Dan Carvalho was at FOH for Brazilian super-group, Tribalistas
Brazil - Five-time Grammy-winner Dan Carvalho is as adept in the live arena as he is in the studio. During his recent time out on the road mixing FOH for Brazilian super-group, Tribalistas, he needed a flexible console that could not only deliver studio quality sound to the stage, but record the shows to the highest possible standard. After discovering the SSL L500 Plus, he got hold of two for this tour - one for FOH, one for monitors - courtesy of Brazilian rental house Gabisom.
Carvalho's relationship with Tribalistas goes back to when he was just starting out in the industry: at only 24, he helped the band with their first album recording; and 15 years later, got the call once more to record and co-produce album number two. That record is now released, and the fresh material has inspired Tribalistas to tour the first album for the first time ever.
“Because I'm a studio and a live guy, the L500 is the perfect fit for me and these Tribalistas shows, all of which we are recording,” he explains. “The first time I saw what SSL was doing on the live side was at Lollapalooza, where I was doing sound for a smaller band, and the headliner was using an L500. At the time, I didn't know they even had a live console, but I stayed all day looking and listening to it, and it instantly became a dream of mine to work with one.”
The Tribalistas tour has been huge, with the band filling out 45,000-capacity venues in Sao Paolo, and large arena runs in Rio, as well as a European leg before hitting US venues in February. According to Carvalho, having the L500 in tow throughout has literally been like taking a studio out on the road.
“I've worked with SSL 9000s and 5000s in top studios in Rio, and you really do feel the same quality of sound coming from the L500 as those classic consoles, which I have found utterly amazing,” he enthuses. “I have recorded all the shows, and because we are playing to clicks and time codes, everything is pretty much in sync from show to show, which has allowed me to pick out the ambience of all the shows, and sum it together.
“That has been incredible, and the sound we have achieved by doing that is simply huge; this was all possible because of the SSL - it's made my life so much easier out front, and has taken the sonics to a whole other place; and having another on monitors has entirely changed the stage sound for the band - they picked up on it right away.”
(Jim Evans)

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