Paul McCartney has embraced Avid Everywhere to support his Out There tour. Avid VENUE live sound and Pro Tools audio production solutions, from the Avid Artist Suite and powered by the Avid MediaCentral Platform, are being used to mix and record his concerts for the 59-show tour.
McCartney’s front-of-house sound engineer, Paul ‘Pab’ Boothroyd uses an Avid VENUE Profile System for mixing, and Pro Tools Software for recording the concerts. VENUE Software running on the Profile system gives Boothroyd integration with plug-ins and Pro Tools, as he explained: “I was using one of the first Avid VENUE systems when they came out, and then I moved to the more compact Profile System. With Paul, one minute we’re in a stadium and the next I’m mixing in a broom cupboard in the Cavern in Liverpool, so the Profile became my console of choice. All my effects are onboard, which simplifies my setup considerably. And the quality of sounds you can get from todays plug-ins is amazing.”
Every McCartney performance is fully documented and archived and Boothroyd uses Pro Tools to record every rehearsal, soundcheck, and concert. “At Candlestick Park, for example, we threw in Long Tall Sally, which was something that he hadn’t done before, so that will be put away for possible future use along with the video and film footage that we also archived. If you want a proper multitrack Pro Tools recording, only Avid solutions can give you that kind of setup,” he continued.
Using the Virtual Soundcheck feature in VENUE systems, Boothroyd is able to take shows that were previously recorded in Pro Tools and play them back through the Profile System for dialling in a sound check mix at the venue without needing the band onstage. This is designed to accelerate the set-up process and provide additional time for refining snapshots, plug-in settings, and dialling in the perfect mix.
