FOH Engineer Embraces Yamaha on Paul Simon Tour

Buena Park, CA (August 6, 2018)—Supporting Paul Simon on Homeward Bound—The Farewell Tour, with shows across North America, the U.K. and Europe, Clair Global is providing production that includes a Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 for front of house.

Simon’s front of house engineer, Michael Conner, has a long history with audio console. “I’m very familiar with the Yamaha mixer range; in fact, I bought a ProMix 01 back in 1994 as my first digital desk. I liked it so much that I picked up an O2R in 1995 to use as a live desk. As I was rolling it out on a cart, I remember the owner of the company I purchased it from being confused, asking me if I was opening a studio.”

Based on his previous experiences and a recommendation from the team at Clair Global, Conner says he was enthusiastic about using RIVAGE PM10 at front of house on Simon’s tour.

“The onboard processing is stunning. I was hesitant at first, since I carry a small arsenal of very effective outboard gear,” says Conner. “However, as time passed, I found myself trying different built-ins, and quite frankly they work better than I expected. On more than a couple of previously difficult channels, I was able to dump the outboard gear. The RN5045 is a huge help out here on the tour. I have 122 inputs [122 live, no tracks here] and just over 100 of those are microphones. If the room has a noise floor problem, then I have a noise floor problem. The RN5045s used conservatively on a large number of those inputs makes a huge difference.”

Michael Conner Mixes Paul Simon, Wynton Marsalis Using Harman Consoles, May 9, 2012

Conner is also using the SILK feature, mostly Blue, on a few select channels. He owns some of the Rupert Neve gear that incorporates SILK. “The Yamaha version is quite nice.”

“I can’t imagine using anything else now, and I’m taking the Yamaha PM10 FOH package with me on the next tour,” adds Conner. “It’s literally leaving Paul’s last show in NYC and going directly to SIR for rehearsals for my next mix gig, which is confidential at the moment.”

“And, let’s not forget this thing sounds amazing without any of the bells and whistles I just mentioned.”