FOH engineer Dani Munoz (Flo Rida, Enrique Iglesias, Animal Collective, Snoop Dogg) chooses the Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer on tour for Canadian reggae fusion band Magic!.
Munoz comments, “My setup includes a dual 27-inch touchscreen setup, with one Waves SoundGrid® Extreme server, one Mac Mini running Windows 10 via Boot Camp and three DiGiGrid IOX audio interface units, and it’s all cleanly packed into flight cases with the right dimensions and weight to avoid oversize charges at the airport! For me, consistency is paramount. Most of our touring work includes fly dates on a crazy schedule. On some runs, we bounce from Europe to Australia, to America and then back to Asia. Finding the same gear in every country we go to is a big challenge, and flying with my own console, in the past, was simply not possible. Consistency from performance to performance was compromised as a result of this – that is, until now… There is no console out there that is as portable, dependable, powerful and sonically remarkable as the Waves LV1.”
On using Waves plugins, Munoz adds, “I’ve been a big fan of Waves plugins for live audio for a while since the Waves MultiRack came out. The way we use technology sets the limits of what can be done, and that’s one of the things I love about the LV1. With all the recent plugins that have come out for Waves Live, I’m able to be as creative as I can be, and the console just sounds great. The Waves C6 Multiband Compressor is the one plugin I just can’t live without. It’s like a Swiss army knife. The Waves CLA-76 Compressor/Limiter is by far my favorite compressor for vocals and it’s been a complete game-changer for me. [Lead vocalist] Nasri loves the way the CLA-76 makes his vocals sound so close and intimate, yet tightly glued to the mix at the same time. The Waves SSL G-Master Buss Compressor on my master buss ties everything together beautifully.”
He continues: “The guys in Magic! are avid producers and studio-heads, so being able to show them studio-quality results has been invaluable. It has made them fans of Waves as well. One of the main challenges has been when Nasri goes out into the crowd to sing with them and I have to keep a loud party-like mix without his mic feeding back. Waves Renaissance Vox has been a lifesaver in keeping his mic tightly gated but very responsive. Recently Waves Primary Source Expander has also blown my mind.”
Munoz sums it up: “The Waves LV1 and Waves plugins are the ace under our sleeve for 2017. Now we are able to give fans the very best experience we can, no matter where we go.”
More info about Waves eMotion LV1 Live Mixer you can find here.
