The band's Front of House engineer, Aron 'M-Sound' Mandelbaum, has been travelling with an SSL L300 live console and ML 32.32 Stagebox, using them on 18 tour dates, including five festivals.
Inputs for the main show include all vocal mics (and spare), plus the outputs from the DJ mixers. "The environment I get to work in is not only super-consistent, but I have rappers that have excellent mic technique," he explains. "So my channels come back the same way every day. The band is a kind of litmus test for a PA. I can tell you what's going on in your processing, I can tell you what's happening with the console."
According to Mandelbaum, the L300 showed its true colours at the festivals - where direct comparisons with other consoles, both analogue and digital, were inevitable: "It blew the doors off everybody else. There's nothing that can touch it. Nothing."
(Jim Evans)
