It’s unusual enough to find a couple of identical digital consoles congregated in the crowded confines of Monitor World … let alone a trio. But that’s precisely what happened when The Script played their sell-out homecoming gig at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium recently — their first stadium headline concert — when three Soundcraft Vi6’s could be seen in the stage wings, where they were sequentially pressed into monitor duties.
PA providers to the Irish trio are Adlib Audio, and crew chief Marc Peers says the Vi6 is the band’s monitor desk of choice. “The Script know precisely what they are looking for. “Both Mark [Sheehan] and Danny [O’Donoghue] are former producers and they love the sound of the Vi6. Monitor engineer Paul Moore used all the board’s dynamics — and there was no outboard processing whatsoever.”
At the same time Adlib provided a second board for fellow Irish band The Coronas, whose foldback engineer Liam Mullen mixed their stage sound.
Meanwhile the main support was Tinie Tempah — an SSE Audio Group account; and they met stage engineer Raf Williams’ request for a third Vi6 — which was overseen by SSE’s monitor tech Owain Richards.
The Vi6 is an ideal desk for monitors, not only because of its superior sound quality but also its reduced footprint — a particular advantage on small stages where a slim profile desk is essential (and no additional outboard is necessary). Monitor engineers also commend the Vi6’s ergonomics, with the 32 faders set out in a line across the surface.
The Aviva Stadium is no stranger to hosting equipment from the Harman Pro stable; last year the former Lansdowne Road underwent a complete rebuild, with large quantities of JBL PD loudspeakers specified for the main sound reinforcement system, and Crown amplifiers and BSS Soundweb London for the network control — as well as a Soundcraft analogue desk for match day broadcast mixing.
