Simpatico in many ways with Wilkey’s thinking, Urban is fine with the choice of a pair of Midas H3000s for monitor mixes feeding his four Clair CM Series single-12 wedges on stage. A fifth CM wedge is deployed for the bass player.
A pair of single-18 Clair subs located next to the bass rig complement the collection of loudspeakers present, all of which are joined by a solid in-ear presence across the band built around 10 Shure PSM 1000 personal monitoring systems. Ironically, there are no side fills onstage for this tour, a fact that has prompted a joke or two at Wilkey’s expense that shouldn’t be repeated here.
“Keith does the majority of the show with one ear in and one out,” Wilkey relates. “He listens to a full mix, and what’s in the wedges pretty much mirrors what he hears in his ears. For a few of the quieter songs onstage he’ll put both ears in, a practice he repeats most of the time when he travels out into the crowd or to our B stage.”
Analog Outpost
Wilkey’s outboard gear consists of Drawmer 401 gates, XTA compression he uses on Urban’s vocals, and dbx 160s he uses on everyone else.
As one might imagine, SPX 990 reverb is kept at hand as well, while Klark Teknik graphic EQs divide the frequencies in set-it-and-forget-it modes for arenas, sheds, or whatever other type of venues the band may find itself in.
With an abundant number of ear mixes falling under his purview, he has a natural aversion to the use of gates, especially for the drummer.
“Drummers especially do not want to listen to gates in their ears because they are just so obvious,” he states. “Fortunately I have the luxury on this tour of having an excellent drum tech—Harry McCarthy—who tunes the drums so well we simply don’t have a need for gates.”
Working this time out within an analog outpost surrounded by a digital world, does Wilkey see a day on the horizon where no one will even remember the technology?
“I don’t know if I have anything to do with it,” he replies, “but I’m noticing interest growing in it. A couple of people have been out with us studying how it all works. What goes around may well come around again, so no, I don’t think that analog is ready to disappear off the face of the earth just yet.”
Things that are steeped in tradition traditionally last. While a new take on the concept of a country show in no small way when it comes to the backgrounds of the personnel, their skills, and the sheer size and proportions of things, perhaps Keith Urban is on his way to setting a different standard that will live on.
Gregory A. DeTogne is lead feature writer for PSW/LSI and has served the pro audio industry for the past 30 years.
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