"I've used almost all of the pro digital consoles around, and although a very familiar name to me since I started in the industry, I hadn't encountered Allen & Heath's iLive system until now," says Millward. "Faced with a European tour of varying size venues - including clubs, theatres and a cathedral - I was looking for a console that not only sounded excellent but was very small, light and flexible in its interconnections to different house PA systems, and could easily be configured for the various local support acts, without compromising the Tindersticks' show."
Millward, who is sound engineer for artists including Morrissey, Craig David and Swing Out Sister, selected the compact iLive-80 surface from the f iLive range with a fixed I/O iDR-48 mix rack.
"The combination of the iLive-80 surface and iDR-48 rack exceeded my expectations in every way. After an enjoyable afternoon's demo, I felt very comfortable with iLive's operation and sound quality. Prior to the tour, I configured the system offline at home on my Mac laptop using iLive's Editor programme, which was very simple and meant that I only needed an hour or so with the actual console to check my show template before the gear departed for Europe."
Mid way through the European leg of the tour, Millward was asked to investigate the possibility of doing a multi-track recording of the UK shows. This was achieved using iLive's MADI plug-in card slotted into the MixRack and connected to an RME Madiface using a MacBook Pro laptop.
(Jim Evans)
