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Originally comprising the artistry of Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley, Lol Crème and Eric Stewart, the band recorded some now-legendary albums in their own studio, Strawberry Recording Studios, based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK. The facility offered the north of England a professional recording environment and soon became very popular. History was made for several other artists at Strawberry too, including Paul McCartney, The Smiths and Joy Division. The building also happens to be the home of TPi and Mondiale Publishing. As I type this article from what was the studio’s control room, it’s hard not to notice that the walls are adorned with 10cc gold discs and memorabilia, showing the band’s clear musical imprint. In1976GodleyandCremelefttheband,leavingGouldmanandStewartasthemain

creativeforcesbehind10cc.UponStewart’s1996departure,Gouldmancontinuedtotourwithanewlineupfrom1999.ThecurrentlineupcomprisesGouldman,PaulBurgess,RickFenn,KeithHaymanandMickWilsonandthebandcontinuetosuccessfullytourtoday. OnthelastnightoftheirrecentUKtour,Manchester’sBridgewaterHallbecamethesettingfora10cchomecominggig,withGouldmandeclaring:“Whatbetterplacetoendthetour?”Duringanimpeccablesoundcheck,thebandjokedandjammedwithease,engulfingthevenue’strickyarchitechture.AtthehelmisJonSword,bothFOHEngineerandTourManagertotheband.Likemanyofyoureadingthiswillsurelybeabletorelateto,Swordgothisownstartintheaudioindustrywhenhewasinacollegebandandstartedtoquestionthebadsoundatgigs.Bychance,anonlookerwasobservinghisskillsandaskedifhe

wasanengineer.WhenSwordexplainedthathiswasn’t,hewasthenaskedifhe’dliketobe.“IthappenedtobeBrianPooleoftheTremoloeswhowasaskingthequestion.OfcourseIsaidyes!Iearned£25perdaybackthen.AweekafterthatconversationIfoundmyselfinSpainandI’vebeentouringtheworldeversince!” AftermixingforthelikesoftheFeelingandSophieEllisBextor,Swordiscurrentlythreeyearsintohisrole(s)with10cc.It’sajourneywhichhasaffordedhimtheopportunitytotestoutvariousdesksovertheyears,andtodaySwordisusingaCadacCDCeightdesk.HetoldTPi:“Idon’tlikemanydigitalproductsbecausethey’renotcreativeinmymind.ThisdawnedonmeacoupleofyearsagowhenIwasmixingatPucklepopfestivalinBelgium.IwasinasituationwhereayoungengineeraskedmewherethetouchscreenwasontheMidasXL3consolethathadbeenprovided.Ithoughtto

SINCE THEIR INCEPTION IN 1972, BRITISH ROCK BAND 10CC HAVE NEVER BEEN SHORT OF TALENT. FORMED BY MUSICIANS WHO COULD SING, WRITE AND PRODUCE THEIR OWN RECORDS BUILT THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WOULD LATER BECOME A LEGENDARY ACT. 43 YEARS ON, 10CC ARE STILL VERY MUCH APPRECIATED TODAY - BOTH ON VINTAGE VINYL AND ON TOUR. TPi’S KELLY MURRAY SPOKE TO THEIR FOH ENGINEER, JON SWORD ABOUT HIS ADMIRATION FOR THE BAND AND HIS NEW FAVOURITE MIXING CONSOLE, CADAC’S FLAGSHIP CDC EIGHT.

myself‘right,that’sit;it’stimetoembracethedigitalworldbecausethenewgenerationdon’tknowtheanalogueone!’” For10cc’stour,PhilMcDanielofrentalcompanyESSsuggestedSwordtryoutthenewCadacdesk,asuggestionhewasopento.“I’vebeenluckyenoughtotakeoutthefirstlotofDiGiCoSDsandSoundcraftVisovertheyearssomythinkingisthatifaproductisgoodenough,whynotchampionit?Obviouslyyouhavetotestitoutfirst,soIwashappytogiveitago.ThegreatthingaboutCadacproductsisthattheysoundamazing;they’reknownforreallygreatsoundquality.” Soundqualityisavitalfeature,butforabandlike10cc,therecouldbenocompromise.“Thebandhasaverydynamicmix.Ittookmealmostayeartogetthisfluidwiththeirsound,notjustthecoreofit,buteverytinyaspect.Ihadtolearnhownailit.Graham’sbeendoingthisforover40yearsandthewholebandisincredibleatwhattheydo.10ccwerepioneers

ofstudioproductioninthe70sandtheirworkstillstandsupinaconcerthallnow.Everythinghastobeheardwiththisband,sointhatsense,thisiseitherthebestortheworstjobintheworld!”helaughed.“WhatImeanis,they’reverycriticalandbecauseofthat,itkeepstherelationshipinteractive.ItkeepsmeonmytoesandIreallylikethat.Thisisn’tabandthatyoucanstandawayfromthedeskwith;you’vealwaysgottobehands-ontodeliver.It’samulti-talented,complexsetup.” Thetourissetupwithouttheaidofasupportband;instead10ccplaytwosets,thefirstbeingtheirsecondstudioalbumSheet Music playedinitsentiretyandafteraninterval,theycomebackandplaytheirbest-knownhits.AvenuesuchastheBridgewaterHallhasanaturalsoundtoitwhichinthisinstance,requiressometamingfromSword.Thebanddohowever,trusthimimplicitly,andtheCadacCDCeighthasbeenworkedoutverywell.TheconsoleisCadac’sflagshipdigitallive

