Digico SD12 & Midas Pro 2 consoles at FOH
Using an Outline PA was not the first choice for Matt Blakely , Billy Talent ’ s long-time front of house engineer and production manager . He is a self-professed “ L-Acoustics guy ” and typically pretty strict about getting the PA he wants , which is a K2 . So when Brian Bates said he wanted him to give the Outline a try on this high-profile show , Blakely had his reservations . Despite that , he adds , “ I ’ m always a big fan of trying stuff out and maybe it ’ s the best thing in the world ? I don ’ t know and you never know until you try .”
Sitting down with Blakely in the band ’ s dressing room after line and sound check , he gives his first impressions . “ I didn ’ t do any EQ at all , I think , today . I think we worked on the time a little bit with the subs and just changed the arc pattern a little bit . Between the mains and the side hangs and the front fill , that mid-to-HF frequency response seems to be very linear between the products , which is cool and I love that about L-Acoustics and like it with d & b and with Adamson . You find that those things , all those new brands , it all sounds really close ,” he says . “ I had tons of gas . I mean , my average show , with vocals in , I ’ d say a loud show is 104dBA or 105dBA , but without vocals in it ’ s around 101 or 102 . That is on the high end when we ’ re doing it and it ’ s all there , everything was in the mix . The low-mid sat really well and , again , really flat on the PA as far as what I saw going in the Lake and stuff . I didn ’ t put any pokes in it at all and didn ’ t find anything really sticking out .”
“ That means a lot ,” Bates responds when relayed Blakely ’ s positive thoughts after sound check . “ I ’ ve known Matt Blakely for a lot of years and he ’ s a notoriously loud mixer . I told him what I wanted to do , what the vision was , and normally he ’ d be saying , ‘ No , I want this brand and no , I won ’ t do anything else ,’ but he went , ‘ Yeah , I ’ ll listen to something else if you guarantee us 1,000 per cent .’ Matt is a professional worldwide touring engineer and although we ’ ve known each other for a long time , that doesn ’ t mean he ’ s going to give me a free pass . He ’ s like , ‘ I ’ m coming down the day before to hear it ,’ and he ’ s a happy camper .”
At FOH , Blakely was standing behind a Midas Pro 2 console , while a Digico SD12 was provided for the support acts . “ I ’ m sure everyone says it , but I approach everything in a very analog way . I was an analog guy forever ,” says Blakely of his mixing style . “ Just real standard gains . I ’ m not doing anything crazy , really , and double bus and drums . I do use a lot of outboard gear , just pieces that I love and I find that really makes the dif-
Outline DBS 18-2 subwoofers at front of stage
( L-R ) Jordan Moore , Michael Belluz , Stuart Evans , Max Stewart , Joel Bates , Brian Bates & Debbie Hutchins FOH Engineer Matt Blakely
28 PROFESSIONAL SOUND