FOH engineer Joe Thomas and monitor engineer Shona Steadman started the tour with an XL8 each, working seamlessly through dates across Scotland and the north of England before arriving at London's Shepherds Bush Empire, where the PRO6 took over on monitors.
No stranger to the XL8, Steadman has used it on a Deacon Blue tour and countless festivals and concerts throughout the summer, becoming very familiar with the system. Moving onto the PRO6, she simply transferred all her show settings across from XL8. "They all came up perfectly the first time, which was very reassuring," she says. "I'm keeping my mixes exactly the same, and all the controls are in the same place as they are on the XL8 so it's really easy to move from one to the other. The PRO6 has a nice small footprint on the stage, so even though the house console was in place when we got here, we've just pushed it back a little and there's still plenty of space to work."
Reader is touring with a seven-piece, mainly acoustic band using monitor wedges, and Steadman says they've noticed the difference in the sound on the stage. "They've all commented on the great sound they're getting, and they're really enjoying themselves onstage," she says.
This was Thomas' first time using an XL8 in anger. I'm having great fun and I can't speak highly enough of it," he says. "Previously for me, XL4 was top of the pile and I still think it is, except there's a new pile now, and XL8 is clearly on top! Without doubt it's the best sounding console I've ever used."
(Jim Evans)
