Dave Rat from Rat Sound Systems is a big Midas fan, and has no reason to compromise, even when mixing in smaller venues. Having chosen a 32-channel Venice to mix front of house for the Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, he was more than confident about taking a 32-channel Verona out on the band’s European TV and radio promotion tour.
“My experience has been that the function and sound quality of the smaller-format Midas consoles is close enough to the larger Midas consoles that I can switch back and forth relatively easily,” says Rat. “I also wanted to step away from the increasingly popular trend of wedging highly complex and powerful consoles—digital or analog—into simple and relatively non-complex gigs. I wanted a compact and easy board to set up FOH world, yet I also wanted to be able to see everything that is going on at a single glance, without pressing buttons. Digital denies me this, but I can easily achieve it with a compact analog setup.”
This setup worked so well for Rat that when he returned to the U.S., he continued with the concept, going on to mix larger shows on small-format Midas analog consoles.
“Since the consoles make it relatively easy to remember settings and/or chart, I found I was able to swap out and even transfer between console versions fairly easily,” he continues. “When the Peppers headlined the 18,000-capacity KROQ Weenie Roast at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine Meadows, I used a 32-channel Siena. Even though the console is more optimized for stage monitor applications, I actually preferred it, as I loved having the extra aux/groups.
“A further benefit was that every other artist was mixed on a digital console, converted back to analog and then back to digital in the system processors. For the Peppers, I went straight into the processors and eliminated an AD/DA conversion, which I felt gave the Peppers a sonic clarity advantage.
“Oh, plus it is really fun mixing big sound on little boards!”
For more information, visit www.midasconsoles.com. For more information on Rat Sound, visit www.ratsound.com.
