(15/10/2014) Since its modest beginnings in 1998, the Creamfields dance festival has grown to become one of the largest electronic music events in the world. Creamfields 2014 featured multiple stages catering to crowds of EDM fans, which exceeded 60,000 daily. Swedish DJ, remix artist and producer Avicii headlined the South Stage at the peak of Creamfields 2014, while his FOH engineer, Wayne Rabbit Sargeant, ran the show using an SSL Live.L500 console. The main North and South Stages both featured large-scale PA systems, supplied by Britannia Row Productions, Ltd., with SSL Live consoles at front of house that kept fans raving for the three-day-long end-of-summer party.
Avicii has a simple setup, with Pioneer CDJ-2000NXS players feeding a DJM-900NXS DJ mixer, explains Sargeant. Unlike other engineers, I'd rather keep everything in the digital domain and avoid doing unnecessary A/D and D/A conversions, so I use the SPDIF digital output of the DJM and convert it to the AES digital format (which is accepted by most PA systems). The XLR analog outputs on the mixer have limited headroom so when a DJ hits them hard the outputs will distort. Using an SSL Live digital stagebox employed with the console gave me the exact capability that I needed, with an AES digital input to accept the mixer's output at the stage. Patching the digital signal into the L500 gave me plenty of headroom on the output of the mixer and a cleaner signal path. I've found that in large venues where the bottom end is hard to control I'll get a much tighter bottom at a 96 kHz sample rate, which of course is what I get with the SSL Live.
Since Avicii does not have a set list and is always performing off the cuff, Sargeant describes his FOH duties akin to on-the-fly, live mastering. Obviously, there's a big industry for mastering and what I am really doing during the show is tuning the system and mastering the tracks that Avicii is sending to me, he explains. I used the L500 onboard multiband compression and dynamic EQ to enhance the tracks, make them sound consistent, and fine-tune the bass for the venue. I'm also using the Waves MAXX BCL processors as an AES insert to the console, and this is the best I've heard it. For EQ, I'm mainly using L500's dynamic EQ, adjusting it to suit the different types of tracks. If it's a techno track, you need a driving high-mid to keep the snare going. Some of the vocal tracks tend to be harsher, so I need to compress them and I find that the dynamic EQ works better for that application because it's more subtle than just tweaking the parametric EQ. When mixing on other consoles, I generally find some of the high frequencies to be quite harsh. I'd have to EQ that out, but the SSL Live has this warmth and depth of the solid lo-mid response that balances the high frequencies so I did not have to do that.
Added to the unique requirements of an Avicii performance is the fact that the DJ does not use standard instruments for his performances. As such, Sargeant has had to develop an engineering style unlike that of a traditional FOH engineer. I constantly have to adjust the EQ on the left and right signal path as you would do when you're in a mastering suite, which makes sense because a lot of Avicci's tracks have varying degrees of mastering, adds Sargeant. He also had 11 new songs in the set that haven't yet been mastered, so I used a lot of those mastering techniques to make the levels correspond with his other tracks.
Given Sargeant did not have a lot of time to become accustomed to the L500, he said it was most helpful to have the dynamic EQ on the large screen and the standard parametric EQ on the Channel Control Tile. That setup allowed me to do two things at one time that would normally be done separately on an analogue surface, he says. The interesting thing about the SSL is that there's many different ways of working, so when you're in the heat of the action you can keep it simple and straightforward. I was able to use the physical knobs and the touch screen controls for quick access to the EQ parameters.
