For the past few years, they have been using PSM900 in-ear monitoring on the live tours for the Drifters, and began working with the Ultimate Eagles tribute band two years ago (currently, the band are on a successful European tour). Now the company has also been asked to handle the forthcoming UK 2015 dates for the official Blues Brothers touring band. For this project, Pacific are turning to ULX-D wireless mics, and have expanded their existing complement of eight channels of ULX-D to 12.
"We've always used Shure mics, even before I set up Pacific," explains the company's managing director Paul Duffy. "With the arrival of in-ears, we began advocating their use to anyone that would listen. When we started working with the Drifters, we suggested PSM900s. As old hands at this game, they took a little convincing to try something new - they were all using stage wedges until then - but now they won't work any other way. We do about 80 dates a year with them currently. It was a similar process of slow conversion with the Ultimate Eagles, but they've virtually all come around now.
"We already had eight channels of ULX-D wireless mics, but we realised we would need four more for the Blues Brothers tour, and we got some more ULXD1 beltpacks at the same time, for the brass section. They're absolutely fantastic. The new ones have shipped with Beta 58 heads; the others have 87 heads on for the Drifters, because they sound so great on harmonies. My FOH engineer and fellow Director Matt Trigg uses Wireless Workbench to keep an eye on everything; that's a fantastic tool.
"We know Shure gear can be a bit more pricey, but it's industry-standard stuff - and we've found it bulletproof," concludes Paul Duffy. "Equipment like this does get bashed around, dropped and stood on, but the Shures still work afterwards. And that's what we pay for!"
(Jim Evans)
