Pro64 Digital Snake on Tour with Country Singer Luke Bryan
Monitor Mixing | Digital Snakes
Overview
Country star Luke Bryan's US tour setup includes an Aviom Pro64 digital snake that simplifies setup and teardown for engineer Chris "Sully" Sullivan. The system architecture allows Sullivan to easily reconfigure the system as needed. Details
Key Features
- Streamlined setup using Cat-5 reduces analog cabling and is especially important when doing one-nighters
- Easily integrates with the Yamaha console and provides remote control of the Pro64 mic preamps
Products Used
- Pro64 Series
- 3 6416m Mic Input Modules
- 3 6416Y2 A-Net Interface Cards
- 1 RCI Remote Control Interface
- 1 MCS Mic Control Surface
- 3 6416o Output Modules
- 2 ASI A-Net Systems Interfaces
- Pro16 Series
- 1 A-16R Rack-mount Mixers
- 2 AV-P2 Output Modules
Pro64 Digital Snake Simplies Setup
Country star Luke Bryan tours with an Aviom digital snake that includes both Pro16 and Pro64 components. Bryan’s sound team values the Aviom system for its fidelity and reliability, as well as the ease with which they can set up and tear down. Oftentimes Bryan is the opening act in a show, so it is important that the team can quickly move their setup in and out. FOH engineer Chris “Sully” Sullivan explains, “Prior to the Aviom system, we had 14 pairs of analog cables bundled together that we had to pick up every night. Now we have one piece of Cat-5. We have everything as a front panel connection. We just drop it, roll the racks off stage, and away we go. Aviom has definitely helped us out.”
The other advantage of the Aviom system on the Luke Bryan tour is that it’s easy to integrate into the rigs used by regional sound companies who supply the front-of-house console and other gear for Bryan’s shows. Sully provides 28 analog outputs from the Aviom digital snake, via two 6416o Output Modules, and the system is wholly transparent to the sound company.
On the stage end, Sully and his team connect all the band’s mics to two 6416m Mic Input Modules, plus a third 6416m at Monitors for wireless mics. Sully says, “The bigger benefit to the Aviom system that we found, in addition to speed, was the sonic quality. We found that the head amplifiers on the Aviom mic pre were really, really good.”
They use the clock on the Aviom system as well. The channels from the 6416m modules are sent directly into the band’s monitoring console, a Yamaha M7CL, via Aviom’s three 6416Y2 A-Net Interface Cards. Using m-control™ for Yamaha digital consoles, monitor engineer Ed Janiszewski controls the Aviom 6416m mic preamps from his console. An RCI Remote Control Interface and MCS Mic Control Surface provide a second option for remote control. Utilizing m-control, Janiszewski can adjust gain, +48V phantom power, and high pass (low cut) filter directly from the Yamaha console. Janiszewski is pleased with the Aviom mic preamps because they can easily be controlled from his console and they dramatically improve its sound quality.
Monitoring and More
FOH Engineer for Luke Bryan
For monitors, the band’s in-ear mixes are sent to stage via the 6416Y2 cards to a 6416o connected to musicians’ wireless transmitters. In addition, the drummer uses an A-16R Personal Mixer to create his own custom mix, along with an AV-P2 Output Module used to feed a mix of low-end signals to a powered speaker. A second AV-P2 is used to provide the band’s steel player with a stereo mix.
Bryan does about 15 shows a month, and the group travels around the country with the gear mounted in racks in a non-air ride trailer. Sully explains, “Every day the Aviom units just show up to work. There are no problems whatsoever. The last thing we’re ever concerned about is the Aviom stuff turning on.”