As Creamfields was Sargeant's first experience using the SSL Live, he didn't have time to do a full sound check, which is often the case with multi-act festivals. Thankfully, I had an opportunity to A/B the L500 against another popular digital desk before Avicii's performance and the results blew my mind, he continues. I thought to myself I have just got to use the SSL. It's the best sounding desk I've heard in years.' It was like listening to a high-quality, 180-gram vinyl pressing being played on a beautiful Linn Sondek turntable, then amplified with amazing speakers. The sound was so analogue through the SSL, with creamy, thick low-mids and warmth. I think that part of the spectrum has largely been ignored in the digital desks, but through the SSL it was thick, warm and huge. I started in 1987, so I went through the analogue period. Then suddenly it turned around and we ended up with digital consoles that have not been particularly impressive. The SSL Live has picked up live audio after the market was sort of dormant for years. It's an exciting prospect for live sound.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
21/10/2025
As Amazon's Prime Video prepares to launch its coverage of NBA basketball under a major new deal, Grup Mediapro has announced that it is working with the st...
21/10/2025
ATLANTA Good news for consumers using an Atlanta DTH receiver to watch ATSC 3.0: with a new software update, they will be able to blanket their homes with Wi-Fi...
21/10/2025
While recent news has been heavily focused on Hispanic migration into the U.S., The 2025 Hispanic Market Report from Claritas highlights the fact that this gr...
21/10/2025
MAIDENHEAD, UK RWS has hired Michael Wayne as its head of media and entertainment in Los Angeles where he will lead the company's media localization busines...
21/10/2025
Imagine Communications and Rohde & Schwarz today announced a definitive agreement under which Imagine will acquire Pixel Power Limited, a wholly owned subsidiar...
21/10/2025
Atlanta DTH (ADTH) today announced a major update that will expand the functionality of its NEXTGEN TV receiver by enabling gateway capabilities allowing viewer...
21/10/2025
Heartland Video Systems, Inc. (HVS), a premier video systems integration, consulting, and expert ATSC 3.0 implementation firm announces that it has partnered wi...
21/10/2025
QuickLink, the leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest integration solutions, today announced the appointment of Austin Hinton as it...
21/10/2025
nternet connectivity startup Miri Technologies Inc. will use this week's NAB Show New York as the launch pad for its latest ground-breaking innovation, the ...
20/10/2025
Inside TAMS: How Time-Addressable Media Stores could redefine sports workflows By Paul Markham
Friday, October 17, 2025 - 08:57
Print This Story
A penalty...
20/10/2025
Transformational production: Inside TVN's remote production push for the DFL...
20/10/2025
How NBC Sports Transitioned Stamford Facility to One Format: 1080p HDRMulti-year plan harmonizes workflows, simplifies operationsBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial ...
20/10/2025
NBA on NBC' Studio Production Team Is Ready for Tip-Off With Coast-to-Coast...
20/10/2025
Under pressure: TVN CEO Markus Osthaus considers the German sports broadcasting ...
20/10/2025
(L-R) Maria Dizzia, Carmen Emmi, and Russell Tovey attend the Plainclothes pre...
20/10/2025
In March, we launched Concerts Near You to help listeners find concerts from their favorite artists. Since then, more than 3 million people have used it to disc...
20/10/2025
Em diversas cidades do Brasil, um movimento tem se fortalecido para celebrar o poder, a beleza e a profundidade da criatividade negra. O Dia AMPLIFIKA, agora em...
20/10/2025
In cities across Brazil, a movement is growing that celebrates the power, beauty, and depth of Black creativity. AMPLIFIKA Day, now in its fifth edition, return...
20/10/2025
Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft rendering...
20/10/2025
DENVER and MUNICH Imagine Communications today announced its plans to acquire Pixel Power Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohde & Schwarz. Financial terms of...
20/10/2025
LOS ANGELES G Morgan has joined Globecast, a provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, as executive vice president of sales, Globecast Am...
20/10/2025
PLYMOUTH, Wisc. Heartland Video Systems and Zixi have partnered to enable broadcast-quality live video delivery over any IP network....
20/10/2025
A. R. Rahman on Facing Fear and Finding the Divine In an interview with Berklee President Jim Lucchese, the Oscar-winning composer reflects on how courage and...
20/10/2025
Monday 20 October 2025
To view this content, please enable our use of cookies. ...
