ON THE ROAD: Chickenfoot
Below: Bringing energy and rock riffs to Tilburg’s 013, Chickenfoot’s line-up comprised former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar ad Michael Antony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Kenny Aronoff, who was taking over drumming duties for Chad Smith while he was out on the road with Red Hot Chili Peppers.
chose to use some gates on the kick and toms along with a little compression and delay. When working with bands that had multiple lead singers, Ace has used scenes, but he felt this was not necessary for a group such as Chickenfoot, which comprises a vocalist, drummer, bass player and guitar player. Set up alongside the PM5D at FOH was the
24 channel version of the PreSonus StudioLive desk - a piece of equipment that Ace would not be without when multi-track recording audio on the road. He first got the opportunity to use the digital mixer when he needed to record audio whilst touring with former Mr. Big guitarist Paul Gilbert. “We were playing a lot of 500-seat rock clubs and trying to figure out how best to record it. Some venues might have XLR outs and some might not have any, which made it tricky. I called PreSonus, who I’d worked with before with Tower of Power. The company had also provided some recording equipment for Sammy Hagar’s club, Cabo Wabo,” said Ace. “PreSonus recommended we take its
StudioLive console on the road with Chickenfoot and now I’m pretty vocal about my love of it. I think it sounds incredible and I’ve been able to multi-track record all the shows really easily. It takes up no room when it’s set up and has been with me on every tour since I first used it - as a FOH desk or a recording desk.” Production Manager Binder is familiar with
the strengths of the PreSonus StudioLive after it saved the day on a Sammy Hagar performance
62 • TPi FEBRUARY 2012
that Ace mixed at FOH. “It was a saving grace for us. The show was being recorded for a DVD for DirectTV in the US and the sound truck didn’t catch the first half hour of the show. Luckily, we were using the PreSonus as a back- up and we’ve now got into the habit of carrying it with us. “A lot of famous rockstars play at Cabo
Wabo too and put together jams that are unique so we needed a one button recording system there to capture those special moments because that’s how Chickenfoot came about. Through the club, we created this relationship with PreSonus and Ace has now taken out the console with other bands he worked with.”
AN EVOLVING PA CONFIGURATION Similarly to the microphones, as the tour progressed from the US on to Europe, the PA equipment varied. Martin Audio’s Multi- cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) was chosen for the UK dates in Manchester and London, having been supplied directly by Capital Sound. However, when the band and crew moved on to the other European dates, house PA systems were used instead because the venues featured permanent installs and did not allow for an extra PA to be brought in. Aside from Ace’s enthusiasm to use the MLA
system, Jorgensen’s association with Martin Audio played a part in the system being brought in for the UK leg of the tour. Said Jorgensen: “Apart from Chickenfoot, I’m stepping back
from touring to take up a position as Martin Audio’s MLA Product Support Specialist in North America. On the UK dates, the MLA was really consistent throughout the whole room - someone walked around with an SPL meter and it measured 105 at the mix position, the door, the fire exits and the balcony. It still had that big rock band sound and wasn’t just a pretty fidelity box, it had some punch to it.” Added Ace: “I heard the system at a demo
in Las Vegas last summer and, like every FOH guy, I’d been wanting to try it since it first came in. The MLA is the rig for the job when we go out this summer - it sounds awesome and there was a noticeable difference. Even in 3,000 seat rooms, there’s something about the PA that creates that big rock concert sound.” The London show marked the Brixton
Academy debut of the MLA. The system was configured with nine MLA elements and an MLD Downfill rigged each side and six MLX’s ground stacked on either flank. According to Systems Technician for the band’s UK dates, Mark Edwards, the MLA’s ability to produce a neutral balanced sound allowed the audio to be mixed flat on the PM5D. He explained: “Because the system is so responsive to system EQ, if there’s a bit too much sub in the room it is easy to notch a tiny bit out.” He also commended Martin Audio’s Display
predictive software: “The Drag & Drop approach to loading the optimisation is as transparent as it could possibly be and at Brixton I was
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