Wayne Plummer is a guitarist/arranger/musical director and has been working in the music industry for about 12 years.
Hes worked with some of the worlds most successful artists including Estelle, Kelly Rowland, Gloria Gaynor, Craig David and most recently Emeli Sande. Waynes been using a range of Focusrite/Novation equipment in Emelis recent live setup so we thought wed find out a little more!
Our touring schedule for Emeli has varied a lot - weve done a live recording at the Royal Albert Hall (5000+ capacity), smaller (1000 capacity) venues, national arenas like the Wembley O2 and festivals like Wireless which are around 20,000 cap! On top of that, weve done countless shows: Brit Awards, Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Party, Leno, Letterman, Ellen, Jonathan Ross Show and our own USA/UK/Euro tour. Its crazy having to adjust sometimes but keeps us on our toes!
For the live shows weve switched from Alesis HD24s to dual Apple Macbook Pro laptops. Its great as we can edit on the fly. We now have a programmer Wayne Hermz, which has freed me up to do MD stuff, and if Emeli wants a last minute change it can be done super-fast! The laptops run in parallel, so if one crashes the other takes over. Thankfully that has never happened (touch wood!) but you always have to plan for the worst.
I also use the SL Zero to control both laptops in parallel at the same time. These are great because it has many MIDI features and you can name all the songs on the screen. I see many bands using them now on the road.
Both laptops run into Focusrite Saffire Pro 40s for audio. These sound cards are great as they are super-reliable and stable. You need equipment that is as stable as the laptops and these definitely are! Not only are they reliable but sound great unlike some sound cards which sometimes colour and even dull the sound. You get a true crisp representation of the audio. Also, having 10 analogue outs is also great as you dont get this with many sound cards. This is great for playback so you can separate more audio for mixing front of house and also send separate clicks to the band and artist.
For quick recording and editing I use the Focusrite Forte. This is great as the sound you get is amazing! You can hear everything in crisp detail so youll never hear any mistakes or pops in the audio editing. I also use it to record any extra parts the keys player cant play live.
More recently, we have been putting together a B-rig as weve been touring extensively between the US and UK. We have started implementing the new Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 for the US rig. Its great as you get the same quality as the Pro 40 but with plug and play advantage. Also, with many laptops going USB only its useful if we have to use another machine. I have also used it to record rehearsals.
Having reliable gear can make or break a show. Imagine doing a TV like the Brit awards and suddenly the playback wont start! Having the best gear is a must and you cant have any less! These sound cards are perfect for the job; they have never let me down.
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Wayne Plummer is a guitarist/arranger/musical director and has been working in the music industry for about 12 years.
