks are also easily mastered. The function of the various XLR, 1/4-inch, TT or MIDI connectors are usually clearly labeled, and their functions are readily discernable. Once a degree of familiarity was been established with an analog desk, it simply became a matter of busywork: button punching and knob turning. Getting a reasonably good show up and running is/was something accomplished in a window measured in hours.
A fully programmed analog desk, however, gives rise to its own demons. If global shipping is not an option, how does one successfully transfer settings from an established show to another desk? We used to make template drawings of every knob and switch from every input and output module on the entire console with the individual settings meticulously annotated by hand. It took long hours to “back up” a console this way and even more hours to meticulously transfer these “stored” settings to another desk. And even then, the final result was only an approximate duplicate because of differences in silk screening accuracy and pot increment variations from console to console.
The Digital Alternative
I much prefer loading an exact copy of an entire console setup from a USB key, thereby eliminating the guesswork and the hours of tedious manipulation. This data would include an archive of all previous show setups from which I can load the most applicable template. I also depend on recalling snapshots of each song and accessing large custom libraries of complete input strips, effects settings, EQ settings and dynamics settings that make up a large part of the saved console data. So now the circle leads back to preprogramming an existing show onto a new digital console format.
One must initially accept and embrace this reality: There is no software compatibility among the operating systems utilizing the various manufacturers of digital consoles. Many OS’s are Windows-based systems, but that is where the similarity ends. All manufacturers have developed their own concept of getting signal from input to output and through the various processing modes that inhabit the region in between. Creating a project from scratch requires a serious investment in learning time and the gradual absorption of knowledge resulting from discovery, trial and error and repetition.
If one has the luxury of a long rehearsal period, the process of adapting to a new platform is far less daunting. In this situation, one can include a multitrack recording rig and gradually build up a complex show by playing back each day’s recording as the source material. One can create custom snapshots, experiment with insert plug-ins, program delays and reverbs and fine tune EQ’s during the time the band is not onstage. This is the ideal situation for learning about and developing trust in an unfamiliar operating system and its associated hardware.
Back to the Present
But in the specific circumstances surrounding the James Taylor tour, I do not have significant rehearsal time. We often go into the venue at the first tour stop just two or three days before the show. The first day is customarily dedicated to tech setup, and the next two days are allocated to rehearsal. Working on this timetable, it is necessary for me to get to load-in with a show that is about 90 percent complete. In order to accomplish this pre-preparation, I am going to need help from the manufacturer and other engineers who possess a strong working knowledge of whichever system I choose to employ for this upcoming tour. In subsequent columns, I will describe what platform choice I make and how the particular process of programming unfolds.
Until then, safe travels.
