latest news headlines
UB 40 with D5 Live
Formed in 1980, West Midlands band UB40’s reggae style has lost none of its appeal over the years. Their extensive touring schedule continues with Who You Fighting For. This is a show that has seen a significant change in audio equipment: DiGiCo D5 Lives now sit at both front of house and monitor positions and have been warmly welcomed by crew and band alike.
SSE Hire, a company that has a long and happy association with UB40, supplies the sound system. Front of house engineer Tom Wiggans has been with the band for a little over two years and his first experience with the D5 was at Live 8 in Hyde Park, where they first toyed with the idea of changing console. Although the frenetic atmosphere of Live 8 wasn’t the best place to assess how the D5 performed sonically, its other features were attractive enough to awaken Tom’s interest. “So we decided we’d give it a go in rehearsals for this tour. The band loved it instantly and now I know that it’s sonically really good, too,” he says.
Since then, the D5 has proved itself in many ways, from its small footprint through to the ability to carry all necessary data on a USB key. “We do gigs all over the place,” continues Tom. “So the less gear we have to ship the better. If we have to ship the console, it gives us a significant weight saving – we’ve lost a stage box because of the gain tracking facility and that’s saved us 180Kg and the small footprint means more seats for sale.”
“We’ve had the D5s for a couple of months now,” adds audio crew boss and monitor babysitter Neil Heathcote. “Using the DiGiCo’s has been a great opportunity to clean things up in terms of the way the stage is wired and the whole system in general. It gave us a fresh start and the band have appreciated this opportunity after so many years of legacy mixes from previous monitor engineers and the audio quality is great.”
Both Neil and Tom found that once they’d got over the initial, inevitable learning curve required with a new product, the D5 gave them a host of advantages. “The D5 assumes nothing,” says Neil. “It lets you make all the decisions which, with time to plan, gives you immense freedom. Once you acquire the right thought processes, you’re rocking and it’s a breeze to mix on.”
As well as providing superb audio quality, the D5s have provided additional channels for the band’s project to record each show of the tour using a new MADIcorder from Technical Earth. After each show a hard disks gets couriered back to UB40’s studio, DEP International, where they re-mix and sell the finished product online within five working days. “The band was completely blown away by the MADIcorder,” adds Neil. So much so that any questions about the necessity of changing to the D5 were dispelled because of this impressive combination.
“So much so that they went out and bought a MADIcorder there and then. But for us, the overriding reason for choosing DiGiCo is because of the excellent support they provide,” Neil concludes. “There’s someone on the end of the phone 24/7, which is really important, especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere. And you get the impression they listen to feedback. If you can’t do something you want to, then they’ll look into it for you - and generally find a solution!”
In picture: DiGiCo’s Bob Doyle and Tim Shaxson with Tom Wiggans (centre).
27th February 2006
HEADLINES
news archive
search stories
FOOTNOTE: Select the news type you require in the red band above; this will enable you to see the current news stories from that section
© 1999 - 2012 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories
