The band is now trying to ramp up its live touring schedule ahead of the release of a second album. "The only way this music will work live is if we recreate the studio sound with the right gear," explains Aeon Zen's founder and songwriter Rich Hinks. "It's too technical to sound good in a normal set-up so we take advantage of MIDI triggers and effects, the sliders and volumes offered by the RSS M-400 console."
Technical advice from Wigwam led Rich Hinks down the MIDI trail. "It sparked the crucial decision to use MIDI to guide the instruments, the control gear and the video. All the patch changes, vocal effects and drums are automated, and MIDI is triggering everything from the scene data in the M-400 desk and the M-48 monitor mixers to the guitar pods which replaced our backline."
Aeon Zen's musicians rave about the ease of use of the RSS M-48 personal monitor mixers. "We've rehearsed with them and created the mixes we like best. We know that, whatever happens on stage, that is not going to fail us," says Hinks. "We get the same consistency out front from the M-400 digital console, which is incredibly quick to set up, and the desk's on-board functionality brings us many bonuses in terms of storing complex effects and tricks."
See Roland Systems Group at PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010 - stand RA-A7.
(Jim Evans)
