HARMANs Soundcraft Vi is at the Heart of Stooshes Sound

HARMANs Soundcraft Vi1 is at the Heart of Stooshes Sound

LONDON, United Kingdom Three-piece UK all-girl vocal group Stooshe is now using a pair of HARMANs Soundcraft Vi1 digital audio consoles on the road. The bands popularity soared after sales of its debut single Black Heart reached more than 500,000, which led to a dedicated monitor engineer being brought in to the fold to join John Delf at FOH.

Delf has worked FOH for a number of major artists including Lily Allen and Plan B, and has been with Stooshe from the offset. He is also a big fan of Soundcrafts Vi6 console. Id always liked the Vi6, and Id never used a Vi1 before, so I saw this tour as the perfect opportunity to get to grips with it, Delf said during a recent soundcheck at Londons Scala. Within a half-hour of using it, I was back in the zone again. Its just perfect for this kind of tour as the footprints so small and transportation is so easy. We only have a small trailer on the back of a van, but the two Vi1s fit in easily. Also, these consoles sound just as good as the Vi6. I was also able to use my Vi6 show file from Stooshes previous tour and it worked perfectly on the Vi1; thats a big advantage to have, as it gives you an immediate platform to work from.

Nigel Thomas was brought in three months ago to work monitors for the band and said it was a total no-brainer opting for the Vi1.

What we realised quite early on was that the girls needed to have consistency, he insists. When I came in and had the discussion with John [Delf] about the kit, it very soon became clear to both of us that the Vi1 was absolutely the perfect solution. Ive come across several of them when working in theatres and have always liked the way they sound, and Im particularly impressed by the user interface. I find that when Im working on it, I dont even look down, as everything is just there in the right place.

For a number of the shows on this tour, including the Scala show, the pair has used the venues in-house analogue multicores in combination with their Soundcraft Compact Stagebox, which Thomas said has allowed both engineers to get exactly what they need.

Using the in-house multi means I can have a gain control, he explained. Im then sending that up to John, and its then going into our digital [Compact] Stagebox at FOH, which is great because it allows John to basically put his desk wherever he wants to.

At the Scala, Delf ran 28 channels at FOH, which left him enough space for any click tracks, cues, or last minute surprises. We just found out that on tonights show there will be several guest vocalists, Delf said hours before show time. Fortunately we can make room for these very easily as the Vi1 has plenty of channels; and of course, due to the quality of the consoles built-in effects, its easy to tweak compression, reverb and EQ really quickly to get any vocal sounding good right away.

Delf said for this show, he spends most of his hands-on time mixing Stooshes vocals. Thats my main focal point, really; and the rest of the time Im just making sure everything is nice and dynamic, he explained. I love the Lexicon effects in the Vi1: I use a plate reverb on the girls vocals along with a studio delay, and a drum reverb on the kit; all of them sound great.

Thomas created 11 stereo monitor mixes: six for the girls and the band members; one for the backline tech; and four for the wedges and sidefills. He said working from the Vi1 makes his workflow so much more efficient.

Unlike many digital desks, it doesnt feel like youre working on a typewriter when youre operating a Vi1, he said. Its just laid out so well, and because of that, its a lovely desk to work with. For John and I on this tour its been a fantastic little solution.

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