20/10/2025
Rohde & Schwarz transfers Pixel Power to Imagine Communications Companies work collaboratively to ensure continuity and ongoing support for existing customers...
20/10/2025
RT 's Prime Time is set to host the final Presidential Election Debate this Tuesday night, October 21, providing an opportunity to hear directly from Irelan...
20/10/2025
NVIDIA and Google Cloud are expanding access to accelerated computing to transform the full spectrum of enterprise workloads, from visual computing to agentic a...
19/10/2025
Back to All News
Sins of Kujo' Comes to Life in New Live-Action Series Set for Spring 2026
Entertainment
19 October 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to cl...
18/10/2025
New England Sports Network (NESN) has chosen Harmonic, working with Astound Business Solutions, as its enterprise technology partner to transform primary distri...
18/10/2025
NEW ORLEANS, La. In the run-up to the start of the NBA season, WVUE-TV and Gray Local Media have announced a deal with DirecTV that will greatly expand access t...
18/10/2025
Berklee Celebrates 40 Years of the Fall Together Concert Faculty composers Bob Pilkington and Greg Hopkins are among the featured artists for this year's ...
17/10/2025
NEP Group Receives New Equity Investment From 26North Partners LP, Co-InvestorsCarlyle remains the largest shareholder as the company prepares for the futureBy ...
17/10/2025
Apple Lands Five-Year Deal for F1 Distribution in the U.S.Besides airing on Apple TV, the sport will be amplified on other Apple servicesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Ed...
17/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Marshall Electronics' Bernie Keach on the Future of PTZ Camera...
17/10/2025
L2 Productions' REMI Facility in Austin Can Produce Content From AnywhereMusic festivals, sports events are produced via flypacks and remote control roomsBy...
17/10/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
17/10/2025
(L-R) Christopher Meyer, Addison Timlin, Cooper Raiff, Lili Reinhart, Alyah Chan...
17/10/2025
M sica e arte se uniram em uma noite especial na semana passada na ZIV Gallery, ...
17/10/2025
Music and art came together for one special night last week at ZIV Gallery, an i...
17/10/2025
Spotify and FC Barcelona are extending our partnership through 2030, continuing a collaboration that's redefining how fans, players, and artists connect. Th...
17/10/2025
MURRIETA, Calif. The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC) has deployed DigitalGlue's creative.space storage platform to streamline video production by centrali...
17/10/2025
BELLEVUE, Wash. Football continued to cement its reputation as a bulwark of TV advertising in Q3 2025 with new data from iSpot that showed both the NFL and coll...
17/10/2025
The Sports Fishing Championship (SFC), the premier competitive saltwater fishing series, has transformed its production workflow by adopting creative.space, the...
17/10/2025
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning multi-camera video productions and remote contribution solutions, announces the release of StudioPro Version 4, ...
17/10/2025
Although the annual Grammy Awards celebration is best known for recognizing achievements in the recording industry, the show often proves a visual spectacle as ...
17/10/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leading provider of software-defined data storage and data services, has promoted Alex Dunfey to Chief Technology Officer (CTO) from his for...
17/10/2025
The University of Arizona (UofA) has significantly upgraded its broadcast communication infrastructure with the integration of Riedel Communications' advanc...
17/10/2025
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that New England Sports Network (NESN), owned by Fenway Sports Group and Delaware North, has selected Harmonic as its en...
(15/10/2014) Since its modest beginnings in 1998, the Creamfields dance festival has grown to become one of the largest electronic music events in the world. Creamfields 2014 featured multiple stages catering to crowds of EDM fans, which exceeded 60,000 daily. Swedish DJ, remix artist and producer Avicii headlined the South Stage at the peak of Creamfields 2014, while his FOH engineer, Wayne Rabbit Sargeant, ran the show using an SSL Live.L500 console. The main North and South Stages both featured large-scale PA systems, supplied by Britannia Row Productions, Ltd., with SSL Live consoles at front of house that kept fans raving for the three-day-long end-of-summer party.
