A major dividing line between ‘old school’ and modern touring is the use of digital audio.
Insistence on an analog desk is a mark of particular kind of commitment, denoted by a forbidding “NO DIGITAL DESK” notation on the band’s rider.
Many engineers for bands in these situations rely on Midas mixing consoles, including Doug Short.
“Nothing but a Midas will do,” declares Doug Short, FOH engineer for Megadeth.
“I’ve tried just about every digital console on the market, and they just don’t measure up sonically.”
So, why did Short opt for a Midas PRO6 digital desk for the first leg of the band’s promotional tour for the new “Endgame” album?
“I had done some training on Midas digital up in Minnesota over a year ago. But when Megadeth started up, my bid list required a Midas XL4 at front of house,” relates Short. “The plan was to carry control gear from Thunder Audio – consoles and processing.”
“Basically, Paul Owen, Thunder Audio principal, saw my bid list, called me and said tempted me to give the PRO6 a shot. I figured a five-week promotional tour was the perfect opportunity. As Paul says, ‘Hey, instead of taking out 1,168 pounds of XL4, why not give the Pro6 a shot?’ I mean, it is a Midas, right?”
Short found his transition fairly painless. “With Erik [Rogers] there to show me the ropes, I was up and running in no time,” he says. “By the third gig, I was really comfortable. There was none of that ‘alien planet’ vibe you get on some digital desks. In fact, it’s really just like mixing on a (Midas) Heritage. That’s exactly how it feels as a layout. But even more important, it sounds like a Midas!”
Short was initially concerned about relying on the Midas internal effects engine. “I must admit, I did take a couple external rack effects, but that was because I didn’t have the prep time I would normally prefer. But no boutique stuff, no plug-ins,” he admits. “And I used everything on board for mic preamps, compressors, reverb and gates. That’s the heart of the system and it sounds fantastic.”
For the same reason, the tour utilized a traditional copper snake connecting the stage to the control surface. “I just didn’t know enough about Cat5 yet,” short explains, “so it’s nice that you have the option to use copper with the PRO6. Since I was also acting as system tech, I wanted all the patching to be familiar to me.”
Asked how the band reacted to having a digital console at FOH, Short replied, “before the first show, Dave Mustaine came out, saw the console and said, ‘It sure looks pretty. Hope it sounds good, too.’ So he was aware. And every night, I would give him a live two-track mix of the show that we listen to for reference, and he never said a thing. With Dave, that’s practically an endorsement.”
Short concluded, stating, “I can see now why Midas waited to go digital until they got it right,” he says. “By about the third gig, the PRO6 just blew me away. It’s so easy to mix on, and the sound is pure Midas. I guess that says it all.”
