Muse 2nd Law World Tour 2012/13
Engineer Marc Carolan at work for MUSE at LA Staples Center January 2013.
Attending a concert with UK top band MUSE is always a real treat. Engineer Marc Carolan has been in charge of FOH for MUSE for more than ten years. Seen as we are in 2013, this sound production sets itself apart from the majority of touring acts by being close to 100% analog.
All the major channels from the band itself are passed through the classic MIDAS XL4 analog console (Sequenced tracks pass through the MIDAS Pro2C for scene recall). Tons of high quality outboard assist in making this production truly outstanding.
We are very excited by the fact that TUBE-TECH plays such an important role in the production of this State of the Art show: Two TUBE-TECH LCA2B compressors are handling bass and guitars and furthermore, a TUBE-TECH SMC2B Multiband Opto Compressor has recently been added to the setup.
We were invited to the Los Angeles concert at Staples Center, January 2013.
The sound of the show can only be described as VERY impressive! The sound was extremely full and transparent, yet very punchy with some of the best low end we have ever heard. The band sounded loud but very pleasing and we were surprised to hear that the SPL never exceeded 110 dB. The Staples Center does not provide very good acoustics, so when the production sounded so good here, imagine how it sounds in a more perfect venue!
The quality of Marc Carolan’s MUSE live sound is a proof that true analog live sound production still vastly outperforms any digital production. Marc Carolan started experimenting with the TUBE-TECH SMC2B for mix bus processing in 2012, He bought the unit in January 2013 and continued experimenting with the unit for the rest of the Muse 2nd Law World Tour 2013.
Here’s Marc’s comment ont the SMC after using it for the rest of the tour: “Loving the SMC2B now. I’m using the high frequency path to mimic the harmonic distortion we used to get with VDosc, making the high end more pleasing especially over the length of the show. The mid just tickles, a half dB here and there. Still playing with the low end.”
Read more: In depth article about the total MUSE live setup
