Maryland Sound, Mickey Beck and Will Miller Deliver "Straight to You"
Touring to support his fifth studio recording, the Rick Rubin-produced Illuminations, singer Josh Groban toured many North American markets this summer, returning to Europe for the remainder of the year. The "Straight to You Tour," named after a track on Illuminations, is playing indoor arenas.
For this North American tour, Maryland Sound International (MSI) once again provided sound reinforcement, a role they've filled since 2004, since Groban's first tour with MSI and Bob Goldstein. "I think they have always understood what kind of artist he is and what it would take to represent him in the best light," states Mickey Beck, Front of House engineer for the tour. "The show has always been pretty complicated, with upwards of 100 inputs and a lot of wireless equipment, so their [MSI] experience and access to quality gear has allowed them to be successful."
Beck has been mixing for approximately 15 years, cutting his teeth working for small sound companies and clubs on the East Coast. "I like to think that working with dodgy gear in difficult environments is the best sort of training a live engineer can have. What better way to learn how to trouble-shoot when you're never sure if your system is going to work?" he asks. Beck joined with MSI in 2003, landing on Groban's 2004 tour, where he happened to meet jazz artist Chris Botti. "Between those two acts, I've been able to consistently work for the past seven years. The best part is they're both very classy, dynamic and interesting gigs. There's a lot of classical influence, so I've had a chance to do a ton of work with symphony orchestras. Plus, both shows have their rock and roll moments, but they're generally easy on the ears."
Choosing a System
Beck was instrumental in choosing what equipment the tour would use, picking his favorite products that he was comfortable using. "There's a small handful of PA systems that I would go between without any worry of a loss in quality, but the Studer Vista5 stood out from all the other consoles," recalls Beck. He chose the console because of its ability to run 128+ channels at a 96K sampling rate. "This was important, because I wanted to stay away from a second desk for sub-mixing, but also because the modern line array can be so accurate, I wanted to ‘live' at 96K through the digital chain. The Studer pre-amps are unmatched in the live world, and it offers a very transparent sound. It maintains and accurately represents subtle nuances of whatever the source is. What goes in, comes out."
He also likes the EQ, stating it is as accurate as any he's heard to date, while being flexible with regards to routing and snapshots. "Perhaps the coolest part is the incorporation of the Waves MultiRack plug-in software platform," he continues. "I have access to 32 channels in/out over MADI for inserts and effects. I'm using Waves Live bundle, which gives me access to lots of vintage dynamics, EQ and effects. However, my main reverb is for Josh and the orchestra is a Lexicon 960L."
Each night, the performance is recorded – 128 channels in/out at 96K over MADI, recorded into Cubase. "Not only for archiving purposes, but we record to give me the ability to run a virtual soundcheck without the band on stage. That can save a lot of time and be really helpful when you need it."
The drive system consists of two Dolby Lake processors (8 in/8 out) for system EQ, delay and matrixing. The signal then hits Crown I-tech 12000HD amps, travelling as AES/EBU at 96K, staying that way from FOH to amplifier. A fully redundant analog backup drive chain is present, which can take over seamlessly at any time if necessary.
The PA includes JBL VT4889 for main and side arrays, VT4880a for subwoofers and VT4887 for front fill. "The VT4889 is a very musical and accurate box that can move a lot of air if you ask it to," explains Beck. "The new V5 DSP settings developed by Paul Bauman at JBL has upped the clarity even further and made it that much more of a pleasure to mix on."
As most venues on the tour are consistent in terms of capacity, the PA doesn't change too much from night to night. "I like to keep things consistent, so we generally go 12 boxes deep for the main and side arrays," says Beck. "In the bigger arenas, we'll bump them to 14 deep, and down to 10 in the smaller ones. The sub configuration has worked out really nice: we are using eight VT4880a's per side in the air, as well as eight stacked side by side in the middle downstage edge." Floor subwoofers are arranged in a cardioid configuration, which are electronically steered to widen the pattern and reduce the inevitable power alley down the middle. "The result has been a nice, smooth and concussive low end." The downstage edge also contains six VT4887s in stereo for front fill.
Mic Selection
Beck trusts Monitor engineer Will Miller, to assemble most of the microphones selected for the tour. "We've worked together for so many years on this gig, and others, that we see eye to eye on most of it," explains Beck. "My biggest contribution to mic selection would be suggesting the DPA4099 for the strings. I've been able to work with so many orchestras and great pianists over the years, that I've learned if you want to amplify an acoustic instrument without a pickup, use DPA."
Groban uses a Neuman KMS105 capsule on a Sennheiser 5000RF transmitter, while band vocals are wired Sennheiser e965s. Drums and percussion feature Shure microphones, all paired with Radial DIs. For the horn sections, cardioid condenser mics from Sennheiser are used. "They're pretty easy because you can get them right up on the loud part of the instrument," states Beck.
Strings are a different story however: "the DPA mics have a wider pickup pattern, which is one of the reasons they sound so good. The problem is, not only does the mic hear everything around it, but the instrument resonates with the loud volume on stage as well," continues Beck. "We try to minimize this by strategic placement of Plexiglas shields around the stage and we lucked out because the show designers put them pretty far from the drum kit. In general though, it's pretty quiet on stage, given that the whole band is on ears and the loudest backline pieces like guitar and Leslie cabinets are hidden under the stage."
The acoustic pianos can sometimes be a challenge to mic. "I use two DPA 4020s, and the low section of a Helpinstill pickup system," says Beck. "It's an unorthodox trick that I picked up from a great sound engineer named Steve Guest. It's brilliant because the Helpinstill is basically just a magnetic pickup. It sits just above the low strings on the piano and it's very directional. You can use the DPA mics to get a real, resonant sound, while at the same time using the pickup to get the warm bottom. If you try to reproduce that stuff with the mics, you will never get the headroom you need. You can simply high-pass the mics, lean on the Helpinstill, and get tons of gain. Works great!"
Monitor Beach
Will Miller has been mixing monitors for Josh Groban for 9 years now, having worked previously with artists such as Disturbed, Bow Wow, and Tears for Fears. He utilizes two Yamaha PM1Ds, with 56 mix busses and a dozen matrices to cover everything. "It's a lot of outputs to go with a lot of inputs (140 or so)," explains Miller. "I've been mixing on PM1Ds for a long time. They're incredibly reliable, consistent and have one of the best surfaces in terms of moving around quickly. No function is more than two button pushes away, which is huge when you have so much going on at once."
The wireless systems used include a variety of products. As Miller recounts, "we use an extra guitar Tx/Rx for an offstage guitarist, a Shure UR headset mic for our percussionist and two guest channels of Shure UR handhelds with a few different capsules available in case someone shows up." All performers, save one, are on wireless IEMs, including Miller's cue, techs mixes and a spare mix. A total of 18 channels of Shure PSM900 RF IEM are used.
MSI's proprietary monitors are used on stage, with Miller using a mix of MSI HEX-12 and HEX-15 point source wedges. "They have an amazing coverage pattern and sound really, really good," exclaims Miller. "I've got 10 across the downstage edge, two at the piano, and four on the B Stage. They allow me to get a really full, clean mix, without having to hack away at frequencies. It's great, because it can be loud and sound good, which is absolutely necessary for this gig."
Miller provides Groban with a full, album-familiar mix. "I was told when he first moved to wedges, that the directive was ‘Make the wedges sound like the ears!' No easy task…" The other musicians on stage get a personal mix, with as much as Miller can provide them for customization. "I'll do anything in my power to help them," says Miller. "It can be tedious writing in so many cues, but that's the gig. Or, at least that's how I perceive the gig."
