Norteño-Banda singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Edén Muñoz has purchased a pair of Solid State Logic Live L550 Plus mixing consoles for handle front-of-house and monitor duties on his live shows. Currently touring the United States with Banda MS, Muñoz embarks on his first solo US tour in August.
‘The main idea behind purchasing these consoles came from Edén Muñoz,’ says monitor engineer, Sergio Ramos. ‘He uses SSL in his recording studio and really likes the sound, which was the main reason for the purchase. We decided to go with the L550 Plus because of its large DSP power, ensuring we wouldn’t encounter any processing issues when using the necessary plug-ins and stems.’
‘We always knew the console’s sound was spectacular,’ continues FOH engineer, Fernando Ruiz. ‘My first impression of the sound was being amazed by its quality and warmth, the ease of use and the abundance of options it provides for my FOH mix.’
The two L550 Plus consoles were supplied by Javier Posada, owner of Audio Acústica y Electrónica, SSL’s distributor in Mexico, and his team.
They also provided three SSL ML 32.32 Madi Stageboxes, plus a BL II.D Blacklight II Madi Concentrator. The BLII.D unit provides redundant ruggedised fibre connection for up to eight SSL ML32.32 stageboxes or Madi I/O, shared between two SSL Live consoles using SSL’s Blacklight II protocol.
Muñoz, who has collaborated or written with a long, long list of artists, including Caliber 50, Banda MS and Grupo Firme, has also had 22 on Billboard Regional Mexican Airplay chart No.1s with songs under his own name or with others.
Ruiz reports that he enjoys a number of features on the L550 Plus: ‘Personally, when working at FOH, I deal with many subgroups, and this console allows me to create them effortlessly, which I really appreciate. At FOH, I’m currently using 81 input channels, 20 stereo stems as subgroups, eight stereo effects, four stereo mixes and 12 mono matrices.’
Of the onboard processing and plug-ins available to him on the console, he adds: ‘The plug-in I use the most is the Enhancer. I use it for almost everything because I really like what it brings to the mix.’
Before the L550 Plus desks arrived, Ruiz was already using SSL’s Fusion analogue multiprocessor and The Bus+ compressor at FOH. ‘I use them on my master output,’ he says. ‘In Fusion, my favourite feature is the Vintage Drive, due to its warm harmonic saturation. I also really like the Stereo Image; it gives my mix a lot of space. As for The Bus+ I currently use it on my overall master mix and to slightly compress the highs only during peaks.’
Muñoz’s Consejos Gratis Tour, produced by Live Nation, kicks off in Brooklyn and runs into mid-November to close in Irving, Texas.
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
