The playback rig for Lily Allen’s ‘Sheezus’ Tour including RME and Ferrofish hardware
To promote the release of her third studio album, Lily Allen embarked on her “Sheezus Tour”. Lasting nearly seven months, she played venues across Europe and the U.S, as well as incorporating Radio 1’s Big Weekend and V Festival.
Her keyboard technician for the tour was Gavin Ellis, who we met up with during rehearsals to talk about his setup for the live shows. He told us about how he was looking for a way to add additional analogue I/O. Gavin explains “The initial goal was to upgrade the playback system, currently at 8 outputs, to 16 outputs, over two different rigs.”
Another consideration was portability, especially when setting up for PA’s. He wanted the same options whichever rig he was using, so it needed to be something portable. “One was a mobile rig that we could fly with, so it had to be something that didn’t take up too much rack space.”
He initially asked about doubling the amount of RME Fireface 800’s, which were already being used as part of the setup. Instead, we suggested running an RME MADIface USB (off of his Mac Book Pro) and convering the MADI I/O using the Ferrofish A16 MK-II.
The Ferrofish A16 MK-II is a MADI and ADAT AD/DA converter supporting 16 analogue inputs and outputs, all in a convenient 1U box. Combining that with the RME MADIface USB was the obvious solution, providing Gavin with twice as many inputs and outputs as his current rig, but without taking up any more rack space. He was also pleased to find that the new system fitted comfortably into his portable flight case, meaning no additional baggage.
In terms of performance, Gavin found his new set up to be very reliable. “We had the stability of the RME drivers and the Ferrofish for the D/A, which we used for stems to send to monitors and front of house. Stuff like clicks, vocal and personal cues, and then obviously group stems for support tracks. Yep, no problems at all.” Gavin continued “And with the RME MADIface USB, we now have the ability to run 64 I/O if we need to, which I am sure will come in handy at some point.“
Gavin also said “Thanks to the guys at Synthax Audio UK as well, great advice and support as always”. He continued to use the set up throughout the tour without a hitch.
This of course is not the first time RME has featured as part of Lily Allen’s touring rig. We previously spoke to system technician Sean Lascelles, who was full of praise for RME. “I’ve spent the last four years touring as the main playback tech for Example, and I always chose RME solutions because of their reliability,” he told us.
If you’re a FOH, monitor or playback engineer and would like to find out how Synthax Audio can help you with RME, Ferrofish or any of our other products, then contact us directly on 01727 821 870 or info@synthax.co.uk, we’re always happy to help.