
CHICAGO, Illinois - July 2015 -- One of the slammin'est tours out this year is The Boys of Zummer Tour that pairs rockers Fall Out Boy with rapper Wiz Khalifa, an alchemy that's been drawing raves for a genres cross-pollination that Billboard called a night of music and an opportunity to exercise its right to be young, and wild and free, noting that the band came out with all guns blazing, clearly pumped and owning the audience from the second they launched into their opener Sugar, We're Goin Down.' Adding to the excitement is crystal-clear live sound, thanks in large part to a DiGiCo SD5 FOH console, manned by Chad Olech, and a DiGiCo SD10 desk guided by Kevin Dennis for monitors.
Olech, who has mixed FOH for a wide array of major touring artists like Demi Lovato, Robin Thicke, Joe Jonas, Anthrax, Survivor and the Deftones, was new to the DiGiCo SD5 when he went to the tour SR provider Clair Global's headquarters in Lititz, PA last fall. While there, he asked Clair to set up a shootout between half a dozen consoles, including the SD5, using the Clair i3 cabinets and CP218 subs they'd be using on the tour.
I've been using another manufacturer's console for the last seven years and it's a great console functionally, but it often needs some help sonically, he explains, adding that for this tour he was looking for a desk that's operationally intuitive but also sounds amazing. The SD5 fulfilled all of those wishes. The workflow on the SD5 fits the way I work perfectly, he says. I like to have everything in the same spot every time. I don't want to have to think when I mix; I just want to mix. The SD5 lets me do exactly that.
For instance, he continues. I can have the entire EQ strip in front of me and don't have to page through to find things. I know exactly where the knobs are; it's muscle memory. The same goes for the compressors; everything is where I put it and where I want it.
Olech also has good things to say about the Waves MultiRack, which hosts the dozen or so Waves plug-ins he's using for the shows and is far fewer than he's ever needed before. I like having some of the Waves stuff here, and the SD5 is set up to integrate them nicely, he says. But the SD5 also has a four-band EQ on its inputs, and I'd bet that if I were to just use that, the audience wouldn't notice the difference. That's how good the console sounds.
Monitor mixer Kevin Dennis is equally happy with the DiGiCo SD10 console he's using. Sonically speaking, the SD10 is completely transparent the pre-amps, the EQ, all of it, says Dennis, who has also mixed monitors for Green Day and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. There's no coloration of the sound. A band at this level works very hard to get the tone of its backline exactly right. They don't want to hear your version of that sound. And I'm a minimalist. I only want what they want to come through back to them. The SD10 lets me do just that.
Just as importantly, Dennis says, the SD10 has also become a communications hub for the entire operation. We have an extensive talkback system with everyone on in-ears, including the techs, and no speakers on the stage, he explains. Instead of hand signals, the techs can easily get onto the comms and let me know what they need, or vice versa. It's all matrixed through the SD10, which makes it very streamlined. And Chad's connected to this as well since we're using the same rack and it's all on fiber.
This sophisticated comms infrastructure lets the show proceed smoothly, even if bandleader Pete Wentz decides to change up the set list on the spur of the moment. Everyone's in the loop, through the consoles, says Dennis. Doing that on the fly without it would be way more difficult.
Finally, he adds, DiGiCo's tech support has been magnificent. This tour is going a lot of places and I know when I call DiGiCo with a question, I'll get an answer or a phone call back within five minutes, he says. The support is just top notch. They've covered all the bases.
For details on Fall Out Boy's tour itinerary, visit www.falloutboy.com/tour. Clair Global can likewise be found online at www.clairglobal.com.
DiGiCo Press Contacts
David Webster at DiGiCo
Tel: +44 1372 845600
Email: webby@DiGiConsoles.com
Chris Shuler at Public Address
Tel: +1 269 815 5055
Email: christophershuler@comcast.net
Images: (please credit Jack Edinger for all photos)
1) DiGiCo_FOB_crew.jpg (L-R) Chris King, monitor tech; Jerrell Evans, systems engineer/crew chief; Chad Olech, FOH engineer; Tim Banas, PA tech; Kevin Dennis, monitor engineer; and Katie Hughes, PA tech at the DiGiCo SD5 FOH console out on Fall Out Boy s current tour
2) DiGiCo_FOB_FOH.jpg Chad Olech manning Fall Out Boy's FOH mix on a DiGiCo SD5
3) DiGiCo_FOB_monitors.jpg Kevin Dennis running the DiGiCo SD10 monitor mix desk
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
11/09/2026
Calrec will introduce two new products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14): the Type RT broadcast production console and the Apex M6 Modula...
