Performing in front of a crowd of 54,000 in his hometown of Medellín, Columbian singer Maluma’s recent live appearance was dubbed Maluma’s medallo en el mapa – a concert to put Medellín on the map. Mix engineers – Lucas Pinzon (FOH), German Tarazona (monitors) and Fabrizio Piazzini (broadcast) – had chosen to use Waves plug-ins for Maluma’s 2022 world tour, with the Waves SuperRack plug-in rack for FOH and monitors in all shows, and the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer to mix the Amazon Music Prime broadcast of the homecoming concert.

‘I’ve been using Waves plug-ins constantly over the past 11 years, and today they are essential to my work on every show,’ says Pinzon, ‘I use them on my DiGiCo Quantum 338 console via its Waves IO port and the Waves SuperRack live plug-in rack. This set-up gives me unbelievable agility, where a split second is vital to get what I want in a live show environment.’

‘In this 360° show, the acoustic energy is very impressive, in that all the microphones are open and located literally below the PA, so I take great care of my gain structure as the basis for everything. The plug-ins with which I can “clean” the sound are my secret weapon. I use the eMo D5 Dynamics, PSE, CLA 76, WNS Noise Suppressor on voices, and the NS1 Noise Suppressor for acoustic guitars.’

‘For me, SuperRack has been a new world and a total game-changer for my in-ear monitoring mixes,’ adds Tarazona. ‘This is my first tour using DiGiCo with Waves integration, and it’s been my best decision. I have control from the console for any parameter of the plug-ins that I select, which allows me to be more precise when making changes during the concert.’

‘For this tour, I use a DiGiCo 338 console with a Waves IO port, two Extreme-C SoundGrid Servers for redundancy and a Mac mini for my SuperRack. During rehearsals, I like to use the touchscreen – it allows me to navigate very fast, but during the show, I am very careful with every step I take, so I prefer to use the Touch and Turn knob of my DiGiCo to change the parameters of my plug-ins. This is an incredible advantage of SuperRack’s integration with DiGiCo. I also have the privilege of having a singer and a band who are all well versed in technology, so with every plug-in I use we explore it as a team so that everyone enjoys the process of their instrument. What reassures me, as well, is that they don’t feel any latency in their mixes.’

‘We’ve used Waves’ eMotion LV1 mixer to broadcast our live show from the Atanasio Girardot Stadium in Medellin on both Amazon Music Prime and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch,’ says Piazzini. ‘The LV1’s sound quality is amazing – open top end, super-fast transients, wide stereo image and almost infinite headroom. Furthermore, the audio engine is so clean – its stereo image is industry-leading and the ability to dial in any plug-in on any channel really elevates this platform to be the best sounding around.’

‘The LV1 allowed me to get the mix ready even if I was on holiday. What other desk this size fits in the back of my car along with my family and all luggage for a two-week holiday? This was a very strong point for the client as we worked together with tracks recorded on previous shows. Form factor is key in today’s touring, and we could fit two complete systems in the space of half of any other console available.

‘As far as networking, the LV1 has huge possibilities. The really quick set up for multitrack and virtual soundcheck is a game-changer. Our set-up is quite simple: Waves eMotion LV1, DiGiGrid MGB, Waves Extreme SoundGrid Server, DSPRO StageGrid 4000, Waves Axis One and Waves FIT Controller. The set up is very quick – ten minutes and my two rigs were up and running.’

‘When mixing for broadcast, spill in the vocal mics is a real issue. The Waves WNS plug-in is a game-changer for us when it comes to that. Normally, you can clean up the vocal mics only so much before it really changes the tonal balance of the mix. Before, I’d use an expander, but when the vocal opened up, the EQ would dramatically change the whole mix because of the spill. With WNS’s multi-band feature, I can choose the band I want to use on a specific signal, significantly reducing mic spill.’

‘Another fantastic plug-in feature we use is the F6’s mid-side processing with an external side chain. I use it on two specific busses: ambience mics and band stem. On both busses I use mid processing triggered by a vocal buss signal, so when the singer sings, those frequencies are tamed both on the band and on the overall ambience, so you’re not fighting with the space in your mix or ending up with the vocals louder than they should be. Intelligibility is increased greatly with this tool.’

See also:
Maluma takes Quantum leap on US tour

More: www.waves.com