And the beauty is that the spill and bank safe workflows work exactly the same on these types of faders as well. If I spill my PA Grand Master VCA, I have all of the PA drive matrix masters now in front of me, and if I then initiate a spill on any one of the matrixes, I have the ability to adjust any of the sources being blended within that matrix.
In this example of an aux driven sub, once that aux arrives at the top layer in the PA Grand Master spill, I can then use a combination of “spill” and “SOF” (Sends On Faders) and in one button push have instant access to only the send sources that are “on” in that auxiliary. They arrive to the top layer as a filtered set of inputs that normally might be scattered across multiple layers requiring excessive navigation to get to them and rebalance them. By deploying spill plus SOF, only the sources that are on are available to the top layer of the console when spilled without disrupting the inputs necessary to carry on mixing the event.
The final spice in this operational secret recipe is fader layouts that are not only user definable but also recallable by snapshot. This is vital to the easy workflow of a show of this scale and no better example of that than managing the high number of vocal mics on this particular show. With the exception of the finale, where all of the vocal mics were used, most performances required no more than four vocal mics at a time.
So, with snapshot recall, all vocal mics can be plugged in and operational, and you are simply choosing which mic channel is in the channel slot you have designated as a lead vocal channel. Even though it’s a different mic and a different performer for nearly every song, the vocal channel remains in the familiar position, making muscle memory easy to maintain on the most vital inputs of the show. Simply fantastic.
It’s all extremely intuitive and blindingly fast, providing the ability to quickly address any input or output processing channel. And when used in conjunction with the bank safe capabilities, it’s the least disruptive to your efforts to mix and keep track of the event happening in front of you.
Another added bonus: you never have to move left or right during the event to do so. Everything is centrally addressed from one listening location. Awesome. Simply awesome. I’m even more in awe after having just written about it.