11/09/2026
Grass Valley has announced AVORA, a standalone all-in-one live production solution launching at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01 and IBC Future Tech Zone, Stand 14.C49, Sep...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026, wit...
11/09/2026
EVS has announced XT-S, a software-defined server platform that runs multiple live production applications on a common hardware foundation. The platform debuts ...
11/09/2026
EKT is demonstrating a new Linux-based ATSC 3.0 set-top box at IBC2026. The second-generation product moves away from Android to reduce memory costs, with Linux...
11/09/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50, September 11-14...
11/09/2026
ESPN's Monday Night Football will open its 2026-27 season with a new renditi...
11/09/2026
Dalet has announced an integration of NVIDIA's Synthetic Video Detector AI model into Dalet Flex, enabling media organizations to identify potentially AI-ge...
11/09/2026
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) will demonstrate Versatile Video Coding (VVC) capabilities at IBC2026 (Hall 2, Stand 2.B13), as the codec moves toward c...
11/09/2026
Sony will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 13, September 11-14), demonstrating products across live production, news, cinema, and immersive and spatial content workflow...
11/09/2026
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Tec...
11/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is bringing a pair of workflow updates to IBC2026...
11/09/2026
iodyne will co-exhibit with Hedge at IBC2026 (Booth 7.A36, September 11-14) and appear across three additional partner booths, marking the first public demonstr...
11/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
11/09/2026
The network will phase in HDR crew by crew while expanding Next Gen Stats integration, SkyDry availability, and onsite studio shows...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its new Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026,...
11/09/2026
Massive host operation at Melbourne Cricket Ground featured 54 cameras, 25,000 ST 2110 flows, REMI studio production in Stamford, and global distribution to mor...
11/09/2026
Production Anywhere Remote Kit (PARK) & AR-fueled Stage B are two key pieces to ...
11/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
11/09/2026
By Jessica Herndon
The fall film season is kicking off, and Sundance Institute-...
11/09/2026
Spark series gains compact modelling stompbox
Positive Grid's Spark amps have become a popular part of the company's line-up, offering a convenient ...
11/09/2026
New flagship sequencing plug-in revealed
Rapid Flow have just launched a new 16-track sequencer plug-in which they say has been designed for total rhythmic...
11/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils the air-cooled R&S TM1 medium-power UHF transmitter at I...
11/09/2026
FIFA World Cup 2026 and Peacock's Love Island USA' Power NBCU-Versant ...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Lightware has announced the launch of LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) 2.0, a major upgrade to its built-in room automation platform, introducing impro...
11/09/2026
10 September 2026 - MusiMap, the B2B music intelligence company that is transforming how companies can harness the emotional power of music to reach consumers a...
11/09/2026
Matrox Video today announced an integration between Matrox ORIGIN and NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, enabling Matrox ORIGIN media services to be provisioned, config...
11/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that its cloud-native live media orchestration is now available through Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing broadcasters, production...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Version 1.8 will bring advanced routing control, new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...
11/09/2026
Ikegami announces four additions its UNICAM XE range of 4K-UHD cameras with the introduction of the UHK-X700VN, UHK-X750VN, UHK-X600VN and UHK-X650VN. Developed...
11/09/2026
DHD.audio has chosen IBC2026 as the launch venue for a major new addition to its broadcast sound production platform: the MX3 console range. MX3 retains the mod...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
New standalone solution gives production teams everything they need to create, produce and deliver live content from one flexible system.
Grass Valley today an...
11/09/2026
Recognition honors the development of FPV drone camera systems for live sports broadcast coverage
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company that develops advanced...
11/09/2026
Teradek, the industry leader in zero-delay wireless video solutions, announced the launch of Bolt 7, which now includes a unified wireless video and data system...
11/09/2026
The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...
11/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Transthyretin amyloid disease (ATTR) is a progressive, life-threatening condition caused when the protein transthyretin (TTR) breaks apart and aggr...