
(10/05/2014) When Happy Mondays celebrated the 25th anniversary of their second album Bummed with a UK tour, the bands classic Madchester line-up wowed fans by performing the entire track listing, plus some of their greatest hits. With band and crew returning home when possible, the tour made extensive use of splitter buses van-based transports that double-up as both gear and personnel carriers. At every stop of the tour, front of house engineer Gerry Parchment needed to ensure that the band's dance hits sounded as good as the fans remembered the first time around.
Although space on the splitters was limited, Parchment and monitor engineer Jasen Hattams pushed to carry their own consoles to ensure the best and most consistent sound possible throughout the tour. For this they engaged Miles Hillyard at SSE Audio Group to find the best solution two Avid S3L systems.
Consistent Sound Everywhere
Comprised of an ultra-compact control surface, HDX-powered processing engine running on-board AAX plug-ins, and networked remote stage boxes for up to 64 inputs, S3L's modularity and easy Ethernet AVB connectivity over lightweight Cat5e cables allowed Parchment and Hattams to carry this highly portable package in the back of the lighting crew's van throughout the tour.
Initially there was to be no control package at either end of the multicore, as we were in splitters and space was tight recalls Parchment. This left both Jay and myself with a myriad of in-house analogue and digital desks at the venues. [With Avid S3L] we could achieve a consistent sound and be ready to soundcheck the band in 30 minutes from the time the equipment got onto the stage, Parchment continues. We would not have been able to achieve this with any other system.
My Production Manager loves the footprint, states Hattams. Its compact, and the less space we take up, the more seats are sold out front that makes the band and promoter very happy. And I love a lampie carrying my desk!
Top Performance
Both Parchment and Hattams are experienced engineers who have mixed on Avid live systems over the years. They both immediately felt at home with S3L, as it runs on the common VENUE software platform and offers the same functionality as Avid's larger consoles, including on-board plug-in processing, deep integration with Pro Tools for show archiving and Virtual Soundchecking, and complete show file compatibility across all systems.
[Avid] Profile has become the staple choice for many engineers, Parchment explains. [For the Mondays tour] I initially took an old show file from a Profile system and modified it [on the S3L] as the tour went on, Parchment explains.
We had a great show that [first] night says Hattams. The band were happy with the sound, so job done! says Hattams. On monitors I had 28 inputs, with 24 outputs doing a mixture of wedges and IEMs. There were 10 wedge mixes and four stereo IEMS. I have found the system easy to use, and most of all, it's stable.
Impressive Recording Integration
A key feature of the Avid system is Virtual Soundcheck, which allows engineers to fine-tune mixes based on previous live recordings. With the combination of Pro Tools and Virtual Soundcheck, its possible to EQ the room, set up snapshots, and more all without requiring the presence of the band.
The single most impressive aspect of Virtual Soundcheck is its ease of use, says Parchment. That and the fact that a single channel may be switched between a return or live input. The Mondays were present at sound check every day, but I used [Virtual Soundcheck] for setting individual items such as dynamics and effects, he continues.
Seamless integration with Pro Tools also enabled Parchment to easily record the band's performances up to 64 channels over a single Cat5e cable. And S3L's VENUE Link makes it easy to control live mixing and recording/playback setups as one from the console, with track names, snapshots, and much more automatically populated from the VENUE show file.
I recorded most of the Bummed album tour for archive and the intention is to mix certain shows for future use, he explains. Recording [to Pro Tools] via a single Ethernet cable is heaven-sent!
Most recent headlines
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser Spectacular Stunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium tech By Dan Daley, Audio Ed...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform Video Watch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY! By Brand...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today! By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
23/12/2025
New technique lights up where drugs go in the body, cell by cell Scripps Research scientists developed a technique that maps drug binding in individual cells th...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...