This past summer, indie pop band Fitz and the Tantrums enjoyed a successful string of live concerts throughout the U.S., either headlining its own bills or opening for Bruno Mars for several dates. For every show, monitor engineer Aaron Glas (pictured) has relied on Harman’s Soundcraft Vi1 as his monitor console.
“A few years ago, I was looking for a small-format digital console that could handle 24 outputs and there aren’t many,” Glas says. “The Vi1 looked perfect. I’ve toured with it for several years now and I’m thrilled to continue mixing on the Vi1 for Fitz and the Tantrums.”
Although Glas has a wealth of experience working with the Vi1 and other Soundcraft Vi Series consoles, his work with Fitz and the Tantrums marks the first instance in which he has used the cue/snapshot feature of the Vi1—something he has found to be a tremendous advantage.
“Using the snapshots with the Vi1 has been a great learning experience,” Glas says. “We’ll always have the full band at soundcheck and it’s nice that I can recall what we’ve done the previous night and tweak the mixes based on the band’s requests. With the snapshot feature, I’m able to fine-tune the sound more specifically with each successive performance.”
In addition, the snapshot feature enables Glas to quickly and easily adjust to any changes Fitz and the Tantrums make from show to show. “My cues can change with the set list and all the levels can be recalled nightly so it makes for a pretty consistent performance each time,” he says. “The band has a great comfort level knowing they can achieve the same quality audio night in and night out.
“The level of support from Soundcraft has also been exceptional,” Glas concludes. “Whether it’s Tom Der or Rick Morris, they’re always very helpful and very responsive.”
