The FOH-Monitors pairing of Rob Sadler and John Lumsdon both chose DiGiCo Quantum 5 mixing consoles to handle the high-octane shows that Olly Murs is currently delivering on his tour, including O2 Arena dates in May.
‘The show typically starts with a lot of excitement as the intro-video rolls, then thousands of screaming fans join in as Olly appears on stage,’ Sadler says. ‘Olly wants the crowd to have a great night, so he also tells a lot of stories between songs.’
The engineers joined Murs a little over a year ago but, as Sadler explains, their relationship with DiGiCo consoles began much earlier: ‘I first used a DiGiCo in 2011, and I’ve used them on almost every tour I’ve done since 2015,’ he says. ‘It is definitely the console I feel most comfortable behind and most things are now second nature. I’ve been on tour with Olly for about 16 months and it’s been a lot of fun. It’s what I’d class as a proper pop music concert. There are pyrotechnics, confetti and automated staging, there’s even snow.’
When a show is fast paced and unpredictable, the last thing engineers want to waste time doing is scrolling through layers, or trying to find features. The DiGiCo Quantum 5 surface benefits from three 15-inch full-colour TFT-touchscreens, with 37 physical faders across three banks, ensuring everything is exactly where you want it.
‘I don’t tend to make many adjustments to the mix during the show, just the odd fader ride for guitar solos, horn solos and key BV lines,’ Sadler says. ‘I’m also using Snapshots on each song for muting and sending Midi signals to the outboard reverb units. My main focus throughout is vocal impact and intelligibility. I use Macros to change the Naga 6 between my ‘singing’ and ‘talking’ presets to make sure every word is understood. It’s something that I couldn’t do the gig without now.
‘I chose the Quantum 5 because I like the layout of the console,’ he continues. ‘My entire show is laid-out over the first two layers, so it’s all just one button-press away. This is my first time touring a Quantum console and I feel like I haven’t gone as deep as I could have with the Mustard channels, but it’s something I’ll definitely try out in the future, along with the v20 updates. I’m looking forward to trying the MSE [Mustard Source Expander] and seeing how it compares to analogue units.’
Lumsdon is responsible for the monitor mixes, all delivered via in-ear monitoring, not just for Olly and the band, but also for tech and stage management, a total of 16 wireless IEMs and a further four hardwired units. There are also sub-bass loudspeakers onstage to give a tactile response for the drum, bass and keyboard players. With so much going on, an intuitive workflow is key to a trouble-free show, but staying in the digital domain has also given Lumsdon the edge when delivering great mixes.
He has used DiGiCo consoles since 2017 because of the flexibility of routing and familiarity of the console layout. ‘The show itself is a jam packed, exciting, all action, with a feel-good vibe,’ he says. ‘With ten band members and Olly, I need to keep an eye over the whole stage, so looking down at console isn’t an option. The Snapshot and Matrix features make everything so smooth and easy. We have lots of different parts to the show where new instruments come in and others go off-stage, so we can make transitions seamless without disrupting the workflow.
‘It’s always important from a monitor point of view to get the vocals to have the correct impact in the ears,’ he comtinues. ‘Using a digital radio mic AES output directly into the SD Rack and running at 96K helps to cut latency down to a minimum. That, combined with the 32-bit outputs, really starts the mix off right. When new instruments come in and others go off-stage, we can make transitions without disrupting the workflow.’
Looking forward to coming tour dates, the pair will continue to rely on their Quantum 5s. ‘This is my first time getting stuck in to the Spice Rack processing, using the Chili 6 and Naga 6,’ Sadler says. ‘In my opinion, these features are a huge upgrade for the console.’
‘I’ve always loved the feel and layout of the SD5, so with the added processing I’ll be sticking with the Quantum 5,’ Lumsdon adds. ‘It’s a great improvement. It’s subtle, but small changes make a big difference.’
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