New York, NY (November 29, 2023)—John Mayer has never been one for standing still—he spent the spring and fall filling arenas on a solo acoustic tour, and used the summer months not to take some time off, but instead venture into stadiums as a member of Dead & Company on that supergroup’s final run. In both cases, his voice and legendary guitar playing was heard via audio systems provided by UltraSound.
Both tours also happened to be mixed by Derek Featherstone, UltraSound CEO. The spring leg of the solo tour kicked off on March 11 at New Jersey’s Prudential Center and wrapped at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum, while the fall leg was another east-to-west marathon, launching at Madison Square Garden with the November finale again at the Kia Forum.
According to Featherstone, mixing one voice accompanied by guitar or piano is not the simple chore it might seem. “With one vocal and one instrument, there is nothing for the artist or engineer to hide behind,” he points out. “The mix is either right or wrong. The detail in compression and effects is plainly audible, so you have to mix with greater accuracy.”
The FOH position was a mix of old and new, with a vintage Gamble EX68 analog console paired with an Avid S6L digital mixer. “We also made a conscious decision not to use any wireless mics, wireless guitar feeds, or in-ear monitors,” he explained. “That’s part of the reason for the Gamble, as there is something rewarding to having a mic or instrument on a cable going into an analog desk. For vocal inserts, we leaned on the Summit DCL hybrid tube compressors and Empirical Labs Distressors.”
The Fillmore Updates Audio with UltraSound-Installed Panther System
With no band bleed to worry about, Featherstone selected a Neumann KMS105 supercardioid condenser for Mayer’s vocals: “With no band behind him, we could use a condenser just like we would do in a studio since we don’t have to sacrifice any sonic reproduction to navigate around background bleed.”
Getting that clean input back out into the house was a duty placed upon UltraSound’s Meyer Sound Panther arrays. “The Panther system reacts accurately to subtle mix changes, especially in this stripped-down environment,” said Featherstone. “With just a voice and guitar, it’s critical that the P.A. does not influence tonality. The Panther system only puts out what you put into it.”
Although the exact system configuration varied with particular arenas, a typical deployment would be anchored by front left and right arrays of 18-each Panther loudspeakers with side hangs of the same length as well as, when needed, extreme side hangs for 220-degree coverage consisting of 20 Leopard line array loudspeakers per side. In most scenarios, three short delays of Lyon line array loudspeakers were added for balance and intimacy in the far upper seats. Dual hangs of six each 700-HP subwoofers filled out the deep bass notes.
A total of eight Meyer Sound MJF-210 stage monitors were deployed for foldback, with three each at the two guitar performance positions, and two at the piano position. “The guitar positions are set up so the center wedge is vocal and the side wedges are guitar in stereo,” says Featherstone. “This keeps the three wedges from fighting each other.”
Rounding out the sound crew for the tour were system engineer Michal Kacunel, monitor engineer Ian Dubois, monitor tech Alex Pritchard, and P.A. techs Sean McAdam, Riley Gajewski, and Erik Swanson. Mayer’s solo acoustic tour resumes in late winter of 2024 in the UK and Europe, with most of the same UltraSound crew and front-end gear flying over and joining up with a similar Panther system from a Meyer Sound rental partner.
