For the guitar sounds, Nielsen takes both mic signals from the guitar amps and a Radial JDX box that sit between the amps and the speaker cabinets.
This allows him to create the sound he’s looking for, but the delay between the direct and mic signal has to be corrected.
On the digital console, he uses the input delay to make this correction. “Other consoles don’t give you the fine-grained delay on the inputs that you need to get things to really line up and the DiGiCo does that. It’s unbelievable compared to what other consoles do,” he says.
In addition to the plethora of onboard effects, Nielsen’s carrying a rack of his favorite outboard gear. “Which doesn’t mean that the reverbs in the DiGiCo don’t sound good, its just there are a few things that have a specific sound that I like to add in. For example, I like the sound of analog compression and have two dbx 162SLs.
“I also have a Bricasti M7 reverb, an Eventide DSP7000 for a bit of thickening and that Antares sound when needed, a Dolby Lake Processor, as well as a TCD2 delay because I like some of the 2290-style delays that it can do. These are effects that I could probably get on the console but I have this comfort feeling using them and have been for a long time. The Bricasti reverb is just a beautiful verb and I want that specific sound.”
Nielsen makes use of a Motion tablet for the 8in/8out Dolby Lake Processor housed in his rack. “The DLP is used for system EQ, delay and distribution and receives three AES inputs from the SD8 that include Left, Right and Sub, with outputs including Left, Right, Sub 1, Sub 2, Front Fill, Center, Delay and Production Feed. Using the DLP this way frees up AES and analog outputs on the SD8 for other uses and allows me to do my room correction with Lake and the tablet.
The analog inputs and outputs on the SD8 are used for two dbx 162SL’s inserted on Debbie’s vocal, bass subgroup, and Left & Right as well as send and return of the TC D2, the send of the Bricasti M7 and FOH talkback. The AES ins and outs are the Eventide DSP7000, RME UFX interface and the returns of the Bricasti M7. In addition, the entire rig is clocked using an Apogee Big Ben clock with feeds to the console, DLP and the RME.”
On a gig at the Isle of Wight Festival last year, the SD8 proved handy last minute in solving some challenges posed while interfacing with the festival remote recording truck. The SD8s onboard MADI capabilities saved the day. “Last minute, we were asked to unpatch all of our stuff—we carry a full two-way split with one going to monitors one to FOH with no third split—as they wanted to run the signal through their active split first and then feed back into our split. The time was so tight and we were worried about all of our gains changing and just general issues going through a remote truck.
“We quickly discussed our options and I found out that the truck was running off MADI so we were able to come off the MADI B output of the console back down our 6-channel BNC snake and went back to truck that way. The truck was also able to send me their clock into the mic pre’s onstage and I clocked both systems off that so we were all running off the same clock. It was a very quick fix for something that was going to cause us possibly a lot of issues.
“In the end, they were happier with all of that and their mixes ended up being really nice and clean because they were getting the same thing that I was right off my mic pres. As MADI becomes more of a standard, it’s nice to have a console that’s more compatible than just about any other systems out there.”
The console’s ability to do virtual soundchecks was also a boon to Nielsen for a variety of reasons. “They’re definitely the kind of band that wants to soundcheck every day in order to feel comfortable in the room they’re in, but on the occasion when they can’t—because of interviews or transportation issues—it’s nice to have the virtual soundcheck for that. I record into Logic, which gives me the ability to go home and listen to the inputs and do rough mixes for the band.
“Also, at the beginning of the US tour, I couldn’t do the first week because I had to be in Austin for the ACL Festival and the solution was very simple. We found a replacement, Tom Heinisch of SK Systems who was very DiGiCo savvy, and I sent him my files from the consoles and also a hard drive that had the shows on it. He was able to listen to the shows, learn where all the changes and the solos were, and it gave him a grasp of what his mixes were going to be before he even met the band.”
For everyday recording purposes, Nielsen records all 42 channels with an RME MADIface card into a 17-inch MacBook Pro. “I put up a couple of additional Shure KSM 32 audience mikes and a Shure VP88 downstage center right behind Debbie’s wedges facing the audience. I also use a couple of Shure SM81s at FOH to catch the audience roar and excitement.”
In hindsight, Nielsen and Big House partner Roy Kircher have been more than satisfied with their SD8 purchases. A decision that was a result of hearing the console in action at the Austin City Limits Festival a number of years ago. He says although the deciding factors at the time was the buzz on the console and its growing popularity, it proved to sound and perform better than most of the consoles they’d had in stock. “So we bought two,” he laughs.
“In central Texas, we’re one of the only rental houses that have these consoles and we get rental requests not just from bands but also from other sound companies as well. They’ve filled a niche for us in this biz as a higher-end, specialty console.
“Plus, they’re great sounding and a step above everything else we have in their price range. The big thing with digital consoles is everyone’s worried about how reliable they are. Does it handle the road, does it work everyday and can you rely on it? And the answer is Yes. We’ve had NO issues with either one of our consoles, whether its reliability or crashing issues, and they’ve paid for themselves time and time again.”