Onboard effects, plug-ins, and Pro Tools integration bolster live sound production and recording
Daly City, CA (August 29, 2007) — Producer and soundman extraordinaire Jeffrey Luge Holdip recently wrapped a seven-month stint as FOH engineer for Nelly Furtado’s world tour—a tour in which he experienced the Digidesign® VENUE live sound console for the very first time. Along the way, Holdip discovered just how versatile the VENUE D-Show® console really is, enabling him to transition Furtado’s complex music from the studio to the live arena.
Already a fan of Digidesign gear, Holdip made a living recording reggae bands in his studio using Pro Tools® and a Control|24™ control surface. When he was tapped for the Furtado tour, he had the opportunity to change the existing sound system and jumped at the chance to test drive a VENUE system to, as he put it, “align both the recording and the live world.”
Holdip—along with Towers Clair Showco in Canada—put together two VENUE systems to handle the 46-input FOH and monitor needs for Furtado and her band. VENUE proved to be the perfect one-stop solution for the tour, allowing Holdip to virtually eliminate the need for outboard gear in favor of the D-Show console’s onboard plug-ins and effects.
“My favorite plug-ins for the live shows are the McDSP MC2000 for multiband compression and ReVibe® for reverb,” he reports. “I mix with a lot of bottom end; the MC4000 helps to clean the kick drum and allow for great impact. I am a fan of old-school analog boards that sound really warm, and it is worth the time and effort to set up the plug-ins to make the mix sound like an old-school analog board.”
Additionally, because of the VENUE system’s seamless integration with Pro Tools, Holdip was able to record all of Furtado’s shows for future use, should she decide to release a live album.
Because Furtado’s music is quite complex with a lot of layers, and the sound changes significantly from song to song, Holdip found the VENUE system’s snapshot automation indispensable. In fact, he makes extensive use of it in each song. “I love having the ability to recall specific settings for each song,” he remarks. “This way, the EQ variations and input gain for instrument changes are secure.”
Holdip now joins the ranks of a lengthy list of professional engineers who are sold on VENUE for one simple fact (among its many virtues)—VENUE gives engineers the ability to use studio-quality tools in the live sound environment.
For more information about Nelly Furtado and her music, visit Nellyfurtado.
About VENUE
Digidesign’s VENUE live sound environment is revolutionizing the art and profession of live sound mixing with studio-quality sound, TDM plug-in effects processing, and direct connectivity to industry-standard Pro Tools recording and playback systems. For more information about the VENUE line of products, visit www.digidesign.com/venue .
About Digidesign
Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc., is the world’s leading manufacturer of digital audio production systems and the winner of the 2001 Technical Grammy® Award and 2003 Academy Award® of Merit (Oscar® statuette) for the design, development, and implementation of the Pro Tools digital audio workstation. Digidesign provides the professional music, film, video, multimedia, and radio broadcast industries with tools for digital recording, MIDI sequencing, editing, signal processing, and surround mixing. Digidesign products are marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide through a distribution network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships. M-Audio, a leading provider of digital audio and MIDI solutions for electronic musicians and audio professionals, is a business unit of Digidesign. For more information, visit Digidesign .
© 2007 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Promotions and discounts are subject to availability and change without notice. All prices are US MSRP for U.S. and Canada only and are subject to change without notice. Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, Sibelius, Control|24, D-Show, Pro Tools, and ReVibe are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Academy Award and Oscar are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
