DEPECHE MODE Gear Rundown Feat. Jamie Pollock (FOH)

We met with Sound Engineer Jamie Pollock before the Depeche Show in Copenhagen and discussed how Jamie uses his gear. The System 6000 and the Clarity M Loudness meter are some of Jamie's most important tools when mixing the band.
Learn more about Clarity M Loudness Meter:
www.tcelectronic.com/tcelectr...

[@DJniggels]

To me this guy is the unsung hero of the current Depeche Mode tour! This is his first tour with Depeche Mide, and the band sounds sharper and clearer than on previous tours when it was a bit too much mixed like a standard Rock show for my taste. Now the synth sounds have enough space while the drums are a little less dominant, and everything sounds crisp and on the point. (and I say this as a longtime DM fan with almost 100 DM shows under my belt)

[@alanbaxter8100]

Interesting comments, as I’ve only been to a few back in the day (I’m always somewhere else when they’re on). But what was interesting to me is that you picked up on the synth clarity etc. I think this was him using the SSL Vca compressor , Ill be looking more into that for sure

[@DJniggels]

@@alanbaxter8100 I'm not a tech geek at all, although I do work in the event industry. ;) But usually I see 10-15 shows per Depeche tour, this time I've seen seven gigs so far of the current tour with more to follow in winter. To me anyway the difference to the last few tours is quite noticable.

[@zuu1701]

@@DJniggels Thats interesting you say this. I toured as an engineer with DM back in 2017 for their support band. The FoH engineer at the time was Anthony King. He has a much bigger background in rock bands (oasis etc). This is probably the difference you are hearing in the two engineers.

[@slawomay5784]

Totally agree! Ive noticed that too with my ears during MM Tour.

[@DJniggels]

@@zuu1701 Oh, which band was that? I probably saw your band live then. :)

[@holgerczukay6928]

This man is a magician who made Depeche Mode sound great during a concert at the National Stadium in Warsaw, this place has terrible acoustics, nobody before him managed to mix the sound so well in this facility, that was a miracle. Many thanks to him

[@VictorLugosi]

Nonsense..

[@jeshkam]

@@VictorLugosi Nonsense what?

[@enricopallazzoofficial]

It's been a long time since Depeche Mode sounded THAT good live as in this tour. Great job. The sound live was Fantastic.

[@VictorLugosi]

Nonsense.

[@jeshkam]

@@VictorLugosi ??!

[@lit3work]

Very cool. Thanks for that! Going to catch them in Glasgow in January - can’t wait!

[@FOH3663]

What a lust worthy assembly of gear! Very nice!

[@dep1001]

Very interesting! And what a great show it was! Thanks

[@FingersOnAFretboard]

the professional expertise that is 'behind the scenes' is often overshadowed by the showmanship of the stage performers. It is taken for granted how many professionally dedicated and devoted to music people are contributing to the live show experience. I'm not even a D M fan, yet aware of their 'hits' and having watched these latest performances was absolutely won over by the awesome sonic and theatrical performance! A musical legacy is undeniable, yet a LIVE performance can make you hear it in an everything-turned-up- to-11 dynamically-enhanced, evolving , unique to each show kind of way!

[@VictorLugosi]

He’s a nobody who does average work

[@elmolewis9123]

"I like having moments for things". The man is detail-oriented and that's why is's a pro.

[@masteringdeluxe]

Really nice that he's still working with analog outboard stuff. The Neve and Chandlers are hard to beat, even live. Lovely.

[@nextev8794]

What a great guy! Everyone takes his job for granted, not knowing he can srew up the entire show. Thanks for that extraordinary job behind the curtains...

[@ronrobins3513]

OMG the most mouthwatering collection of outboard I’ve ever seen. He’s giving Blackbird Studios a run for their money.

[@markrayjunior]

Just saw them in Miami. One of the best sounding shows I've ever heard!

[@Vim-Wolf]

He gets to the most important thing at the end, using his ears and seeing what sounds right. Sometimes that can be forgotten in the tech - lovely as his tech is.

[@andyiles4929]

What a musical genius! The sound at Twickenham was the best I've ever experienced. Incredible. ❤

[@mogadon7]

This guy is an obsessive, long live. He is extraordinary - unique guy. The detail he is involved in...wow.

