KLANG monitors Luke Combs world tour
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Once again, North Carolina-based touring sound company Special Event Services (SES) is supplying the control packages for Combs’ worldwide trek. But this time, monitor engineer Michael Zuehsow has added a new tool to his DiGiCo Quantum 7 console at stage right - a DMI-KLANG card for immersive monitor mixing.
Based in Nashville, Zuehsow joined Combs’ crew in late 2018 and initially hit the road with him on his first headlining run, 2019’s Beer Never Broke My Heart tour. Although DiGiCo Quantum 7 consoles have anchored the artist’s FOH and monitor mix positions since 2020, when the audio crew upgraded from an SD12 and SD10, the 2023 World Tour marks Zuehsow’s first proper adoption of the KLANG platform into his workflow.
“I have dabbled on various KLANG systems in the past, but the size, power, and integration of the DMI card version is what captured my full interest, especially trying to not carry too much unique outboard or rack gear to make fly dates simpler and more stress-free and risk-manageable,” he shares. “While the initial KLANG platform was an incredible innovation, scaling up for a tour of our size with the original would have required carrying many units, so the introduction of the DMI-KLANG card and its exponentially increased capabilities really streamlined everything and made it a very viable addition.
“To me, KLANG is like installing a secret door where you normally ‘hit a wall’ trying to finesse an IEM mix to be the most useful, comfortable, and most importantly, inspiring and musical. Right where you think you can’t do much better with everything going on in a mix, the KLANG door opens.”
The addition of a DPA 5100 mobile 5.1 surround microphone set up at FOH to capture crowd ambiance served as a catalyst for implementing the DMI-KLANG. “The DPA mic is deployed for post mixing captures, but I decided that I wanted to also use the opportunity to give an immersive feel of the vastness of the stadiums with more accuracy and realism. I use it for audience cheer pushes, and the way the crowd feels all around you is pretty sensational. It sounds like it looks: a huge stadium filled with 60,000 fans.”
In addition to capturing immersive ambience, Zuehsow also utilises the KLANG setup to provide various widening for numerous stereo sources, keeping them from piling on top of each other. “The concept ‘If everything is stereo, nothing is stereo’ kind of challenges that more usable space has proven very valuable in making sure all of the elements - including certain reverbs, micro-shifts, and instruments like B3 and stereo guitar modelers - are heard and feel inspiring rather than cluttered and fighting for space.”
