Currently out supporting their Don’t Believe the Truth release, Oasis is playing to packed amphitheaters in the U.S. and abroad. Sound is supplied by SSE Hire in the UK and Fire House Productions and Thunder Audio in the U.S. Mix caught up with FOH engineer Bruce Johnston when the band was on its way to the U.S. after a string of UK dates.
Tell me about the P.A.
When Nexo brought out the Geo T system, I got straight into using it. The system is quite different to any of the other line arrays as it has a cardioid functionality. The system cancels most of the low/mid out the back and gives 80 percent less sound onstage. This has the great effect of making the stage incredibly clear and gives me the ability of mixing as loud as I want without any interaction with the monitor system. We used 96 Geo T and 48 C-D 18 subs for our UK stadium tour. Amazing sound. [The tour’s second U.S. run-through is using a V-DOSC system from Masque Audio, as the Geo T was unavailable at the time.]
Is there anything new at FOH?
I finally took the plunge into the digital world with the DiGiCo D5 console. After a few weeks of pulling and throwing and getting used to the vibe, I’m now a big fan. I’ve purchased the console and we’re traveling with it worldwide. The size and weight have been a great advantage in making this possible.
How do you mix the band?
Oasis is pretty much a meat-and-potatoes band. I use a couple of Amek 9098s for the vocals and dbx 160X compressors for the drums. Apart from using an SPX900 for my drums, I’m using the [D5’s] board processors for the rest.
What do you do off the road?
I’m at home in Melbourne, Australia, and I run my audio company, Johnston Audio Services (www.johnstonaudioservices.com). This keeps me pretty busy.
