The live show is a theatrical blend of vintage equipment and instruments such as marimbas, timpani, push-button bells, mandolin, grand piano, various keyboards and guitar rig which Jack moves between during his performance, while Meg works her way around the drum kit. In such a setting the analogue aesthetic of the XL4 is entirely suited to both the FOH and the onstage mix. Not only does the band not stick to a set list, they can play the same song on a different instrument on any given night.
"I keep a really functional mix, which is why I still use an analogue desk," says Kettle. "It also suits the way I work because I don't use snapshots; as the show changes every night I have to react to what the artists are doing. And because there are so many instruments on stage I've used up all 48 channels on the XL4."
Not only does Kettle prefer the XL4 for its sound quality, which he describes as "amazing", but also because of the desk's high quality mic preamps. These have proved particularly invaluable on this tour as some of the shows are being recorded.
"I'm using the pre-amp outputs for my multitrack recordings, and I can play them back into the same channels using the line inputs," he says. "I can easily check recordings and have the capability to tweak the show mix if I ever feel the need."
Kettle is using Nexo's GEO T tangent-array system for PA on both the Australian and European legs of the tour. For the back-to-back gigs at the legendary Alexandra Palace in London, Kettle used almost all of the SSE Audio Group-supplied GEO T inventory, flying left and right arrays of 17 T4805 cabinets, with three T2815 downfill boxes. With eight CD18 sub-bass units ground-stacked at the front of the stage, the system also used Nexo Alpha EM cabinets for side fill. All amplification was provided by Camco's Vortex 6 amplifiers, and managed by Nexo NX242 TDControllers. "We hung it nice and high, and ran the GEO T nice and flat," says Kettle, "the sign of a good system is that we didn't have to do very much to compensate for the acoustics of the room."
Kettle comments further on the GEO T: "It's really easy to mix on because it's so transparent, you can hear the detail of what you're doing. I can get great vocals, which sit prominently in the mix. In practical terms, it's wonderful - small, compact, and easy to fly. Compared to a lot of other line array systems, it's much easier to handle - you can plan the system and get it up in the air very quickly."
(Lee Baldock)
