REM'S MIDAS TOUCH

11 August 2008

Alternative rock icons R.E.M. are touring the world with two Midas XL8 Live Performance Systems and a Klark Teknik DN9696 high resolution hard disk recorder, provided by US rental company Rat Sound.

The tour started in North America in May, reaching Europe for festival, stadium and arena appearances throughout July, August and September.
 
The XL8s are manned by engineers Brett Eliason at FOH and George Squiers on monitors, both longtime Midas users. “We’d been waiting for something better in the digital realm,” says Squiers. “Brett had been talking to Midas about their new digital system for the last R.E.M. tour, but it was still in development. I wanted to get out of the digital desk I had been using, and the timing was right for this tour. I was looking for more than just the flexibility of digital; I wanted a great-sounding digital desk.”
 
To prepare for the R.E.M. tour, Squiers met with Matt Larson (Americas Sales Manager, Midas & Klark Teknik) and Jon Monson (Rat Sound) at Rat Sound to get a feel for the XL8. “It was immediately clear to me that the XL8 lived up to the Midas name,” continues Squiers. “Sonically and ergonomically it’s all there. It’s the best-sounding and the most analogue-feeling digital console I’ve used. I want to feel like I’m mixing on a console, not at the helm of the Enterprise. One thing I love about the digital domain is it makes it possible for a monitor guy like me to mix on faders, instead of turning pots. It feels so much more organic. The area A&B simultaneous functionality is also great. We’re running both in-ears and wedges, and the XL8 will automatically drive to my cue in-ears when I solo an in-ear mix, and drive to my cue wedge when I solo a stage wedge. Add the sound quality to that flexibility, and you have the best of both worlds for a monitor engineer.”
 
Brett Eliason describes how the XL8 is streamlining audio production for the tour while keeping the hands-on side of mixing a show intact: “I’ve been an XL4 fan for a long time, and on the last R.E.M. tour that desk was packed. We also had some issues with the 300-feet analogue snake run. Knowing that we could cure all that with the XL8 was a key part of the decision process. Having things muted when they’re not being used, cleanly, easily, and effectively was very appealing to me. And features like the VCAs (Variable Control Associations) and POP (population) Groups help keep things organised yet right at your fingertips—there’s no need to sift through pages to find what you’re looking for, at the risk of missing a cue. Up until now I haven’t been pleased with the sound quality of most of the digital desks I’ve used, and I’ve always loved the sound of Midas preamps and EQs. Having it all available in a digital package was very appealing.”
 
The Klark Teknik DN9331 Rapide moving-fader graphic EQ controller is another detail that brings hands-on user-friendliness to the digital realm: “The Rapide really helped when throwing a mix up to audition and compare various wedges for the tour,” says Squiers. “Once again, it takes you back to the analogue feel, though it’s digital. It’s every bit a graphic EQ that you can reach and grab—another thing that was missing from the digital domain.”
 
Renowned for his groundbreaking work mixing Pearl Jam’s “bootleg” live recordings, Eliason describes how the new Klark Teknik DN9696 hard disk recorder is working out: “The DN9696 is integrated into the XL8 as an I/O option. It’s so simple to use. I can start the recording using the KVM switch on the XL8 work surface, without any of the usual concerns about outboard recording equipment. The fact that it’s a 24-bit/96k system is also extremely attractive, and as it mirrors to external hard drives during the show the content is archived immediately; I don’t need to spend an hour backing stuff up. I took my hard drive recordings back to my studio; they seamlessly pulled into Pro Tools and sounded excellent.
 
“The virtual sound-checking feature on the DN9696 is also really useful. I used it to program the console during pre-production rehearsals in Vancouver, which saved time getting the tour ready. After rehearsals I sat down at the console and in three milliseconds I was playing back the information they had given me earlier in the day.”
 
The whole production team was appreciative of the level of support received from Midas. “It’s been an essential element of the XL8’s success on this tour,” says Squiers. “As Midas guys we can quickly get to grips with the work surface, but the hands-on product support has expedited the learning curve in terms of getting the most out of the system.”
 
“R.E.M. deserve the XL8s,” concludes Bill Rahmy, R.E.M. Production Manager. “The band are at the top of their game, and the XL8 is a unique-sounding console that matches their depth.”

 

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