SSL EQ, onboard processing and effects
Kennedy likes to keep things simple with the band, which features five musicians in addition to Plant and Krauss. “I don’t like to overcomplicate things with too many effects or too many compressors,” he says. His go-to processing is on the SSL Live console’s channel strip. “I find that the onboard compressor on the channel strip is more than adequate. Then I use selected effects, on the double bass or the vocals or what have you.”
He continues, “Effects-wise, it’s pretty simple: just instrument reverb and vocal reverb. I’ve found that the new reverbs on the console are really great. They sound fantastic, especially on the vocals. I only have one external effect, an old TC Electronic D2 echo, which we use on Robert’s voice for the big sustained vocal thing that he does.”
As for the EQ on the SSL Live console, he says, “It’s flexible and precise. I find myself using quite narrow Qs and being very surgical. But sometimes you just want a big push in the midrange to bring out the guitar, so you can use it quite wide, and it will give you that lift.”
Kennedy uses the console's all-pass filter a lot, he says. “That’s a go-to, especially for acoustic instruments.” For example, for multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan, he says, “I have a microphone for his resonator instruments, like banjo. Sometimes he comes in close to the mic, and I can jump on the all-pass filter and bring up the tone. You don’t have to look at the board. When it sounds right, it is right. You can get tied up in looking at graphics. Just turn the knob and see what happens.”
Easy navigation on the fly
What Kennedy truly appreciates about SSL Live is how quickly he can access the controls that he needs in the moment. “I love the Navigate Up button, which gets me straight to the gain, then I can flip from that to the trim, the phase and the pad. You can get there instantly. I find that really, really useful.” Since Plant and Krauss generally don’t soundcheck with the band, Kennedy must be on his toes as soon as the show kicks off. “On the first song I’m flat out, so it’s all about the speed. And the Live console is really fast to navigate once you get your head around it,” he says.
He adds, “I have a fellow with me called Dan Currie who is a fantastic systems engineer. He’s down the front and up the back and in the room on a Lake Processor on a wireless tablet, listening to what’s coming out of the speakers. Because the truth is that you can’t mix sound in these big arenas on your own. You need one person moving around — and I’m stuck behind the console.”
