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Confessions of a Front Of House Engineer
When it comes to live work, no one knows more about Front of House sound than Kevin Pruce. Over the last 23 years he has worked with the biggest names in the business including Madonna and Björk. So what gear does one of the world’s best Front of House engineers take on tour with him? Focusrite, naturally . . .
Reading Kevin Pruce’s live engineering credentials is like looking at a who’s who of icons from last three decades of pop. It includes Duran Duran, Adam Ant, The Human League, Tears For Fears, The Style Council, Sinead O'Connor, Björk, Lemon Jelly, Starsailor, Yoko Ono, Meat Loaf and, last but by no means least, Madonna! And with all that experience, it’s difficult to ignore what this man has to say about which equipment to use for live duties.
“When it comes to FoH, spec the right equipment for the job, not what is flavour of the month,” he says. With that in mind it’s not surprising to find that an engineer of his caliber demands the best gear, and Pruce has an arsenal of Focusrite gear at his disposal. “I have used the ISA 110 (mic pre and EQ), the ISA 430 (Producer Pack),
the Red 3 [dual compressor/limiter] and Liquid Channel. I use them all for vocal processing and they are all superb, just so well designed and functional.”
But he particularly picks out the ISA428 (multichannel mic pre front end) for praise for its “sound, interface and A-D conversion” and also because it’s got “easy digital connection, has four preamps in one unit, and insert patch in the same rack to give me a better vocal sound.” He’s also quick to point out its essential features for use with today’s digital set-ups: “Better A to D conversion and preamp section for crucial inputs like vocals are a must with some of today’s digital consoles.”
Recently Kevin finished off some promos with Madonna and, at the end of last year, completed a tour with “good mates” The Human League. The biggest challenge is yet to come, however, as he has a world tour with Madonna lined up. You can bet your life that Madonna will be Hung Up on Focusrite units throughout but, until then, one last word of advice from Pruce the master of FoH: “Keep an open mind to do things differently and learn from others, even after 23 years!”
19th April 2006
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