LONDON,
United Kingdom — Highly experienced sound engineer John Delf, has exchanged the
HARMAN Soundcraft Vi1 he has been using recently on club duty, with fast
emerging London girl trio Stooshe, for the larger Vi6 for the edgy soul/hip hop
of Plan B (Ben Drew) on the arena circuit.
Supplied as
part of a complete PA package by Dave Shepherd’s BCS Audio, the UK arena shows
have been split into two distinct sections, featuring Plan B’s 2010 album, The Defamation of Strickland Banks in the same track order,
followed by the soundtrack of his hardcore London gangland movie Ill Manors in
the second (complete with harrowing visuals).
Supported
by six projectors—firing onto three screens plus IMAG at London’s O2, where a
DVD was also being recorded—it was an exacting challenge for Delf, his system
tech Dave ‘Boxx’ Cann and Shepherd himself (who assumed production management
duties). Aside from the mix, the FOH engineer was using time code to sync to
the screens, supplying click tracks and recording to multitrack from the Vi6’s
optical MADI onto hard disc recorder.
This task
was made easier by the Soundcraft mixing platform that Delf first experienced
at KOKO in London (where a Vi6 is installed). Although experienced in all
digital operating systems, he says the Vi6—with stage rack giving a 96-channel
capability—is perfect for many bands, Plan B being one.
“I have
liked the Vi6 since the first time I used it,” Delf said. “I know it’s a
popular thing to say, but I am very impressed with the preamps. The Vi6 just
gives a bit more crunch and edge, which suits this kind of gig more,
particularly with the hip hop section. It has a real clarity to it. A creative
sound engineer realises that not all desks sound the same—it’s like a guitarist
choosing a Fender Strat for one type of sound and a [Gibson] Les Paul for
another.”
In addition,
Delf loves the fact that he can get a complete visual reference of the show across
the top page of his board—particularly useful on this show, which carries a
10-piece ensemble, including percussion, acoustic guitars, drums, bass,
keyboards, two BV’s and two rappers.
John is
running 42 inputs on this tour. “You can spend your whole time mixing with the
mouse [on some desks] but because of the Vi6’s 32 faders your whole show is in
front of you. I only turn to the second page once in a while.”
Most of
the system dynamics are straight off the board. “I use a subtle amount of
reverb and a lot of EQ and some compression on the mix.”
But
again the Soundcraft Vi6’s unique FaderGlow provides the wizardry. “It is
extremely useful; with everything in front of you it is possible to see what
has EQ on it and what has compression, you can see if the inserts are on. When
you hit the graphic all the faders become EQ and change to red, so you know you
are in graphic mode.”
John
Delf started his career in the studio world, and still runs Edge Recording
Studios in Cheshire (http://www.theedgestudios.co.uk).
His first tour of duty many years ago was with Mark Burgess and the Chameleons
— and he’s not looked back since, working with many big names along the way,
including Lily Allen and The Script.
He
landed the gig with Plan B after working with Eliza Doolittle and supporting
him at the O2. She was also asked to support American dates and John was asked
to double on Plan B for a seven-day stint. “But it turned into six weeks,” he
chuckled. “The first gig was at Coachella [Coachella Valley Music and Arts
Festival] and I was thrown right in at the deep end. Plan B is a
perfectionist and wants everything to be right.” They also played some
festivals in the Balearics, including Mallorca Rocks.
“He’s
quite a dynamic singer but I was told to make sure his vocal was audible, with
no feedback, because his in-ears are turned up really loud. It was a
challenge.”
John
Delf does not use snapshot or scene recalls, but prefers to mix live over his
show file. Via the multitrack hard disc, the sound engineer is able to use the
console’s virtual sound check facility, but overall he says, “It’s the workflow
and sound quality that make the Vi6 special; it’s as near to an analogue desk
in layout as anything I have used.”
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