LONDON – Danish rockers Volbeat are currently in the midst of a European tour to promote their album Beyond Hell/Above Heaven. With inspiration ranging from Elvis Presley to Metallica, the band's unique sound features two DiGiCo consoles on the live shows.
Supplied by Danish audio company DPA SoundCo, which has a wide range of DiGiCo consoles in its inventory (purchased from DiGiCo's Danish distributor Soundware), the Volbeat touring rig features an SD7 at the Front of House position and a D5 on monitors.
"I have been using the D1 and D5 for the last couple of years, but the size of this tour gave me the opportunity to work with the SD7 and it has been a very pleasing experience," said FOH engineer Mads Mikkelsen.
"I love using the dynamic EQ and three-band compressors. I use them on almost all my outputs and on many of the input channels. For example the guitars use very different sounds from one song to another. I need them to work hard when they play punk guitar and not so hard on the heavier songs."
Mikkelsen is also a fan of the SD7's effects engines, adding, "The internal FX are very good. The reverbs are some of the best I have heard in a digital console, easily matching most well-known outboard equipment. I only carry one piece of outboard, so it also gives me a nice and tidy FOH area."
One of the key design aims of the SD7 was to harness a great deal of digital power whilst keeping an "analog feel," meaning a fast and efficient workflow for the user.
"I think that one of the things that makes it difficult for many people to change from an analog to a digital console is that the buttons do many different things," said Mikkelsen. "On the SD7 the colors really help. The surface is extremely logical and very easy to work with. In fact, it works so well on the SD7 that I feel like I am a little behind if I have to use an analog console."
Meanwhile, monitor engineer Kristoffer Hinrichsen is using a D5 console. The band's stage setup features multiple microphones, so lead vocalist / guitarist Michael Poulsen can sing from a range of positions. While the rest of the band use Sennheiser IEMs, Poulsen prefers wedges, so 22 are distributed around eight positions onstage. Along with sidefills, this makes the monitor rig quite complex.
"I have used most of the DiGiCo range and keep returning," said Kristoffer. "They do exactly what I need."
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