Dave Lawler of Docktrdave Audio Inc in Capistrano Beach, California, was contracted to mix sound at FOH for the tour and brought in his 48-channel Heritage 3000 console. Though onstage electronics are minimal, with boutique amps, custom instruments and German microphones being par for the course, Lawler's FOH setup belies the simplicity of the DSP-free backline, incorporating no less than three BSS Soundwebs and 24 zones of audio through his line arrays and fills. The natural characteristics of Krall's voice and her band's instrumentation reach the Heritage relatively unfettered by processing, providing signals which Lawler then places precisely around the room, immersing the audience in mood and rhythm.
Lawler commented: "The Heritage is a remarkable console because it is so flexible - it obviously works great as a monitor console on big rock tours, but is also ideal at FOH in this application. When quality sound is built into a console, especially in terms of the warm preamps, it allows an engineer to start a new project with a distinct advantage. In this case, the combination of quality equipment onstage and in the FOH booth freed me up to pay particular attention to the zoning, to really provide the audience with the ultimate live jazz experience. Things sound good with minimal tweaking - the less I put between Diana's voice and the audience the better. Quite simply, a digital console isn't going to be as responsive, warm and subtly expressive as the Heritage. The EQs work, and do so without needing to press a bunch of buttons - it's immediately gratifying to work with faders and hand-crafted pre's and EQs, and I really think that translates into keeping the human element of the music intact. I've been using Midas consoles for a long, long time now, and I have a large inventory of Midas equipment, all of which works hard and works consistently. This is a high profile tour - Diana is scheduled to play five nights straight at the Royal Albert Hall in London - and there's nothing else out there that I'd bring out on a tour like this that's as reliable, easy to use and sonically satisfying as a big Midas console."
(Lee Baldock)
