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Focusrite confessions from the Madonna tour

UK - More than anything else, the recent Madonna tour was a triumph of technology, with a host of computers behind the scenes controlling everything from lighting to music. But one piece of essential technology, right up front, was a Focusrite Liquid Channel, used by vocal tech Sean Spuehler to help capture Madonna's vocals.

Programmer and engineer Sean Spuehler says, "I worked with Madonna in the studio on some of her past albums. She likes her in-ear vocals to sound like the album as much as possible, so it just made sense for someone like myself to mix her vocal sound and effects live. I started doing live gigs with her on the American Life promotional tour, which I guess was an audition of sorts, and ended up doing The Re-Invention world tour in 2004. The latest Confessions World Tour is an extension of that. It is great to be able to shake things up and get out of the studio for a little bit and experience the excitement of a live gig."

Sean uses a compact but very high-tech set-up while on tour... "I have been using the Focusrite Liquid Channel, Apple Logic 7 with an Apple G5, and a Digico D5 console. I also use the Focusrite ISA 430 Producer Pack quite often."

He continues, "After finding the right setting for Madonna's live vocal, the Liquid Channel proved unbelievably reliable. We never had to worry when going from city to city, as it always just worked."

(Jim Evans)

(22 December 2006)