A last-minute mix rescue at the Calgary Stampede in Nashville in 2024 saw FOH engineer Jordan Waller save the headline set for Josh Ross with his Allen & Heath dLive C1500 console, earning the trust of the team and securing his current role with some of country music biggest stars.
‘Once I got Josh and his crew on the C1500, they didn’t look back,’ he says. ‘We’ve been using it ever since,’
The 31-year-old engineer from Langley, British Columbia, is currently the desk man for 2025 Juno Award Country Album of the Year winner Josh Ross, as well as working with the Reklaws, Johnny Orlando, Jess Moskaluke, Dallas Smith and Tyler Joe Miller – making him one of the most in-demand engineers on Canada’s booming country scene. At the centre of Waller’s touring set-up is Allen & Heath’s ultra-compact dLive C1500, a console that he says checks every box.
‘There’s no other console this small that does what it does,’ he says. ‘I can run 128 inputs and mix monitors from FOH with a footprint small enough to squeeze into any festival or opener slot, and never sacrifice on quality.’
Waller first became acquainted with an Allen & Heath iLive console during his early years working in church production, and quickly grew into a self-taught producer, musician and live sound tech. After developing his skills on Vancouver’s music scene, he broke into national touring in 2021 with Tyler Joe Miller, eventually mixing FOH for artists such as Jess Moskaluke and Powfu, before landing on the Josh Ross crew in 2024.
The dLive C1500’s functionality proves critical on tour: ‘I end up mixing monitors from FOH a lot, and that means I need precise control over every input,’ Waller says. ‘The ability to tweak things separately for in-ears versus the PA – no other console does it like this one.’
The desk’s onboard tools also impress: ‘The built-in FX sound amazing. The Peak Limiter 76 compressor emulation is top-notch, the RackUltra FX Saturator and built-in pitch correction are incomparable–it’s a no-brainer for the kind of midsize touring I’m doing.’
Waller’s use of Allen & Heath consoles has also influenced others in the industry. After touring with the Avantis for Johnny Orlando’s US and Southeast Asia run, he convinced a local audio provider to invest in a dLive C1500 – which quickly became a go-to for other engineers.
‘Since I took it on the road, that console hasn’t been back in the shop for more than a week. The demand speaks for itself.’
More: www.allen-heath.com