The respected engineer and record producer, working in the folk genre, was already familiar with the topology of Soundcraft's earlier Vi6, and with his work doubling between that of a live and studio engineer, he knew the benefits of having a full suite of plug-in options at his disposal - and although he considered other options, he was aware that Soundcraft's dedicated Realtime Rack engine runs Universal Audio plug-ins.
This would give him the versatility for keeping the rollicking sound from a theatrical 11-piece traditional band, playing a mix of traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with their acoustic instrumentation fresh.
The inventory was provided by BCS Audio, run by Dave Shepherd and the rig was expertly set up by system tech, Dave 'Boxy' Cann.
The sound engineer warmed to the new desk immediately describing the desk as "very hands-on, quick to boot up and respond - with a great-sounding and extremely easy to use EQ section."
This near instant access to EQ and dynamics across multiple channels, possible thanks to the Vi Series acclaimed Vistonics touch-screen interface, made the Vi7000 the ideal console for the engineer to mix Bellowhead's complex sound.
Bellowhead have been spearheading the new folk movement for more than two decades and along the way have been voted five-times winner of Best Live Band at the Radio 2 Folk Awards.
At the end of the tour Andy Bell was entrusted with mixing the band's farewell CD and DVD - all recorded live on a Soundcraft Vi6, using the desk's preamps and some additional Neve and Universal Audio Pre's. This was recorded to a Joeco BlackBox and mixed in Pro Tools.
"For me, the Soundcraft Vi is the most intuitive and tactile live console on the market, the sound quality and easy of use, combined with the creative nature of the UAD real-time plug-ins made the Vi7000 the perfect desk for the final leg of the Bellowhead tour," concludes Andy.
(Jim Evans)