ProSound News - December 2008 - (Page 50)

livesoundshowcase I by Clive Young t was the year’s most unlikely reunion tour. When 2008 began, rock supergroup Velvet Revolver was touring to support its second album, with former Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott round; since then, he’s mixed acts like Evanescence, Zakk Wylde and the Black Label Society, Drowning Pool, Papa Roach and POD. That experience was necessary when he slid behind the house desk just two rehearsal days before STP set off across the country, Mapp took on a Clair audio system that had been spec’d long before his arrival. Much like 10 years ago, the band eschewed modern-day line arrays, choosing instead traditional Showco Prism boxes, hung in a four by seven grid on each side of the stage. “You mix specifically for this box as opposed to, say, some line arrays where sometimes your mix will translate from one brand to another,” said Mapp. “If you mix to it, you can get good results and have a great time at shows. But a lot of people show up with a digital desk, pull up their last show, and if they’re not expecting it, it definitely can be challenging.” The PA was the only audio nod to an earlier era, however, as Mapp, too, was using a digital desk—in this case, a Digidesign DShow Profile. Instead of racks upon racks linBARRY BRECHEISEN/WIREIMAGE.COM Stone Temple Pilots Fly Again Scott Weiland (left) roars into a Shure wireless mic, wearing Ultimate Ears UE-7 IEMs, while Dean DeLeo sports UE-11s. JENNIFER JURGENS ing the mix position, the FOH area was relatively petite. “I don’t really have much out at front of house,” he confirmed. “We’re interfacing the Profile with a Pro Tools rig that the band purchased to record and archive all the shows, and we also do virtual soundchecks sometimes with it. There’s a Clair (Dolby Lake) iO for EQ with the SIA Smaart overlay, and I’m keeping it ‘club style’ with the Sabine Feedback Eliminator; it works and we need it, ‘cause Scott’s all over the place, crawling up the PA and stuff. Sometimes it seems like he’s out in front of the PA more than he’s actually on stage—and that’s what keeps it fun.” A full 38 different plug-ins were being used inside the Profile, ranging from a variety of URS API-style EQs to Eventide reverbs on drums to a Digidesign Smack compressor on the bass. Mapp rattled them off, noting, “I’ve probably got eight Eventide [H3000] Factory plug-ins doing just different panning stuff; Instant Phaser and I’ll use that in connection with a panning thing for weird cymbals and (continued on page 52) Weiland tearing up stages nightly. That jaunt—and indeed, the entire band— imploded in Europe, however, when the vocalist announced onstage that it was the last time he was performing with the group. With his schedule suddenly cleared, an STP reunion soon sprang to life, and what began as a lark, reuniting the ‘90s hard rock act for a few festival dates, soon blossomed into a full-fledged tour that ran from May through November. Despite the band’s long run of rock radio hits, it was often a critics’ punching bag in the past, making the rather triumphant return to sold-out shows across the country all the more remarkable—and likely, sweet. Front-of-house engineer Eddie Mapp was a student at Arizona’s Conservatory of Recording Sciences during the Pilots’ first go- prosoundnews.com December 2008 http://www.meyersound.com/seminars http://www.meyersound.com/seminars http://www.prosoundnews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProSound News - December 2008

ProSound News - December 2008 Sound Business Contents Hank’s Best Yet Sound Recording Studio Showcase: Great City Productions Software Tech Tracks Sessions Anticipating Post’s Future Post Showcase: Eargasm HD Audio Post The Business of Being Creative Sound Innovations: VRsonics VibeStudio Spatial Design Suites Field Reports: Product Profiles Yes We Can Hear Obama Live Sound Showcase: Stone Temple Pilots Centerstage Soundcheck Sound People View From the Top Product Spotlight Classifieds Advertiser Index Company Index Music, etc

ProSound News - December 2008

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