[@PM-fs2eg]

Read a review of DM in Parken Copenhagen a couple of months ago, and the reviewer specifically highlighted the incredible sound of DM.

[@chrispou2002]

Recently saw this tour come through Atlanta. Thought he did a wonderful job in that room (State Farm Arena). That place can get cavernous very quickly, and he managed it very well. Proper transient punch and impact was still forward despite the room always fighting against anyone trying to wrangle that space. Nicely done, Jamie. Cheers!

[@unotoli]

Looks like a nuclear control-room :) Thanks for sharing and great sound on concert!

[@simontappenden9179]

waaay over the top.. love it!

[@lelandbobpalmer]

NICE setup, very talented dude...nice voice :)

[@AlbertaDMode]

Whatever that equipment and physics behind those knobs are... this tour live sound is much much much better than previous few. Especially drumming.

[@maxmurmel9222]

Great job!

[@yaveeya2992]

Thank You.. You Killed it in New York.. SUGGESTION More Reverb on the Synth/Guitar on the drop of Walking In My Shoes.. Playing the ANGEL TOUR HAD IT DOWN WAS BLOWN AWAY..!! ITS LITERALLY A MAGICAL MOMENT!! IF DONE RIGHT.!.

[@nyaudioengineer]

Awesome Jamie!

[@johnross7572]

fantastic.❤

[@reedl2353]

I'm not a studio guy, and I have no idea what most of that gear even was! It was like taking a tour at Cape Kennedy and watching them explain the various telemetry stations from the Space Shuttle. It does really drive home the point that these big shows are extremely complex entities with a lot going on behind the scenes. He must also have a great set of ears.

[@EfNerva]

That was all top-notch stuff, impressive collection.

[@brainwasher3742]

Whoa.. that is amazing. Most people don’t have this stuff in the studio even

[@morbidmanmusic]

Well, not bedroom studios.. Most decend rooms DO have this and more.

[@tekrahmuzik2119]

Amazing

[@frankphvrvon3153]

Wow this guy is so cool and knows a lot !

[@andivax]

wow. What an interesting approach to live sound! Especially with stereo widening! Thanx!

[@bcastromusic]

I can't believe he's using so much outboard for live sound, especially an H3000. So cool to see it.

[@audiolego]

Analog warmth

[@officialmoondancer]

There are quite a few live bands using outboard gear at FOH.

[@LeylaOnAir]

yea i was at a the damned show and they used an la-2a on the bass :D@@officialmoondancer

[@officialmoondancer]

@@LeylaOnAir yup yup. I think The Who has/had a whole damn Neve console out on tour lol. I saw a video a couple years back. Epic

[@LeylaOnAir]

@@officialmoondancer the damned had an ssl!

[@richardbelisle4807]

Running multiple effects …is a talent to itself..

[@VictorLugosi]

It’s not.. bands do this in small clubs with no money every night

[@belturbet4]

As they say...If it ain´t broke don´t fix it. Cool old skool set up. Love it.

[@ninovasev]

what a professional.....hands down

[@tekis0]

I would think that the Eventide Eclipse sounds similar enough to the H3000. Mad respect for TC Electronics, though; they've been making fantastic, high-quality equipment for several decades.

[@nigelcarren]

There are a lot of experts who CLEARLY know better in the comments. I don't know whether to simply bask in the presence of such greatness or be disappointed, because I only thought this happened with guitar-bands? Clearly we have moved on. Peace 😉👍🇬🇧

[@blackwatch_TV]

TC verb for the WIN

[@janfinke7046]

Sehr klarer und druckvoller Sound ! Hut ab! Ich war in der Puskás Arena in Budapest und der Sound war umwerfend. Ich habe 4 Depeche Mode Konzerte in 30 Jahren erlebt. Das war super Gut! Welche PA und Soundsysteme nutzt Ihr?

[@GVTSounds]

Das Soundsysteme ist L-Acoustics K1/k2

[@TheMusicmak3r]

Sweet

[@brutallyremastered4255]

Coldest band that ever walked on stage.

