Front of house engineer Robbie McGrath chose to deliver his mixes on a Midas PRO6 digital console for the recent comeback gigs by The Stone Roses in front of 225,000 fans at Manchester’s Heaton Park.
McGrath, whose sound engineering credentials include some of rock music’s finest acts, including The Rolling Stones, AC/DC and Kasabian, praised the PRO6 for its musical ability.
“The head amps are incredible. I can set up the PRO6 the same way as I would a great analog console, such as the Midas XL4,” McGrath says. “On top of this you have a very smooth digital trim, which is fab. The EQ is exceptionally musical – it really retains that much-loved Midas sound and the onboard compressors are amazing.”
McGrath uses the PRO6 to deliver everything from the moving candor of “I Wanna Be Adored” to the raw Zeppelin-like rock of “Fools Gold” while holding onto a particular intimacy.
“The Stone Roses’ are incredibly talented,” McGrath states. “Because it’s drums, bass, guitar and vocals, with no trimmings whatsoever, I need a desk that will concentrate on the quality of the raw music, at the end of the day that’s what this band are all about.”
“Energy is everything, and that’s what this desk has in abundance,” he continues. “Compressors are hugely important to me—if you use compressors correctly, you can get a mix at 101 dB to sound like you’re kicking 110 dB, or, if you’re into audio terrorism, 110 that sounds like 115!”
Midas brand development manager Richard Ferriday comments, “That’s high praise indeed for our compressor plug-ins, coming from someone with Robbie’s wealth of experience. The good news for us mere mortals, is that the same Midas compressor plug-ins are included on the PRO2 and the new PRO1 consoles.”
