Feb 16, 2006 3:54 PM

A cappella vocal group The Blenders are carrying in their racks two XTA DP324 SiDD dynamic processors. “The SiDDs are just fantastic,” says Dave Farber (pictured), owner of Farber Sound, the Minneapolis-area touring sound and installation contractor that provides the sound system for this tour. Farber also acts as the group’s FOH mix engineer.

According to Farber, “I insert them on each of the four vocal channels and use them for all of the processing. With the SiDD software, I can pull up each channel individually in my laptop and fine-tune it to each vocalist’s specific needs. For instance, when I identify very particular frequency points in a singer’s voice, such as 2.5 kHz or 3 kHz, that are accentuated when they hit certain levels, using the dynamic EQ feature I can attenuate exactly those frequency points without deleting that frequency content when the level falls below threshold.

Another feature Farber likes is the ability to store presets on each of the two channels on the SiDD. As Farber explains, “The memory presets are also very valuable for the bass vocal artist, allowing settings for each bass vocal application and the artist switching to lead vocal on certain songs. I route the extra output from that particular channel on the SiDD to a separate channel on the mix console, which assists in the cue/listen function. The SiDD’s features make the entire mix seamless, and that contributes significantly to a great performance.”

Other XTA gear on tour with The Blenders includes the GQ600, DP226, DP224 and RT1 units.

For more information on XTA, visit www.g1limited.com. For more information on Farber Sound, visit www.farbersound.com.

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