Analog & Digital
All loudspeakers were driven by 26 rack-mounted Lab.gruppen PLM 20K44 4-channel amplifiers incorporating Lake digital processing. Overall system processing came courtesy of a Lake LM 44 processor offering a 4-input/4-output configuration as well as Dante networked I/O.
“It handled all EQ, system delay, time alignment, and control, and it was also the starting point for our Dante drive, which was our main way of getting signal around to all of the amplifiers,” Rigby notes, adding that the tour also carried an analog backup signal transport system in case of any glitches with the networking.
He delivered mixes on a Midas XL4 analog console. While touring with 30 Seconds To Mars about four years ago, he decided to switch to analog, taking a Midas Heritage 3000 out on a short U.S. run, and then he changed to an XL4 for the next 15 months with the band.
“Since then I’ve moved between the XL4 and DiGiCo desks, depending on the tour,” he states. “I don’t believe there’s one desk for every job; it’s about choosing the right tool for the right gig. The 1975 is essentially an 80s pop guitar band with a few keyboards, and for me that lends itself to the analog world.”
He notes that the digital domain does provide certain advantages, such as virtual soundcheck.
Reproducing that function with the XL4 was critical on this tour: “The band is really focused on the way things sound. The drummer (George Daniel) and lead singer/rhythm guitarist (Matty Healy) were producers on the album, so they know exactly how they want every aspect to sound and often come out front when we work on new songs.
“That’s also why virtual playback was so important – for us to work together to achieve whatever sound they were going for. To have a band that really cares about the sound is refreshing. At the end of the day they’re four really phenomenal musicians, which not only makes my job easy, but fun.”
Together with Jordan Kolenc, project manager at Eighth Day, the two came up with a design integrating virtual playback with the XL4 that involves running all of the console’s direct outputs into three Focusrite RedNet 16-channel converters. “They (the RedNet units) have got 16 XLR inputs in the back, and we convert that to Dante,” Rigby details. “So that rack is 48 inputs and 48 outputs, analog to digital, and that then goes via Dante to a Mac Mini, with recording on Waves Tracks.
“Then,” he continues, “to get virtual playback from the desk, we come out of the Focusrite units into the line inputs of the XL4, which has two XLR inputs in the back – one mic and one line input. So we go into the desk and swap every channel from the mic to the line input, and it’s just like the band is playing on stage from the show the night before.”
Outboard gear includes dbx 160a compressors for general application and an API 2500 for drum compression. The rack also houses Empirical Labs Distressors, a UBK Fatso Jr and an XTA D2 multiband compressor.
Rigby applies plate reverb from a Lexicon PCM 92 for Healy’s lead vocal, an Eventide Eclipse for vocal doubling, and TC Electronic D2 delay: “The delay I had to manually program, setting the preset for every song they’re playing.” A Yamaha SPX 990 supplies gated reverb on snare to get an “80s-type” sound.
A Busy Place
Francois Pare’s choice for mixing monitors is a DiGiCo SD5, and he notes that either it or the SD7 are his “go to” consoles.
“On monitors it all has to be quick and the SD5 is a fast, good-sounding, reliable board you can get everywhere,” he states. “We’ve got the band, two guitar techs, our playback guy and a drum tech, all with their own mixes. Lighting also has a mix and there’s a general production mix for security, management and everybody who’s not a tech.
“When you have the amount of things I’ve got going on, you have to be able to access them quickly,” he continues. “I don’t want to have to go through menu after menu before I get to something I need.” The band was also joined on this tour by two additional two additional session players and four to six backing vocalists for certain shows.
Pare and Rigby assembled the microphone package together, both enjoying a close relationship with Shure. A BETA 91A and BETA 52 combo handled kick drum, with BETA 56s on snare top and bottom, BETA 98s for toms, an SM81 on hi-hat, a KSM 137 condenser for ride, and KSM32 condensers for overheads.
Bass came direct from Radial J48 DI boxes, with a Radial SW8 passive auto-switcher for playback and keyboards. Guitars were captured with SM57s, with a KSM32 also added for Healy’s cabinet.
With the exception of drummer Daniel, who sings with a BETA 56, all vocalists utilized KSM8 condensers. And to capture ambience, Pare deployed a KSM32 and a VP89 shotgun per side.
Pare applies Bricasti M7 reverb to Healy’s vocal reverb as well as a Yamaha SPX 990 on snare and toms. “I always have two effects on drums – a gated verb setting and then a plate, or hall, depending on the song, on snare and toms,” he explains, adding that he also takes advantage of roughly two dozen effects provided internally by the SD5.
His mixes are delivered via 18 channels of Shure PSM 1000 wireless personal monitoring, with an additional four channels of Shure P9HW hard-wired packs. The entire band is on JH Audio Roxanne in-ear monitors, with dual subwoofers per side on stage on hand to provide extra “weight.” RF coordination is assisted by a Shure Axient scanner and Wireless Workbench system control software.
Efficiency is clearly key to the crew and band’s workflow, and it’s something that’s also reflected in Rigby and Pare convincing the band to invest in Fischer Amps rack-mounted battery chargers. “The initial investment was about $3,000 for each of our A and B (keyboard and playback) rigs,” Rigby says, “but we use over 100 AA batteries per show and, when you think about the cost for the 243 shows we’ve done on this album cycle as well as the environmental impact, it’s something we’d suggest to any act.”
Pare also offers high praise for the efforts of the worldwide Eighth Day Sound team. “They’re the real unsung heroes here, making sure our rigs show up in the far corners of the world, ready to turn on and go,” he concludes. “Finally, the entire crew on this tour is one big family. If we all weren’t so close with each other, it would have made the experience far less enjoyable.”