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EVENT FOCUS: 10cc

OUR LITTLE PIECE OF HEAVEN: CADAC’S FLAGSHIP CONSOLE SOUNDS OUT 10CC’S UK TOUR

Opposite: 10cc performed at the Brigewater Hall on the last night of their UK tour. Below: Tour Manager and FOH Engineer Jon Sword has recently started using a Cadac CDC eight digital console; The band played their legendary Sheet Music album in full.

EVENT FOCUS: 10cc

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EVENT FOCUS: 10cc

Below: Rental company ESS supplied the audio rig for the tour which also comprised a Turbosound PA and a Sennheiser G3 IEM package.

soundconsole,designedspecificallyforthedemandingworldsofconcerttouringandfixedinstallation.Perhapswhatset’sCadacapartwiththisproductistheinnovativeapproachtoitsuserinterface.Gonearethemultiplestripsofrestrictivefixedphysicalcontrolsfoundonconventionalanalogueandamajorityofdigitalconsoles,insteadreplacedwithanintuitiveuserinterfaceaccessedby24-inchHDLCDtouchscreens.Theconsolehasbeendesignedtobefarlessmenudependentthanotherdigitalconsoles.ThecombinationofthisuserinterfacewiththeCadacmic-pres,andstate-of-theartDSPandFPGAprocessingtechnology,makesthedeskauniquepropositionforthosewhodonotwanttobefacedwithaudioorcreativecompromises. Digitalencoders,whichdisplaythecleanandlogicalgraphicaluserinterfacesurroundthetouchscreens.Thisarrangementnaturallyleadstoaninstinctiveuseofcontemporarytouchandtraditionalencoderstoaccessthefeaturesontheconsole.Anadditionalcentrallylocated6-inchLCDtouchscreenprovidesquickaccesstotheadvancedsystemcontrolsandautomationfunctions.

“Thewonderfulthingaboutthisdeskishowsimpleitis.Simplicityiskey,andnowIhaveit,”saidSword.“Inevergetfeedbackwiththisdesk;itjustsoundsmusicaltome.Itgivesmethebestclaritywiththeleasteffortandthereforeallowsmetomixratherthatfightproblems.”ThesupportoftheCadacteamhasalsomadethetransitiontoanewdeskasmoothoperation.“Cadacfeelslikeabespokecompanytome.Iknowthatit’snot,butthey’vebeensogreattoworkwiththatthat’skindofhowIfeel.Forexample,whenIfirsttookitout,Ihadacoupleofslightsoftwareissues,asyou’dgetwithanynewdesk,butitwasrectifiedstraightaway.Rob[Hughes]andJames[Godbehear]havebeengreat.Whenyougetthatsupport,itallfeelsverypersonal.” TherestoftheaudiosetupwassuppliedbyESS.PhilMcDanieltoldTPi:“Weprovided16stacksofTurbosoundAspect890systemwithTSW218subs,configuredinagroundstackformation,flownhangs,andinandoutfillswhererequired.”Formonitorduty,aYamahaPM5D-RHwaspositionedonstageandthebandworeSennheiserG3IEMsystems,yetitwastheCadacCDCeightatFOHwhichstole

theshow:“Ithasunequalledaudioquality,andinnovativeworkflowlayoutandwe’vehadanopenandengineer-ledfeedbackprogramviaCadac’sRobHughes,”headded. AfterasetlistwhichincludedI’m not in LoveandDreadlock Holiday,thecrowdweretreatedtoatrulystunningacapellaadaptationofDonna beforeRubber Bulletsshotthedancingcrowdakissgoodnight.Asanodofrespecttohistouringcrew,frontmanGrahamGouldmanthankedhisroadstaff,fromSwordtothetruckdrivers,withoutwhichheexplained,“Thiswouldn’tbepossible.” After44years,it’srefreshingtoacknowledgethattalenthasn’toverriddenhumility,andtheworkofSwordandtherestoftheproductionteamisstildulynoted.AsthelightscameupattheendofanothersuccessfulUKtour,Swordresonatedhisearlierthoughts:“I’mhappywiththat,”hesaid.“IreallydobelievethisisthebestsoundingdigitaldeskI’veeverused.”TPi

www.10ccworld.comwww.cadac-sound.com

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