A major reason Booker chose the dbx was to save lots of rack space. The product features include Lexicon reverb settings, 4-band stereo limiter/compressor, 5-band parametric EQ, 4-band crossover, MIDI control, updateable software and many more - all of which devices would normally occupy three or four spaces in an external processing rack.
The processors are inserted into the monitor desk desk, and used to reduce the bottom end on the girls’ vocals. The dbx’s reverb is utilised to add ambience, and to produce a multi-band compression - squashing the low notes and evening out the overall sound for each of their mixes. Booker is also finding the dbx’s onboard multiband limiters very useful. "You don’t need any other limiters, you can be assured their voices can’t hurt each other and the limiters also cut out loads of generally unwanted stuff," he states.
Booker has worked with Atomic Kitten for a year, together with his colleague, FOH engineer Andy Docherty, who’s also based at Ad Lib. AdLib’s rig for the tour also features five dbx 480 Drive Racks used for controlling the additional band member’s IEMs, plus one more that’s controlling the side fills. There are also six channels of dbx 1066 compressors in the monitor rack plus dbx Blue series 160SLs used for the main FOH girls’ vocals.
Atomic Kitten were one of the UK’s most successful bands of 2001. Their single Whole Again hit the top of the charts, kicking off an exciting and successful 12 months that looks set to continue in 2002.
(Lee Baldock)
