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22
Production Profile
Headline
Deck
ence, and Johnson was easily able to make
fine adjustments while advancing his show
snapshot or adjusting another element of
the mix.
The same logic holds for effects, specifically
reverbs on vocals and drums. Since
each song requires some manipulation of
Hugh at the desk
certain parameters, Johnson prefers using a
TC Electronics M5000 inserted in the Profile
channel signal path via AES. This gives him
instant access to the knobs without changing
his main screen view.
For this show, Johnson uses a similar
processing chain using onboard plug-ins for
JANUARY 2011 www.fohonline.com
Amy Grant and all other vocalists. (A wide
variety of plug-ins is used on this tour across
vocals and instruments, including the Waves
Platinum bundle, Crane Song Phoenix and
Trillium Lane Labs Space impulse response
reverb.)
Johnson also started using a new mic
Crew
FOH Engineer/Production Manager:
Hugh Johnson
Monitor Engineer: Sam Parker
Audio Vendor: Sound Image
Sound Image Crew: Andrew Dowling,
Danny Poland, Todd Wines
combination on Vince Gill’s guitar amps for
this tour. He found that blending the new
Shure KSM313 ribbon microphone with a
standard SM57 captured the full tone from
Gill’s amps with just enough edge to drive
the mix. Besides keeping consistent mic
placement on the amps, Johnson also rides
It is far more convenient to reach over and adjust a BSS setting on Gill’s
vocal during song changes rather than juggling control screens.
The Ryman Auditorium is a converted church, complete with pews.
the faders to get the right balance for each
song, especially given the varied program
on this tour.
Compressed Punch FOH
Another mix technique used by Johnson
for the drum kit proved very effective. Since
the song styles ranged from driving rock
to smooth jazz and contemplative ballads,
Billy Thomas (Gill’s drummer and occasional
background vocalist) uses sticks and brushes
throughout the program. Johnson fits the
drums in the mix by blending the kit with a
dual-mono compressed drum group, allowing
him to easily add a more compressed
punch to the kit without losing the full
range on more dynamic ballads. In addition,
Johnson dual-mics the kick drum with the
Shure Beta 52 and KSM32 to capture both
the punch and softer low end that keeps the
Vince Gill and Amy Grant
Twelve Days of Christmas
kick in place in the mix.
Gill’s monitor engineer, Sam Parker, also
uses an Avid Profile console to drive 16 monitor
mixes for the band. For this tour, Parker
chose an L-Acoustics 115XT dual wedge
configuration for Gill, and mixed Sound Image
PD15 and PD12 wedges for the band
and background vocalists. Parker also set up
an IEM mix for Amy Grant, which she used
along with the downstage wedge. Even in
Gear
FOH/Monitor consoles: Avid Venue Profile
Tour PA: 24 JBL VerTec 4889, 12 JBL VerTec
4880, 2 Sound Image G5, 2 Sound Image
Theater Sub, 8 Sound Image 1160
FOH/Monitor Amps: Crown I-Tech HD
12000 w/System Architect
Vince’s Wedges: L-Acoustics 115XT
Band Wedges: Sound Image PD15, Sound
Image PD12
Vocal Mics: Shure KSM 9
Vince’s Guitar Amp Mics: Shure KSM313,
Shure SM57
the relatively small theater setting, Parker’s
stage volume did not bleed into Johnson’s
FOH mix on the floor, a testament to his ability
to give the band clean and precise mixes
throughout the show.
Johnson and his team return to the road
with Vince Gill at the end of January, and
are sure to continue delivering a consistent,
powerful sound that keeps Gill’s fans on
their feet.