Following a summer of high profile festival appearances with his DJ act TS5, Craig David’s return to the limelight was undeniable. Garnering crowds of die-hard fans and converting passers-by at the same time - if you saw his Glastonbury 2016 appearance, you’ll know exactly how the performance went, both in and out of the tent - curiosity from the public was rife. But it’s his sell-out arena tour that really got the public’s attention.

Split between his own anthems and a DJ set in which he live mixes - and continues to sing along to - a selection of hip hop, dance and garage classics, fans were in for a treat. His core audio crew of FOH Engineer Pete Whitelaw and Monitor Engineer Jon Lewis were supported by Capital Sound touring crew, Systems Engineer Liam Halpin, System Tech Lee Furnell and Monitor Tech Antony Best. The tour was project-managed for Capital by Senior Project Manager, Martin Connolly.

CRAIG DAVID GETS FULL COVERAGE WITH CAPITAL

When British R&B star Craig David’s most recent album, Following My Intuition, went straight to the UK’s No.1 slot, it prompted his biggest arena tour in 15 years. His trademark soulful vocals and bass-heavy sound was brought to the nation via audio rental house Capital Sound, which supplied

a d&b audiotechnik J-Series PA rig and DiGiCo control package. The results left the star and his crew suitably impressed, as Kel Murray reports…

CRAIG DAVIDEVENT FOCUS

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CRAIG DAVID

Whitelaw took up the story: “Both Jon and I have worked with Craig over the last eight years. The scope and location of his shows has always been interesting - and often challenging - so it keeps us on our toes trying out different set-ups. At the start of last year we started doing acoustic shows, and more band-driven performances as promo for his new album took off, and in the summer, his TS5 events meant the live elements started to evolve again. Craig’s always keen to try different gear out, as he’s very exact about what he wants, and we’ve finally nailed a set-up that everyone is happy with.” That set-up comprises a d&b audiotechnik J-Series PA system with DiGiCo desks at both FOH and monitors and Shure microphones. Whitelaw continued: “Audio equipment has become very homogenised, so it’s really down to the details that sets rental companies apart. With Capital Sound, those details are that they provide a great crew and project management team who deliver stellar support to us.”

SYSTEM SUCCESS“The brief for my mix is to keep it sounding as album-like as possible, however a lot of the new album is programmed and electronic, so whilst we do have some stuff on track, the majority of sounds come from the band,” said Whitelaw. “There’s lots of dynamic throughout the show, from very heavy club sections to Craig’s vocal and an acoustic guitar… then there’s plenty of classic Craig David acapella endings, which the crowds love, so we’re certainly using everything

the d&b system has to offer.” Whitelaw drew the conclusion that d&b was the right brand for the arena tour following the summer run with TS5. “We did those shows on pretty much every PA out there, configured in varying sizes, and it became apparent that d&b was going to be the one for us. I’m after crisp, clean

vocals and a stonking trouser-flapping bottom end - it delivers on both. The power and control of this system is phenomenal.” Capital Sound’s System Engineer for this tour was Liam Halpin, a self-confessed “audio geek” who admitted that, although he appreciated being able to work with various systems thanks to Capital’s 4-way PA inventory - which includes Martin Audio, Outline and Meyer Sound - he’s loved working with the d&b system. The J-Series main hang comprises 18 cabinets in total for the larger arena shows in London and Manchester, with 3 J12’s on the bottom of each the hang for wider dispersion in the nearfield and d&b’s J8’s provide an 80 degree angle box. Halpin joined in the conversation: “We use the V-Series box for the side hangs, which are small, mid-format cabinets used for the smaller throw, and d&b V7P & Y10P point source cabinets are utilised for outfill and centrefill. They’re so efficient. In the pro market, the V7P’s make a very powerful front fill.” The system design was completed by 15 B22 subs. “Initially there were concerns about the number we were using,” stated Halpin. “As in would 15 boxes be enough? But I’ve been rather

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“The intelligence of the d&b system is driving more accurate room modelling - it’s a fantastic piece of kit.”Liam Halpin, Capital Sound System Tech

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Capital Sound Monitor Tech, Antony Best; Capital Sound System Techs Lee Furnell and Liam Halpin; FOH Engineer, Pete Whitelaw.

