Selah Sue 'Can Hear The Space' With KLANG And DiGiCo

Since Belgian singer songwriter, Selah Sue, released her first EP in 2009 her popularity has continued to rise.

This year, she embarked on a European tour with Fred Pignatelli, her monitor engineer of almost a decade, deploying a KLANG immersive in-ear monitor system, along with his long-time of console of choice, a DiGiCo SD12, both supplied by Belgian rental company, 4EARS.

"I have worked with Selah Sue since 2014," said Pignatelli. "I accidentally ended up there and apparently they liked my way of mixing. I had an SD8-24 on a MaDiRack at the time. I'm lucky to be able to work for such an artist. It's a close-knit team with top musicians and a professional crew. We moved to the SD12 is 2017. I had wanted to upgrade, but with a similar size desk since we travel with a nightliner and trailer, so space is limited. Initially, I chose the SD12 for its dual screens, but as I’ve got to know it, I've used more and more of its features."

Pignatelli's SD12 handles 48 inputs and 24 outputs, which includes eight stereo mixes for the band, plus inputs for sub, shouts, backliners and backups. He has found having Dynamic EQ on every channel particularly useful, as well as Macros, which allow him the ability to handle multiple channels at the push of one button. "They are a great tool," he said. "And I use a Streamdeck and OSC control to have more buttons at hand.” He also appreciates the Matrix inputs, which he uses for PFL, shouts and even the feeds to the PA from the FOH desk, along with Copy Audio presets, which he deploys for broadcast and recordings.

"There are a total of eight wireless and three wired IEM packs for Selah Sue and her band and, for this tour, Pignatelli opted to use KLANG, deciding on a KLANG:fabrik. KLANG has made my life much easier and the integration of the system into the SD12 is a huge advantage," he said.

KLANG has also made a world of difference to Selah Sue. "I always had a hard time using in ears, but from the moment Fred implemented the 3D mix, I could finally close my eyes and hear space," she said. "I really enjoy it and can hear all instruments and vocals clearly, doing their thing in exactly the right place. Imagine the layout of the band playing on a stage and hearing that translate through the sound. Now we really feel like a band, as a whole. We enjoy making music more than ever."

Pignatelli appreciates the great support he has had from the Amptec team, particularly from Christophe Malpas, who helped him overcome the challenges of acclimatising to a new workflow.

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