US Singer Neal McCoy has been a mainstay in country music since the early 1990s. FOH engineer Daryl Johnson has been his FOH man for 18 years and countless performances, and recently moved to Allen & Heath’s Avantis, citing value, sound quality, touchscreen workflow and expandability as primary reasons for his decision.
‘It sounded so clean straight out-of-the-box with no EQ. Nothing done.’ Johnson, recalls of his first encounter with the Avantis. He manages the 41 channels in McCoy’s show using the six customisable layers available on the console, assigning instruments and vocals to dedicated layers, while keeping key outputs visible at all times.
Although he grew up in a world of analogue consoles, Johnson adapted to the touchscreen workflow of the Avantis in short order. ‘It took about two shows,’ he says. He highlights the responsiveness of the touchscreen, allowing him to make nuanced mixing adjustments on the fly. ‘I like that you don’t have to make a big change to hear a difference. It has great sensitivity.’
Johnson’s monitor engineer mixes on a dual-screen Avantis with a GX4816 stagebox and DX168 expander in a digital split. This set-up streamlines signal flow and set-up, eliminating previous bulky analogue snakes for a more efficient load in and teardown. ‘People in touring know it’s all about “the out”,’ Johnson says. ‘It’s about after the show, getting it packed up and getting to bed. Our new system has made that a lot quicker.’
The dPack upgrade, which adds processing tools from Allen & Heath’s flagship dLive platform, is also an integral part of Johnson’s workflow. He uses the Dyn8 dynamic EQ on McCoy’s vocals, while also experimenting with it on the kick drum to add warmth and punch. For gigs when McCoy’s guitarist can’t use his amplifier, the Two Stage Valve preamp from dPack helps recreate authentic tube tones and saturation directly from the console.
McCoy maintains a busy touring schedule of approximately 100 shows a year, playing a variety of venues and events. Johnson remarks that he is happy to be mixing these shows on the Avantis. ‘We’re very happy with it and look forward to mixing on Avantis it for many years to come,’ he reports.
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