The most recent tour of US and Europe finishes in July before a new round starts in Texas in September. Accompanying Ebdon throughout this is his new choice of console - the SSL L500 Plus.
On hearing a direct comparison between the L500 and other consoles at a festival, Ebdon was inspired to give the L500 a go. "I'm not choosing a console because it looks pretty or because there is a ton of stuff on it that I'm probably never going to use. I'm choosing a console because of how it sounds, which is the most important thing."
In particular, Ebdon has been impressed with the onboard processing. "The onboard compressors sound great, the gates work really well, the effects are very good. The delay is amazing. I think the end result just seems bigger, and fatter, and more open. I do have one outboard reverb, which is something I'm just used to and something I take with me, but I could easily do a show with the on board reverbs - they sound fantastic. It's probably the most analogue sounding digital console there is."
On the current show, band inputs total around 56, and Ebdon has been using the redundant fibre-based SSL Blacklight II connection from stage - a high bandwidth multiplexed MADI format capable of carrying up to 256 96kHz signals.
"They are the most consistent band I have ever worked with," says Ebdon. "Especially the drummer. He never misses a beat." Because of this, and because Ebdon is so familiar with the band, he doesn't need them for sound checks. He uses a recording of the previous night's show and switches the console into rehearsal mode so the inputs are taken from the multitrack rather than the stage.
Overall, the analogue sound of the L500 paired with its digital advantages are a winning combination for Ebdon: "For me, the SSL is an analogue console with a save button!"
(Jim Evans)
