Midas Consoles

Monitor engineer Nahuel Gutierrez has been using a Midas PRO6 live audio system for the Noisettes’ UK tour. Having previously spent 15 months with its big brother the XL8 on the final Oasis world tour, Gutierrez found the transition to the PRO6 an easy one.

“I was able to mix on the PRO6 in the same way I did on the XL8, and after a short time learning where the controls on this surface were, I was flying again,” he says. “Although it’s a smaller surface, the PRO6 isn’t missing any of the XL8’s features. The sound quality equally as superb, and my favourite features were there, such as six full parametric equalisers on the output channels, which have allowed me to forget about graphic eq's for the last two years.

“Having fewer faders was never an issue working with the POP Groups, which once again were my main way of mixing. And I set up one group of four VIP channels in Area B so I could have each of the four vocals there all the time, with everyone pre fader. This meant I had very quick control of the send for each performer.”

“The console also has two solo buses like the XL8, so I was able to cue wedges or IEMs independently from each other, and listen to any channel or either bus with the click of a button.

“A very handy feature is assignable rotary controls, allowing you to permanently assign a single parameter from any channel to a knob. I used this for the threshold of my gates, plus a couple of gains controls that I always wanted to have handy. It’s a great thing being able to grab a particular control for a particular channel, and I was able to adjust the threshold of my gates just by looking at the metering page and moving this knobs.”

As the tour took in some very small venues, the PRO6 proved to be a wise choice. “I was able to fit the console anywhere even, in the smallest venue where I had to be on stage next to the guitar player,” Gutierrez continues. “The footprint is so small considering what you get. We didn't have a truck on the tour, just a little trailer behind the tour bus which we managed to fit the console in alongside the backline.

This was Gutierrez’s first foray into Midas automation, as it suited the Noisettes’ musical style to create scenes for each song. “It’s very easy to understand and work with, and I had great fun seeing things happening at the click of a button: changes, fader sends, mutes, gate thresholds, all changing by themselves. I was also able to put a lot of parameters on recall scope and store scope, for independent scenes.”

Gutierrez also carried out a software update on the PRO6, mid-tour. “It was so easy to do,” he says. “The new software arrived on a USB stick, and it uploaded all by itself, updating every piece of hardware connected to the console too.

“My final thoughts on the PRO6 are it's a beast in a small package, and I want one at home!”