Dave and Tim's signal chain

[two steps too many]

Can anyone please link me to, or tell me Dave's signal chain, and Tim's too if you know it. For when they are doing D&T shows, but only curious to Daves when he's with the band too.

I know Dave uses a Fishman Matrix UST, but after that where does it go? Most important is what amp/PA/Speaker he uses

Thanks

[jpotterpurdueturf]

So oddly enough this is my first official post to this sight after using it for the past 5 years, but your post caught my eye as I just read an article the other week about mixing DMB live. I think it might have some answers to your part of your question. Hope this helps.

Here's the article to get the full bands setup -
http://mixonline.com/live/tourprofiles/ ... ws_band_3/

Heres excerpts I think you might be particularly interested in.

The recording setup gets a transformer-isolated split from the stage and runs through 48 channels' worth of API 212L preamps to the Tascams,” explains Jeff Thomas, Matthews' front-of-house engineer. “The hard drives get sent to the band's archivist in Charlottesville [Va., the band's hometown], where the individual tracks get bounced to multiple CD-Rs and are then stored in a climate-controlled vault. Some of these songs wind up on the band's Live Trax CD Series, the tenth volume of which came out in May 2007.

To power the band's jazz-influenced, jam-heavy pop/rock hybrid, Thomas chose a line array system based on the Meyer Sound MILO self-powered loudspeakers — an upgrade from the Meyer MSL-10-based system they had used through 2004. Pro Media/UltraSound supplied the Shoreline show with twin arrays of 11 MILO 90 loudspeakers and one MILO 120 per side. Two stacks of eight Meyer Sound 700-HP subwoofers per side covered the low end, while three MSL-4s per side were used for sidefill offstage of the mains. Three CQ-2 loudspeakers handled front-fill coverage under the mains, and two UPJ-1P loudspeakers covered the center area in front of Matthews, who doesn't stray far from the middle of the stage.

Thomas switched from the M3D-Sub cardioid subs to the 700-HP units last year, a change that better suits the band's performance. “The band missed that sub feel and energy onstage,” says FOH system engineer Tom Lyon, of Pro Media/UltraSound. “Fortunately, we had another system out with Phil Lesh that had our 700-HPs, and they were having the opposite problem: too much sub energy onstage! So the two tours switched their subwoofer complements while they were both in the Boston area the same day.”

Coincidentally, the installation division of the Bay Area sound company recently installed a new JBL VerTec 4888 system for Shoreline's lawn delays, programmed and tuned by Lyon. “Knowing that system had already been configured and optimized ‘the Ultra way,’ it was one less thing to worry about during a hectic, late load-in,” he says.

At the main FOH position, Thomas works on a Digidesign VENUE D-Show digital mixing console; their previous console, a Gamble EX-56 modified by Pro Media/UltraSound chief engineer Geoff Peters and rental/touring director Derek Featherstone, resides next to the VENUE and is reserved for opening act Marley. Thomas uses about 40 inputs divided into eight subgroups. The VENUE system handles most of the onboard processing; beyond that, he uses a Bomb Factory BF76 compressor plug-in for vocal subgroup and subgroup bus compression. He enlists a Joe Meek SC2 compressor plug-in for dynamics and Digidesign's ReVibe and Reverb One plug-ins for effects. For vocals, he uses the Serato compressor plug-in for de-essing and “de-pinging.”

Another unique component of the DMB audio arsenal, Thomas uses the BSS Audio SoundWeb system with EAW SmaartLive Version 5.4 software to adjust EQ and tune the P.A. in multiple zones. Thomas uses SoundWeb primarily as an analysis microphone switcher for the Smaart software. “Along with the SoundWeb working as a switcher, we use UltraSound-modified Sennheiser RF transmitters and receivers to make our four analysis microphones wireless,” Thomas adds. “They then can be easily placed in the discrete P.A. array zones and utilized during the show. I also have Smaart Version 6 fed from my cue bus on the console so I can cue selected channels and see their individual spectrum, or the master bus and see the overall tonal spectrum.”

