Soundcraft Vi1 console supplies sound for girl band Stooshe

Two Soundcraft Vi1 digital audio consoles have been out on the road with three-piece UK all-girl vocal group Stooshe.

The band’s popularity soared after sales of their debut single Black Heart reached more than 500,000, which led to a dedicated monitor engineer coming onboard to join John Delf at FOH. Delf has worked FOH for a number of major artists including Lily Allen and Plan B.

“I’d always liked the Vi6, and I’d never used a Vi1 before, so I saw this tour as the perfect opportunity to get to grips with it,” Delf said during a recent soundcheck at London’s Scala. “Within a half-hour of using it, I was back in the zone again. It’s just perfect for this kind of tour as the footprint’s so small and transportation is so easy. We only have a small trailer on the back of a van, but the two Vi1s fit in easily. Also, these consoles sound just as good as the Vi6.”

Nigel Thomas was brought in three months ago to work monitors for the band.

“What we realised quite early on was that the girls needed to have consistency,” he commented. “When I came in and had the discussion with John about the kit, it very soon became clear to both of us that the Vi1 was absolutely the perfect solution.”

For a number of the shows on the tour, including the Scala show, the pair have used the venues’ in-house analogue multicores in combination with their Soundcraft Compact Stagebox.

For the Scala show, Delf spent most of his ‘hands-on’ time mixing Stooshe’s vocals. “That’s my main focal point, really; and the rest of the time I’m just making sure everything is nice and dynamic,” he explained. “I love the Lexicon effects in the Vi1 – I use a plate reverb on the girls’ vocals along with a studio delay, and a drum reverb on the kit; all of them sound great.”

Thomas created 11 stereo monitor mixes – six for the girls and band members; one for the backline tech; and four for the wedges and side fills.

“Unlike many digital desks, it doesn’t feel like you’re working on a typewriter when you’re operating a Vi1,” added Thomas. “It’s just laid out so well, and because of that, it’s a lovely desk to work with.”

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