The most famous former student of the Academy performed with a 130-piece orchestra and choir composed of this year's students. Sound was handled by a Clair Brothers iO system from Audio Rent, with Franks mixing FOH with the new Yamaha PM5000 console. "Each show is a challenge, but Wembley Arena poses its own complications, especially in the low end: it's built on top of an empty swimming pool [constructed for the 1948 Olympics] so the bass flaps about all over the place. To get a nice, punchy sound out of the Basses and Cellos in the orchestra, I've had to cut a lot of low end which I normally don't like to do," explained Franks, who has been working with Elton John for 32 years.
"I got very used to the Yamaha PM4000, but the PM5000 EQ is a lot warmer. I might only have been able to boost or cut a dB or so on the PM4000 and you'd hear it immediately, now I might end up boosting a channel by 5 dB. The dynamics of this board are much greater."
Judicious use of EQ is essential to frame the famous voice in the mix, as Franks points out: "Elton's personal vocal monitors are deafening - louder than any other group I've ever worked with! He has to stay in on the mic - so he's got a huge peak at 200Hz, I pull out 3 or 4dB there - and high pass him at 120Hz. I also need to take a little bit out at 3kHz - I'm not really eqing his voice, it's his monitor spill."
The new digital scene storage and recall on the PM5000 allows Franks to recall all his initial settings, but during the show he believes in spontaneity. "I play half a dozen instruments and I just treat the mixer as an instrument, I'm all over the board and I like to feel the music and create huge dynamics." The four extra VCA subgroups on the PM5000 are a welcome addition for this style of mixing. "I can ride the effects as well now, whereas before I had to lean miles away to grab an effect to push it up. Now I've got one VCA for the overall reverbs and harmonisers, and then I've got some special effects for Davey Johnstone's guitar that I can swell in and out. Of course, it helps tonight - I've got the 50-piece choir on a VCA and the orchestra on another. Everything is at my fingertips and it makes it very easy. I've laid things out so that my fingers can just move up and down all the time."
(Lee Baldock)