impressed with how much noise they actually make!” During set up, Halpin uses d&b’s ArrayProcessing, a function within the ArrayCalc simulation software V8 that enables algorithms to calculate the sonic performance of a d&b system. Halpin described the tool as “the next step up in line array technology.” Whitelaw added: “Liam and Lee have made my life immeasurably easier. Liam’s predications and designs are usually bang on, only needing tiny tweaking during soundcheck. When he hands the PA over it’s pretty much show-ready. Halpin added: “The intelligence of the d&b system is driving more accurate room modelling - it’s a fantastic piece of kit.” The system is Dante-based, using Lake LM44 processors as standard for the input side of the Dante network and d&b D10 Audio Network Bridge is used as the unit for the output device. Halpin furthered: “The DS10’s are a fairly new discovery for me. I didn’t realise quite how clever they are until this tour; the way that they integrate with the amplifiers is impressive and we’re using 2 per side on the main system. It essentially passes information from the Dante network down to the amplifiers and I’ve configured the system so that if we lose a network cable for example, then the amp reacts to that loss of connection and fixes it without

any interaction from me.” Capital’s Monitor Tech, Antony Best, gave his thoughts: “The d&b system which I used for the on-stage sidefills fitted the bill perfectly. Our job is to cover the stage for Craig, and with d&b’s wide angle of coverage and powerful range, it became a lot easier. Craig likes a loud stage, and the

entire d&b system allowed us to meet all of his needs.”

FOH SOUNDThe desk of choice for Whitelaw is a DiGiCo SD10. He commented: “DiGiCo desks are great, and so programmable. Other desks might be simpler in terms of ‘walk up and go’ set ups, but for touring the flexibility, DiGiCo offers what you want, where you want it, in numerous configurations. That’s imperative for me. There’s a reason they’re pretty much the standard manufacturer for high-end touring; you can’t beat their clean sound, definable options and control.” Whitelaw is also utilising Waves via SoundGrid and multi-track recording via a MADI interface. For vocal duties, it’s a Shure thing. He continued: “We’ve been through every possible microphone at some point, but we settled on a Shure KSM9 about a year ago. It’s very much defined by what Craig likes to hear in his ears,

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“For touring flexibility, DiGiCo offers what you want, where you want it - in numerous configurations. That’s imperative for me”Pete Whitelaw, FOH Engineer

CRAIG DAVID

as well as his mic technique. For me at FOH, it works really well; even at the high levels of TS5, I have to use very little EQ. It lets Craig sing naturally and comfortably which in turns makes my job even easier,” he concluded.

MONITOR WORLDMonitor Engineer Jon Lewis explained that David’s show has been a stripped-down affair over the last few years, with just a few musicians present or an acoustic style set-up, relishing the challenge of the growing touring party. “This is the first project for a while with a full band so it was important to move things forward but to keep the open style of mix that he requires in his in-ear monitors. I think it’s important to allow a singer’s mix to be as natural and live sounding as possible, with good reverb and ambient mics…” Lewis chose to mix on a DiGiCo SD7. “It’s my go-to desk,” he commented. “It has so many features and a very versatile layout - it seems to fit all manner of situations. For reverb I’m using the TC Electronic’s Reverb 6000 - used for vocals and high quality reverbs which feel natural and have great high end tails. “Craig’s mix is an interesting one… It’s not a traditional style of mix as he has a huge amount of himself and an almost distant band mix, so keeping on top of this is imperative; I keep all the singers’ pitch and timing references audible but not too forward in the mix.” Whereas the band use Shure SM58 microphones, David uses a Shure Axient system. Lewis continued: “I personally love this as it has some great features that are at the forefront of RF microphone design. Its ‘bad frequency avoidance’ option in the wireless software is such an amazing tool, almost giving you a RF tech who’s constantly watching the airwaves! We also use

the talk switch function which allows Craig and I to have a discrete talkback system during the show.”

CAPITAL SERVICEEchoing Whitelaw, Lewis also stated that quality service from a rental company is as important as the quality of the kit it has provided. “Be that at the office level, through initial set-up and continued tour support or, perhaps more importantly, the crew they send out to join you on the project. As always, Capital have been first class; their crew have highly technical abilities as well as a ‘team player’ attitudes.” Capital Sound was brought on board by Production Manager Sam Kruger and Wob Roberts of Live // Management who worked closely with Capital’s Project Manager, Martin Connolly who, after attending the Brighton & London shows, concluded that the d&b system sounded “faultless”. “Between that and having DiGiCo consoles at either end, we never had a single phone call - it all worked seamlessly. I personally thought the d&b B22’s performed remarkably. This was one of the biggest d&b jobs we’ve ever done. It was a high profile, sold out arena tour and it’s brilliant to have been involved. As a consequence of our arena success, we’re working with Craig’s audio team throughout the summer providing control packages.”Wellies at the ready folks… TPiPhotos: Andrew Bengewww.craigdavid.comhttp://capital-sound.co.uk

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