The Fall leg of U2’s Vertigo tour kicked
off recently with veteran Clair Brothers engineer Dave Skaff choosing Digidesign’s
VENUE live sound environment to handle monitor mixing duties.
Skaff, a 25-year mixing engineer whose credits include U2, Alicia Keys, Shania
Twain and others, first used VENUE as a front-of-house console (FOH) for Alicia
Keys. It worked out so well that he is using it for his next gig — mixing
monitors for rock icons U2.
"I tried out VENUE in the FOH position in January at an Alicia Keys show
in California," says Skaff. "And from that experience, I'd recommend
VENUE at either end of the snake which is why VENUE was my choice for this leg
of the Vertigo tour.” Skaff continues, “VENUE has the sound and
feel of your favorite analog console along with reliable digital control, ease-of-use,
powerful plug-ins and Pro Tools compatibility.”
For the U2 gig, Skaff is using VENUE’s 24 mix buses to drive a combination
of in ear mixes and wedge mixes for Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen (drums),
as well as several backline technicians. VENUE’s Personal Q (PQ) system
has been called into action on the tour, with a PQ Controller being used onstage
in place of an analog submixer to allow remote control of the drum monitor mix.
A rack-mounted Pro Tools|HD system connected directly to VENUE’s HDx
interface allows Skaff to record up to 96 tracks of audio with no additional
Digidesign interfaces needed. Once recorded, he can then easily switch from
the live inputs to Pro Tools playback tracks — a feature that gets put
to use daily during soundcheck. “There wasn’t much pre-production
time with the console before the tour started so I’ve been using the Pro
Tools tracks recorded during rehearsal to refine each mix during soundcheck,
without needing the band onstage.” says Skaff.
Skaff also didn't have any problem switching from an analog console to VENUE
mid-tour. "I'm an old live sound mixer and just a novice with Pro Tools,"
he says. "And it wasn’t difficult even for an old road dog like me
to use the two together effectively."
Further, VENUE cut out the need for a lot of extra equipment in the confines
of U2’s complex understage monitor world. Skaff attests, "Using VENUE
has helped us cut down — in a marked way — the sheer amount of outboard
processing and insert gear required for this tour.”
“I can honestly say that this is the first new console that I’ve
used in a long time that will live up to it’s considerable potential in
both the high quality audio and digital reliability, not to mention all the
really cool plug-in possibilities,” states Skaff.
About Digidesign VENUE
Digidesign VENUE is an innovative, state-of-the-art live sound mixing and production
environment that surpasses the sound quality and functionality of other sound
reinforcement mixing systems at a surprisingly affordable price. VENUE was designed
to provide operators with the most flexible set of audio tools pos¬sible.
Each system component is expandable and reconfigurable on a per-show basis,
including the D-Show mixing console and digital mix engine, effects plug-ins,
the stage and FOH I/O, the digital snake, and the record/playback options.
For more information, visit Digidesign’s website at www.digidesign.com.
