Front of house engineer Arjan van Egmond has worked with the band for 23 years, using the Yamaha M7CL mixing console since it was introduced. "The M7CL is easy and simple to operate, its layout is clear and logical and, most importantly, it always works," says Arjan. "I have tried all the other brands of digital console and came across bugs in all of them - except Yamaha."
The band plays a wide range of venues and is a regular on the festival circuit, so the M7CL's small footprint and light weight are further bonuses. "The small footprint is very important in theatres and also means I can use my console of choice at festivals. The weight also makes it easy to move with just two people," he adds.
Arjan uses the M7CL's onboard processing, his only concession to outboard being a Crane Song HEDD on the console's outputs - a 1U unit engineered to be musically transparent while providing analogue sounds in the digital domain.
"The analogue sound of the HEDD is very important for my overall mix," he adds. "In combination with the M7CL, I get the best of both worlds. The sound quality of the console is exceptional, especially when you consider its price."
(Lee Baldock)
