SSL Live - a new console for Old Dominion
- Details
Earlier this year, FOH engineer Ian Zorbaugh and monitor engineer Dean Studebaker decided to take SSL L300 Plus consoles, supplied by premier event production company Morris Lighting & Sound, on the road with Old Dominion.
Zorbaugh chose the SSL L300 because of the positive feedback he was hearing from other engineers - particularly Chris Rabold, who used L500 on the Kenny Chesney tour, which Old Dominion have been supporting. "The main thing I heard about the SSLs was that they sound absolutely phenomenal - that you need minimal EQ, less processing, and so on. I wanted to experience that, and to get to know the console."
Zorbaugh manages about 60 inputs from stage, with half of those coming from Whit Sellers' sizable drum kit, including two snares, four toms, and a wide range of cymbals. With that number of drums squeezed into the kit, and generating a lot of volume, control is an important part of the on-stage craft. As well as the standard kit microphones, there are also a number of drum triggers set up to feed the gate side chains on the individual kit channels. "All the cymbals are so close - some are actually closer to some of the tom mics than the toms are," explains Zorbaugh. "So having the triggers means that the correct gate opens when he's hitting the tom and stays closed when the splash cymbal is flying around everywhere."
Zorbaugh’s original motivation for taking SSL Live on tour was its reputation for sound quality. "Everything sounds very natural - less like there's a computer in the way; like there isn't as much 'stuff' going on - definitely a more analogue feel."
(Jim Evans)
