Sound crew and performers alike celebrate the end of the recent Annie Lennox solo tour with nothing but praise for the two Mackie SDR24/96 Hard Disk Recorders used to bring the haunting voice of the ex-Eurthymic to venues across the US and Europe.
For programmer and keyboard technician Ozzie Henderson, the Mackie set-up performed even better than expected. Henderson commented, “I used the two Mackie SDRs for the entire 10-week tour of the United States and Europe and they performed faultlessly, easily standing up to the rigors of the road without breaking a sweat.”
The decision to use the Mackie SDRs came after tour musical director Mike Stevens expressed a need for playing back programmed audio, the ability to cue songs instantly and most importantly, have machines that were reliable. For this reason, he decided to investigate hard disk recorders and subsequently contacted Mackie UK.
From left to right - Ozzie Henderson, programmer and keyboard tech.; Mike Choi, and Tony Remy
Henderson continues, “Mackie as a brand is known for products that break ground, but not at the expense of functionality and usability. When roadworthiness is a major concern, customer service is as important as the product itself. For all these reasons the Mackie SDRs stood head and shoulders above the rest of the considered options.”
The need for a playback option is essential on a live tour due to the nature of live sound work. Henderson explains, “Playing live sometimes needs elements of the record that cannot be accurately reproduced solely acoustically, so the Mackie SDRs are used to play back these elements.”
“The decision to use the SDRs was definitely the right one,” concluded Henderson. “And the support we got from Martin Warr and Woody at Mackie UK was exceptional.”
For further information, please check out the Mackie website at: www.mackie.com.