[@willudallmusic]

nice outboard

[@user-pj7iy6es3d]

I watched all of this and didn’t understand a single word of what he was saying. Was still interesting tho! I was at this show, travelling from the UK. The sound was MUCH better than the previous show I saw at Twickenham. Also bumped into MLG in Copenhagen during the day pre-show…

[@chinmeysway]

Damn that’s some great outboard gear. The tc elements a bit confusing however

[@iamyourfuture808]

cool to see he's using Behringer gear (TC hall of fame pedal)

[@cecilia_mackie]

That’s absolutely wonderful! Let’s connect?

[@motr1912]

Good video. Hopefully the sound for the indoor leg is better than the current stadium leg, in particular the overpowering bass.

[@Bluelagoonstudios]

I think that beautiful H3000 needs maintenance, that display is deteriorating, sorry work deformity, through the years and working with older equipment, even TC stuff is revised by me, they had a lot of displays those days. Mostly the cause was dried out capacitors, or even the backup batteries (with TC especially). I'm retired now, unfortunately, but I can see directly what's wrong. Working on so many DSP's and analog gear. Thanks for the tour. PS I don't know about you, but I liked to work in the backroom, I hated famous status. Get the thing working again, was the reward for me.

[@Sool101]

What you do, thats where the magic happens. I found the flow of sound easier to comprehend than the flow of electricity. Even though I've been a light technician for many years, the ones who make soldering look easy are the real backstage geniuses.

[@jdssurf]

anyone who's worked for peter gabriel is tops

[@tomtomson9916]

nice two times S6L-32D consoles at FoH. maybe one for audience PA and the other for "press"?

[@billyjohnston8431]

Redundant consoles! S6L are not a super reliable console, especially when getting transported in trucks every day. DSP issues are well known. A friend of mine had one go down at a headline arena show in Chicago and had to reschedule the show… Radioheads FOH engineer had theirs go down when headlining Coachella, quite famously. It is not uncommon for a band this size to have two running at the same time via a split system so that if the A console goes down they can automatically switch to the B. Unfortunately it normally takes an instance of this happening until a band / FOH engineer decides to carry a backup console.

[@zuu1701]

Yeah one is the backup & also the support can mix on it if they don't have their own console. I was offered Anthony King's spare SSL when I toured with Depeche :)

[@tomtomson9916]

@@billyjohnston8431 right. after an instance of failure the band will pay whatever it takes to prevent it with a backup system, not before. this means there might be 4 times S6L around at DM tour (backup at monitors)? the last 5 times i used this desk at festivals, i did not have any issues. but i am sure tour trucking might break connectors on the inside of the boards.

[@GuitarNDrumCoverS]

What is the ”almost like a set of room mics” he’s talking about? 5:04

[@arbialexander4871]

i think he talks about having the OH mics from the drums compressed really hard gives you a channel that shares some attributes to having your drums bus send to a "room reverb"

[@EBMZEQUENZER]

No disrespect to anyone involved : Is this all necessary in the live settings mixed with constant crowd noise? Just curious, it seems like an overkill..... to have a specific piece of gear for specific task in such intricate detail? Am I wrong ...........

[@zuu1701]

It's a good question. I wouldn't necessarily say it is essential. An engineer of his calibre can mix with whatever is put in front of them. But what you are seeing is a tour with possibly one of the biggest budgets on the planet. If it makes him more comfortable working with pieces of gear he knows well, he might as well have it!

[@tomaszzakrzewski3790]

Very interesting, but what language is he speaking? :)

[@57kod]

What brand is the Audio console?

[@johannesasal]

Looks like an Avid S4 setup. So it’s just a controller for Pro Tools, not an actual console.

[@Vincefromsin]

GML 8900 RULES!!!

[@daavneeq]

Not taking anything away from him, seems like a cool, knowledgeable guy, obviously, but anyone know what happened to Antony King?

[@imdomtrotta]

I think is jsut busy with other tours

[@FrankJewmore]

He’s busy doing Foo Fighters

[@zuu1701]

Anthony King is a magician behind the desk

[@primus6313]

money money money

[@MyJoyDepecheMode]

🥰👍❤👍🥰

[@user-ll9ln1uu4b]

If you want to know what is the best gear available you just need to see this man's racks:))

[@basehead617]

The System 6000 is not even for sale anymore!

