SSL takes a trip with Portugal The Man
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On this tour Izzo deals with anything from 40 to 60 inputs per show, depending on factors that include a steady stream of guests, choirs, and/or orchestras - variable according to the city they happen to be playing in. This, the wide range of material and styles that the band visits, and the fact the band refuses to use any tracks, makes for a challenging, and very 'live' show.
"The set opens with a Metallica cover," says Izzo. "And they might do anything from an Oasis tune, some Beatles, some psychedelic rock, and some really heavy stuff. Dynamic control is a big factor. And it's a very loud show on stage as well; half the band is on ears, the other half is on large side-fills - and of course the Fender twins are pretty well opened up."
Izzo has found that a stem-based workflow works well for him, as he was already using a basic group-based mixing approach with his previous console. The Stem is a more flexible type of path that can have full processing, including inserts, and can be picked off from six different points in the source path. "Everything goes through at least one stem before it hits the master bus, and often more... I have some stems, like my delays and reverbs that go into a full effects stem for broadcast recording. Even if people are taking a multitrack from me, I can at least send them my effects stem, so they get that the way it's supposed to be."
Izzo agrees with much of the public commentary around the SSL Live Consoles and their sonic qualities: "The overall tonality is great and the summing is wonderful – it sounds very natural. When I first started using console I put a mix together really quickly - everything just falls into place. There's tons of headroom, and I never have to push it hard at all to get exactly what I want out of it."
(Jim Evans)
