The White Stripes are midway through a tour that has seen the raw, driving minimalist rock duo delivering scorching performances to sold-out crowds on several continents. Thunder Audio (Detroit) has provided the sound for much of this year’s tour, based around an array of 24 Meyer Sound MILO high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers.
Front-of-house engineer Matthew Kettle, mixing the band on a Midas Heritage 3000 console, favors a stripped-down approach that calls for little in the way of effects, other than a bit of compression and a slight touch of reverb. Two LD-3 compensating line drivers provide system drive processing, while status of the loudspeakers are monitored from a laptop computer running RMS™ remote monitoring system software.
“The MILO rigs, in particular, have proven to be quite versatile,” reports Thunder Audio VP Paul Owen. “People typically associate Meyer gear with more mainstream, acoustic or jazz-oriented material, but we’ve found the MILOs to be exceptional for a much wider range of sounds. We’ve had great results using the MILO on the Garbage tour and are sending one of our rigs out with Slipknot. The MILO system performs equally well across a very wide range of program material.”
Stage mics are a combination of Sennheiser Evolution Series and Neumann KM184s. The shows are being recorded to an iZ Technology RADAR 24 recorder, with Kettle using a pair of Meyer Sound HD-1 high-definition audio monitors to mix the recordings backstage.
“The MILO rig is really phenomenal,” Kettle says. “It’s got plenty of power, but, more importantly, it’s one of the flattest, most accurate systems I’ve worked with. Particularly with a duo like the White Stripes, where it’s truly a case of ‘less is more,’ the MILO delivers a level of clarity and nuance that brings out all the detail without muddying it up.”
Kettle also gives Meyer Sound high marks for its support. “No matter where we’ve played, Meyer Sound has had friendly, knowledgeable people available to answer questions and provide support. It’s a real pleasure.”
For more information, please go to www.meyersound.com and www.thunderaudio.com . For more touring news, visit mixonline.com/livesound/tours.
