On a world tour that kicked-off in Australia and New Zealand in March, and has taken in multiple legs through Asia, North America and Europe, the cost of transporting equipment could have been astronomical with conventional analogue desks. "It is definitely cheaper to ship the smaller, lighter InnovaSON consoles," acknowledges monitor technician and crew chief, Chris "Grandpa" Rymarz. "Since freight is paid in weight it is just plain cheaper. For Ben Harper, it means the difference between being able to travel with your own boards around the world and having consistent shows, versus having to sub-hire a desk on each continent and starting from scratch."
The crew and band all agreed that the Grand Live consoles were ideal for the task at hand; "We like them for their compact size, flexibility and superior sound quality," comments the band's monitor engineer, Derek Van Ord. The compact consoles offer a cost saving in freight but also save space onstage. Measuring 1.7m by 69cm and weighing in at just 60kg, the Grand Live offers 48 fully-featured processing channels, 24 outputs, and up to 72 inputs. The onboard digital processing also reduces the amount of outboard gear that has to be carried, offering further savings in cost and space. "The amount of gear at FOH and monitors has been vastly reduced," comments Rymarz. "We carry very little outside of the board and the band's in-ears and wedges. FOH has a few effects - four external compressors - and that's it!"
Van Ord agrees: "Just having more physical space at stage left has made all our lives easier, having one small console in the monitor position rather than two huge ones makes a big difference, I no longer use any outboard gear on stage, it's all in the little black box. It is more convenient to recall a band's settings with a click of a mouse than to set and strike two 350-kilo desks. Without them, the FujiRock Festival in Japan would have been difficult."
Harper and his five-piece Innocent Criminals kicked off their tour in Australia, where all of Harper's albums have been certified either gold or platinum. The latest album, released in March 2003, entered the Billboard Top 20 chart in the U.S. in April. Harper is currently playing sold-out shows throughout Scandinavia and Western Europe.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
