The Arctic Monkeys tour saw them kick off the the Sasquatch Music Festival at Washington’s 20,000-seat Gorge Amphitheater – with a Soundcraft Vi1 console being used by monitor engineer Will Doyle.

New York-based Firehouse Productions provided the desk for Doyle, who has great experience with both Firehouse and Soundcraft’s line of consoles from prior tours with the group. ‘The Vi1 was a great choice, especially for a massive and spectacular venue like the Gorge,’ he says. ‘It has a small footprint meaning it’s easy to travel with and there is no hassle fitting it anywhere; but it still has nearly all the features of my usual Vi6.

‘It’s a Soundcraft Vi desk, so it sounds just like the others in the range and feels like mixing on a sound desk or console rather than a computer,’ Doyle adds. ‘With custom user layers and VCAs for each mix, I found there’s a lot less button pushing than some other consoles, which means more time looking at the band.’

Doyle uses the desk for stereo IEMs, wedges and side fill, and appreciates the ‘analogue feel’ of the desk: ‘The board responds beautifully and is extremely user-friendly,’ he says.

While festivals can sometimes be hectic often afford little time for change-overs, Doyle has found the ViSi Remote iPad app helpful: ‘I am always confident in what I need to do with this desk,’ he says. ‘This was a great show and I look forward to continuing our journey with Soundcraft.’

More: www.soundcraft.com
More: www.firehouseproductions.com