Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), conceived by the late composer, producer, guitarist and music entrepreneur Paul O’Neill and a touring staple of the holiday season since the release of the band’s first album Christmas Eve And Other Stories in 1996, this year hit the road in November with two bands and two identical productions often playing as many as eight shows a week that are utilizing six DiGiCo Quantum7 consoles between them, supplied by Clair Global.
For each production, two consoles are used to mix front of house and two for monitors, with one spare for each iteration of the band. “The Q7 has so much redundancy built into it; if one engine were to fail, it would seamlessly switch over to the other engine on each console,” explains Adam Robinson, monitor engineer for the eastern cities on the itinerary, who has been with TSO for four years amidst tours with Josh Groban, St. Vincent, and Bebe Rexha. “Reliability is a given with DiGiCo.”
Dave Wittman, the band’s front-of-house engineer from day one, met O’Neill when the guitarist brought his first progressive rock band, Slowburn, to Electric Lady Studios where Wittman worked in the mid-1970s. Wittman worked on TSO’s albums and tours using analog consoles until 2011, when, at the recommendation of Clair, decided to transition to digital, beginning with the SD7.
Then came the Quantum engine. “I like to keep the work surface simple, and the Quantum7 has made that even easier,” he says, noting that over time he’s moved almost completely away from outboard processors and has come to exclusively employ the Q7’s own processing, using the console’s EQ and compression on every instrument and vocal input. “I’m amazed at the amount of control the Quantum upgrade brought with it,” says Wittman, who also remains the band’s studio engineer at its Tampa-area private facility, the former heavy-metal temple Morrisound Recording. “And the level of clarity I’m getting from the processing is excellent. I like to keep things simple, and I like how DiGiCo helped us make the transition from analog to digital years ago but still lets us have our ‘sound.’ My goal from day one was to be able to make the show sound like the record on stage. We get compliments that tell me that we’ve accomplished that, and DiGiCo helped us get there.”
Robinson is also a veteran DiGiCo pilot — he still has a vintage D1 console in his office — and has expressed approval of Quantum software feature that including 128 aux/subgroup buses and 48×48 matrix with full processing as well as 64 insertable Mustard processing strips and snapshots for changing multiple parameters at once.
When asked what it’s like managing monitors for TSO, he replies, “Busy,” citing the 18 performers on stage, each with their own specific preferences for the JH Audio IEMs the tour uses. “The show runs like a theatrical performance, very scripted and with lots of automation and multiple cues within songs,” he says. “At the same time, it’s a rock show, so it can also meander a bit in parts. Much of the time I’m chasing timecode, so the performers can count on specific level changes always happening in the exact same spots.
“Even as I’m following the automation script, I am still riding a handful of levels. I have over 90 snapshots for the show and another 100 for other songs we’ve done in the past, ready to be fired whenever those songs reappear again. Since I’m riding faders the entire show, I really appreciate the 52 physical faders and three 15-inch, high-resolution LCD touchscreens. The flexible routing and the assignable channel layout means I can stay on specific faders but still have complete awareness and control over the entire monitor mix. It lets me hear things coming before they happen.”
Robinson is additionally keeping an ear on the audience, ready to swell the house mics as their reaction builds to songs and parts, helping to keep the band connected to their crowds: “I’m listening to those audience mics 6 dB hotter than anyone else, so, in a sense, I can predict reactions and make sure the band hears them,” he says. “I have a lot of nuance available in these faders.”
He also utilizes the Mustard processing, applying tools like optical compression vocals and instruments, along with his preferred UAD reverbs on the musicians and Waves reverbs on the vocals. “Everything is integrated on the console, so whichever processor I’m reaching for, it’s just right there,” he says. “Mustard and the Spice Rack are considerably advanced processors.”
While Wittman’s and Robinson’s troupe of the touring band is predominantly stopping at cities in the eastern-most states, another production is similarly covering the western territories, with FOH engineer Michi Tanikawa and monitor engineer James Bump manning an identical DiGiCo setup.
