LONDON — Lars Brogaard, FOH engineer for Lionel Richie’s Just Go tour, is using a newly-purchased DiGiCo SD7 console — but not for the first time. Brogaard helped beta-test the SD7 and was the first engineer to take a D5 console on tour.
“I’m also Lionel’s production manager and my sound company, Major Tom, was awarded the contract to provide sound for the tour,” Brogaard said. “We needed to buy a console for this tour and so the SD7 was the obvious choice. Having been involved in helping to road test the console, I felt it was about time I actually owned one.
“I think it is a wonderful console,” Brogaard added. “For me the EQ is a big step forward. It’s a great EQ for live work because the slope is steeper than it was before and providing 24dB of cut or boost per octave is a real advantage.
“The effects are also fantastic,” Brogaard said. “It's all there, and the Stealth technology makes a big difference to the sound of the console, delivering crisp, clean highs and definitely more oomph in the low end.”
Although he uses snapshots as a starting point in each venue, Brogaard prefers to mix the shows by riding the SD7’s faders, ensuring that the uniqueness of each gig is accurately captured.
“I use snapshots to provide a basis for each night,” he said. “With this band there is no real need to be over-sophisticated, and I like to let the show build organically as it goes along each night, rather than stepping through presets.
“When you’re touring, the performances naturally change and evolve as the dates go by. I don’t believe in just trying to recreate the production rehearsals every night. It’s great that I can have that basis, but also the flexibility to actively mix every show. The band can really play and Lionel can really sing, so they are hugely enjoyable gigs to mix.
“It’s the best looking console on the market at the moment,” Brogaard added. “It has a real feel good factor. So when you sit down to work each night, you’re already feeling that it’s going to be a great show.”
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