He says: "In this job I'm able to stay well-versed in new audio products and technologies," said Ferguson. "In fact, this is how I first became aware of Mackie's new digital console. It was my good friend and sales rep, Tim Eakins of Eakins-Bernstein & Associates, that suggested that the new Digital X Bus might be just what I needed for the Mannheim Steamroller tour."
Ferguson adds: "Chip [Davies] has been writing in surround format for over 20 years, and for this reason, I've been mixing the show in surround since the mid-90s. When I heard of the advanced panning capabilities of the Digital X Bus, I thought this might just be the console I've been waiting for."
For their Christmas tour, the seven core members of the band are augmented by a 24-member symphony orchestra made up of local musicians hired in each city visited by the tour. This year, all 24 symphony members were mic'd, and connected to the Digital X Bus. Ferguson then ran a four-channel sub mix (stereo front and stereo rear) out of the Digital X Bus and into a Soundcraft Vienna where the rest of the band was mixed in.
For sound reinforcement, left and right clusters of the Clair Brothers I-4 Line array received a stereo signal from the Soundcraft console while a second stereo signal was sent to left and right hangs of the Grund Audio compact line array at the back of the room. Amplification was a combination of Crest, QSC, and Carver for front-fills and subs.
"This configuration gave me the option of selecting the orchestra as a whole, or a single instrument, and moving it around the room as I liked using the panning capabilities of Mackie's X.200," explained Ferguson. "In this way, the board really accomplished something extraordinary and allowed me to control the sound in a way that I had never been able to achieve before."
Ferguson has been so impressed with the capabilities of the Digital X Bus that he is planning to make it a permanent addition to his equipment list for all Mannheim Steamroller tours to come. "I fully intend to take the Digital X Bus out with me again. I received so many positive comments this year from arena managers who said things like: 'What does Steamroller do that other guys don't? My arena has never sounded better.' "
(Lee Baldock)
