Reading Kevin Pruce's live engineering credentials is like looking at a who's who of icons from last three decades of pop. It includes Duran Duran, Adam Ant, The Human League, Tears For Fears, The Style Council, Sinead O'Connor, Bjork, Lemon Jelly, Starsailor, Yoko Ono, Meat Loaf and, last but by no means least, Madonna! And with all that experience, it's difficult to ignore what this man has to say about which equipment to use for liveduties.
"When it comes to FOH, spec the right equipment for the job, not what is flavour of the month," he says. With that in mind it's not surprising to find that an engineer of his caliber demands the best gear, and Pruce has an arsenal of Focusrite gear at his disposal. "I have used the ISA 110 [mic pre and EQ], the ISA 430 [Producer Pack], the Red 3 [dual compressor/limiter] and Liquid Channel. I use them all for vocal processing and they are allsuperb, just so well designed and functional."
But he particularly picks out the ISA428 [multi-channel mic-pre front end] for praise for its sound, interface and A-D conversion and also because it's got easy digital connection, has four preamps in one unit, and insert patch in the same rack to give me a better vocal sound. He's also quick to point out its essential features for use with today's digital set-ups:"Better A to D conversion and preamp section for crucial inputs like vocals are a must with some of today's digital consoles."
Recently Pruce finished off some promos with Madonna and, at the end of last year, completed a tour with The Human League. The biggest challenge is yet to come, however, as he has a world tour with Madonna lined up.
(Chris Henry)
