POTTERS BAR, United
Kingdom — While on tour with 5-piece indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs, sound
engineer Chris Leckie, relies on HARMAN’s Soundcraft Vi Series consoles for all
FOH and monitor needs. Kaiser Chiefs, who released their debut album titled Employment in 2005, have enjoyed great
international success touring throughout Europe and the North America.
In 2007, Kaiser Chiefs were about to embark on their largest
and most ambitious arena tour to date in order to support their second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, when their
previous engineer decided to give up his position. Leckie came on board and
adjusted to the task, but was always jealous of the Soundcraft Vi6 console that
was on tour with them to handle the opening acts. “As the tour progressed I found
myself experiencing console envy!” said Leckie.
Leckie noticed how easily visiting engineers, from
youngsters to experienced professionals like him, became acquainted with the
feature set of the Vi6 and produced stunning results. “I quickly realized I
needed to switch allegiances,” Leckie said.
During the European part of the tour, which is currently
taking place through the end of July, Leckie and monitor engineer, Ilias
Andrianatos, have been able to use the Vi6, which is now their console of
choice. However, during the preceding North American leg of the tour, it was
not logistically practical to transport the Vi6 around the country. “HARMAN and
Soundcraft were helpful in supplying a pair of the more compact Vi1 consoles to
be used by me and our monitor engineer. This allowed us to retain most of the
facilities available to us on our Vi6, and keep some degree of consistency from
show to show.”
Many challenges come with being a sound engineer for Kaiser
Chiefs, according to Leckie. “They don’t play to a click track which adds
difficulty to my job. There isn’t a rack of equipment sending me identical
program material at the same level every night, and if I’m going to keep a
handle on the somewhat unpredictable, wriggling beast that is a Kaiser show, I
need to see what is going on at all times and have access to everything as
quickly as I would on an analog board. Soundcraft and the Vi Series does that,
and at any point I can see EQ, gates, compression, effects, etc., on every
channel, rather than having to negotiate my way through multiple tiers and
screens.”
While on tour, Leckie explained the importance of having a
reliable console that can perform in any situation. “I also need a console that
is easy and quick to use, and on top of everything, it needs to sound good.”
“With each software update the desk gets better, with
sensible and useful additions that continue to make my job easier and more
enjoyable. The new user layers allow me to arrange faders into convenient
locations for specific songs,” Leckie said. “This has been a revelation! The
quality of EQ and dynamics of the Vi console is superb as well. At any time,
Ricky Wilson [vocals] can pick up any of the three different vocal microphones
at his disposal and I have to maintain the intelligibility and consistency when
he climbs up in the front of the PA or wherever he runs around.”
“I’m grateful to be mixing on a Soundcraft board and
continue to love my job, which is the most important part. With the help of
Soundcraft it only gets better,” Leckie summed up.
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