Sound Company
Sound Image (Clair Global)
Venue
Various (Tour)
Crew
- FOH Engineer: Joe Walsh
- Monitor Engineer: Peter Roberts
- Tour Manager: Ken Denson
- Production Manager: Michael Richter
- Stage Manager: Chris Maguire
- Backline Techs: Paulie Karoutas (Kevin Cronin Tech), Tony Byrd (SL Guitar Tech), Chris Beatty (Bass and Keys Tech), John Aldridge (Drum Tech)
Gear
FOH
- Console: DiGiCo SD12
- Effects: On-board reverb, delays, comps and gates w/2 Tascam multimedia player/recorders
- Speakers: Varies with venue. Preferred: L-Acoustics, d&b or Meyer Sound. Typical setup: Main Hangs (per side): 10-14 line array, Side Hangs: 6-8 mid-sized line array, Flown Subs: 1 sub for every 2 boxes in the main hang, Ground Subs: 4-6 per side, Front Fills: 4-6 small line array, spaced 6-8 feet apart
MON
- Console: DiGiCo SD12-96
- Shared Rack: Consoles at FOH and monitors share an SD Rack with 32-bit mic pre’s
- Effects/Plugins: All Internal
- Outboard Rack Effects/Plugins: Neve 5045
- Vocal Mics: Telefunkin M80, Heil RC35
- IEMs, Transmitters & Receivers: Shure Axient, PSM 1000; JH Audio; Sensaphonics; Ultimate Ears
Tour Details
REO Speedwagon is an ‘arena rock’ band favorite, with decades in the industry. They are road warriors who always bring joy to their loyal fans, singing along with vocalist Kevin Cronin. The band’s latest tour (with support from Rick Springfield followed by Loverboy) followed their co-headlining tour with Train. The tour is run smoothly with the expertise of both Production Manager Michael Richter and Tour Manager Ken Denson at the helm. FRONT of HOUSE caught up with FOH engineer Joe Walsh and monitor engineer Peter Roberts for a few words about the tour.
FOH Engineer Joe Walsh is mixing REO Speedwagon on the DiGiCo SD12 console having first using the DiGiCo D5 back in the early 2000’s where he found the board to be very intuitive and easy to move around on. He then joined a tour that was using a different format and manufacturer, so it was in 2018 that he came back to DiGiCo using the SD12. “I loved the very warm sound of this desk. As far as improvements I think the on-board effects sound better as they have updated over the years. I use very little compression, and I feel the on-board comps and gates get the job done. Some functions have become more intuitive to use. And the graphics are sharper.”
After many years of being an independent engineer, Walsh joined Sound Image in 2001 as a FOH engineer. “I’ve now been there 23 years, doing many different acts over the years. With Clair Global coming in, it has made the company even stronger, and it has created a huge network for the touring employees. If we need a piece of gear, it’s never too far away.
“REO is a straightforward rock band, and working with them has been a great experience,” Walsh continues. “Because the band sound being sent to me is so well thought out, it’s easier to properly place things into the mix. I like to make it sound as close to the record and keep it familiar to the crowd’s ears. I don’t like to use a lot of compressors. I feel it can affect the dynamics of the band if overused. As far as effects, I do like to mimic the studio effects used on their records, and I’m open to whatever the client might want. With all band members on IEMs and no live cabinets on stage, that gives me full control over how the band sounds in the venue, getting a consistent sound throughout.”
Monitor Engineer Peter Roberts has been with the band for the last 20 years, so he knows what the band’s audio needs are. “Things haven’t really changed that much, either on the road or during rehearsals, mix-wise. Four years ago, though, the band decided not to use any live cabinets on stage. So all the guitar cabinets and my side fills went away. That was an adjustment for all. We run all the guitar amps and bass amps into Palmer PDI-03 speaker simulators.”
Roberts, like Walsh at FOH, is also using the DiGiCo SD12 console at his position. “I like the great sound quality of DiGiCo and the ease of navigating through the console, and the compact size of the desk makes it a plus for them to fit in any space requirements needed at venues.”
Roberts adds that the tour has a unique setup regarding the drum kit and triggers, with only four mikes on the kit [overheads, ride and high hat]. All the other drums are triggered through a Pearl Mimic Pro. “We have two Mimic Pros with one as redundant through a switcher, and all the trigger inputs are via a switcher as well. The snare drum has 10 triggers on the inside. There are two circuits of five triggers each, and the second circuit is a backup; the same as for all the kick and toms, also two circuits with multiple triggers. Drummer Bryan Hitt decided to change to trigger drums nearly three years ago. Once we adapted, the band didn’t really think twice about this change. It definitely tightened up the sound on stage.”
