If 18 rounds of air and road transport in support of a tour doesn’t present enough of a roadworthiness challenge for the equipment, the dust, heat, cold and humidity encountered as both crew and gear cross multiple time zones does – as with The 1975’s recent outing. With a DiGiCo Quantum 7 at FOH and a Quantum 5 at monitors for the latter part of the tour, engineers Lee McMahon and Francois Pare are well placed to explain the choice of console.
For Pare at monitors, it all began at DiGiCo HQ in Chessington on a training day with the manufacturer’s Tim Shaxson. ‘I don’t think I’ve used any other desk since 2016,’ says Pare. ‘Nowadays, shows are so involved that there aren’t many desks that are capable of handling the number of channels we need. On The 1975, we have an eight-piece band, and the show is quite theatrical, there’s a lot going on effects wise on stage, so it all adds up.’
At FOH, McMahon’s story is similar having been using DiGiCo consoles exclusively since 2018: ‘Building this show has been an amazing journey. The band really care about how to interpret album production elements in the live domain. That’s something I take very seriously. I want to present their craft in the best way possible, sometimes pushing the boundaries of what is traditionally achievable within occasionally hostile acoustic spaces.
‘It’s been a lot of fun bringing this show to fans all around the world. I’ve toured with SD11i, SD12, SD10 and SD5 consoles at different times over the years, but the Quantum processing has given me a lot more room to do things the way I want to.’
With a show this complex, a high channel count is essential, but a gigantic footprint is extremely unwelcome. ‘I have around 200 channels, accounting for around 128 stage inputs, effects returns, utility channels and playback,’ McMahon explains. ‘I’m using matrices to drive PA, close-fields, auxiliary record feeds, two-tracks and VIP feeds. I use a lot of groups, about 80 per cent of my show is just on the Control Group layer which is controlling a mixture of input channels, group output and aux sends. This means I can keep my head up and respond to the mix as I want to, without having to hop around the console.’
The Quantum range has benefitted from a series of upgrades, not least the Mustard Processing and Spice Rack. Using the Naga 6 software engineers can solo filter bands without effecting the output of the channel, allowing them to monitor and audition dynamic filters during the show.
Distortion, gates and compression are now all available on the console, without having to resort to outboard plug-ins or outboard, further contributing to an efficient workflow.
‘I’ve got 152 input channels, around 59 auxes and a 31x16 matrix,’ Pare says. ‘I try to keep my use of the onboard features as limited as possible to keep the show streamlined, just in case, but the Mustard and Chilli are really needed. There is a distortion we use on the saxophone, of all things. It’s an octave down and adds a kind of guitar feel, thickening up the mix. It’s really nice and I’d need to have an outboard distortion if I didn’t have that. We also use it for vocals, so it’s handy to have. The EQs are really good, too.’
Communication across multiple departments is key when shows are this complex, but when set-up time is tight a failsafe method for resetting the monitor desk into show mode is needed. ‘The thing I use the most of are the Macros,’ Pare says. ‘I have 24 channels of talkback and you don’t want to accidentally leave talkback open during the show. We have different systems – Riedel, Motorola, etc. It’s a matrix of communication, so the Macros are really important – we turn around so quickly, it’s vital to have a speedy way of resetting. Knowing I’ve got those 40 or so buttons that can be anything I want just makes it so much faster. The competition doesn’t have that, it’s really flexible and it is what sold me on the DiGiCo from the get go.’
‘I use a lot of Macros front-of-house, too,’ adds McMahon. ‘Some are triggered by GPI pedals at my feet, others from custom-made buttons on the surface, as well as QLab chasing time code and firing Midi back into the console. It has given me the ability to do a lot of ‘momentary’ mix moves that are repeatable, in “time zero” and seamless. The recall scope that DiGiCo consoles have is unparalleled in my opinion – you can literally do whatever you want and adapt to change quickly.’
Touring the world for 18 months is a mammoth undertaking and having a strong team behind you is essential. Demands are high on equipment and personnel, so it is inevitable there will be issues, but DiGiCo’s reputation for support does not disappoint.
‘DiGiCo support has been fantastic worldwide,’ says McMahon. ‘Anytime I’ve had a question or needed assistance with anything to do with the console or infrastructure, they’ve been super helpful. ‘The desks are really, really reliable and that’s why we all use them, but if anything fails there are a bunch of people you can call, they’re all in my phone,’ Pare adds. ‘You just have to think, what time zone am I in? Then grab the right number.’
It is not just the sound that benefits from the streamlined DiGiCo workflow, as both McMahon and Pare testify.
‘With my partner-in-crime, Francois, in monitor world also on a Quantum console, it was a very easy integration as we can share SD-Racks,’ says McMahon. ‘Sharing racks makes it all much more streamlined,’ Pare concludes. ‘Our production manager loves it when we say we can cut down on equipment and transport costs. That’s good for everyone.’
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