Just as Thomas and crew continually work to improve the sound quality at FOH, monitor engineer Ian Kuhn looks for new ways to strengthen their wireless system. He recently incorporated Professional Wireless' IAS software into his regime, which allows his team to coordinate all of the RF gear used on the tour, as well as improve RF transmission. Matthews began using Sensaphonics 2X IEMs in 1997; now, the entire band wears them. Kuhn uses both Sennheiser and Shure wireless systems to cater to the musicians' individual sonic preferences. While the band wears in-ear monitors exclusively, they also carry a few Meyer Sound USM-1 wedges, powered by Crest 7001 amplifiers, to accommodate the opening act, as well as any guest musicians who might join in.

Kuhn mixes primarily on a Yamaha PM1D, while audio crew chief Lonnie Quinn mixes violinist Tinsley on a Yamaha DM2000. Aside from the Yamahas' onboard processing and effects, Kuhn uses Aphex 1788 mic pre's for some of the key inputs. As for monitor mix requirements, bandmembers keep their preferences reasonably simple. “As with most musicians, each of the guys has a specific preferred mix that we strive to meet,” says Kuhn. “Dave leans toward a full band mix, with his vocal and guitar peeking out over the top.”

Daves Gear as of 2009*
Taylor 914C 6-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor W65 12-String Acoustic Guitar
Taylor 714 Acoustic Guitar
Jerry Jones Baritone
Veillette Gryphon
Veillette Baritone 12-String
D'Addario Strings
Dunlap Guitar Pics
Matchless DC-30 Amplifier
Shure UHF Wireless System
Shure UHE Antenna Distro
UltrSound/Soundweb Custom Switcher
Korg DTR-1 Digital Tuner

Now as for Daves setup when he plays with Tim, I am having a hard time finding Daves equipment. I remember reading something about a Fishman acoustic amp? This is what i have came across in my findings thus far.

DAVE MATTHEWS and TIM REYNOLDS

The Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds acoustic tour crew arrives with a truckload of road cases, but it's almost entirely PA and recording gear; the actual stuff used on stage would fit easily into the back of a Honda. At sound check, Matthews' longtime friend and guitar tech Monk Montgomery even apologizes about the simplicity of the stage setup as he walks me through it.

Reynolds plays two Martin D-35s, a '96 and a '93. Both have Martin's standard Fishman pickups, which run into a Morley volume pedal, a Boss digital delay, and then a Countryman direct box. The little Boss stomp box is the source of all of Reynolds' electronic trickery. "There's one backwards mode—it plays infinite, and you can mess with that," Reynolds says. "And there are delay modes that you can go infinite. There are a lot of cool little things."

For these duo shows, Matthews' main ax is a Martin HD-28, also Fishman equipped (the Gold Plus Natural 2) and running straight into a Countryman DI. "Even on the big tours we use Fishman," Montgomery says, "because it's really bright, and the way he plays so hard and a lot of low notes, it's the only thing that really captures the sound." Both Matthews' and Reynolds' guitars are miked (with a B&K 4051-A and an Audio-Technica 4021, respectively), but the signal only goes onto the night's board tape, not to the house. The Matthews crew (as well as fans) are inveterate tapers, and their archives are the source of releases like Live at Luther College and the DMB's Live at Red Rocks.

Matthews' backup six-string is a Lakewood M-32, which has its own integrated AER pickup system. And for a handful of songs—"Wild Horses," "Spoon," and "The Last Stop"—he picks up a Martin D12-28 12-string. (For "The Last Stop," it's tuned down a half step.)

All these guitars are strung with D'Addario lights. No funky tunings, and no capos or other gizmos except for Reynolds' slide. "Sorry, that's it," Montgomery says with a shrug. "I sit in that chair all night."

For band tours, Matthews has long been playing a Gibson Chet Atkins model that has been modified with Fishman electronics and runs through API preamps, Meyer CP-10 EQs, and Eventide harmonizers. The Chet's thin, feedback-free sound, Matthews says, helps to cut through the dense band mix


Anyway hope some of this helps and I hope the length of my post makes up for years of posting nothing at all.