[@adityayeah]

why is he using 2 avid console?

[@reneryelarsen]

I was there…

[@user-ge9mc3bp5e]

Such a shame all that expensive gear, couldn’t compensate for the awful sonics in the building (Parken, Copenhagen). I was standing in the middle of the floor, next to the mixer, withe a complete lack of midrange😢 The melodies and vocals completely drowned in the beat (base and treble). I hope for a bette experience, when you return to Copenhagen in February, in The Royal Arena🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[@paulhorsley8922]

You know.

[@CaptainProton1]

Last good gig for me was Crystal Palace Devotional Tour, the sound system was amazing. Recent gigs have been harsh on the ears as if the PA is being pushed way too hard in the midrange and super compressed... just wasn't that enjoyable. It might just have been 02's Wembley's sound system though.

[@spiralizer]

Yep Crystal Palace - magical sound

[@zuu1701]

The 02 doesn't have a sound system. Depeche brings their system with them in trucks for each show. No arenas have pre-installed sound systems. They are put in & taken down for every show. I toured with Depeche Mode in 2017.

[@christianballon7205]

This guy needs to do voiceover work

[@juno6]

To have Dave´s haircut was a requirement for the job...

[@samprock]

What language does he speak?! 😂 impressive

[@BobbyGeneric145]

He speaks Spinal Tap.

[@samprock]

@@BobbyGeneric145 spot on!

[@musicman6773]

Why is there no proper live recording of DM??? I have heard all DM Blu-Rays and they sound very bad..they sound like like nobody cares...the mastering live is bad,just listen to YELLO , KRAFTWERK , SCHILLER live Blu-Rays and you will know what i mean. Hoping that this tour will sound better finally!

[@officialmoondancer]

"my left right bus"... 👀 Bro just freaking say the master bus.

[@tonycowin]

What about the servant bus?

[@xisotopex]

is that the term you use when you are doing front of house for other platinum selling bands?

[@lunam7249]

im sure he has forgotten more than you know

[@officialmoondancer]

@@lunam7249 WTF does that have to do with my comment. I've never heard "left right bus" in my entire life and I've been in this game for a long time. What he knows, what he's forgotten, and what I know doesn't have anything to do with my comment.

[@lunam7249]

@@officialmoondancer its like flying in a commercial jet lax to miami 787.....even if you fly planes, what you say to the pilot means dogshit!! he is the pilot of the plane and responcible for the 250 passengers, not YOU and, not ME!! this vid guy, is "the sound man, FOH" for depeche mode!!! do you understand who that is and what that means??!! maybe he was tired or recovering from covid??? he can call it a "fucking tomato" and he still knows how it works or what he means to himself or underling roadies.....he is "boss", im a soundman also, many bands not FOH , assistant....but lincoln park 500000 watts, van halen , ect...this dude deserves respect....he dont have to use "common terms" to make you or me happy.....furthermore i truly believe your wrong, kraftwerk and depeche mode was one of the first computerized MIDI / SMPTE / digital signal music groups since 1983, and i know they artificially "synthesize stereo signals" from a "mono" right and "mono" left...so to his assistants im sure they need to know, right pan vs left pan vs master vs mono master vs synthesized left or right or "stereo"

[@tomterrif8503]

UHHHHH UHHHHH UH UH UUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH UHHHHH UHHHHH jeez dude

[@robertsteinberger5667]

How was it? Great and continues talking in a monotonous way

[@quantize]

Anyone whose heard even the worst phone audio from the latest tour know he's absolutely in control and they sound amazing every single time.

[@donnowak4304]

So funny I just got a Chandler EQ plugin. I'm not a pro, just use it mess around and remaster my music collection.

[@markspencer171]

Great engineer, poor interviewer. Interviewer is not listening. Jamie tells him everything but the interviewer makes him state the same thing again. Don't let this guy do this again. Use a different person to do your interviews.

[@ara5823]

never ceases to amaze me how old these major audio engineers with these major racks go on about their digital consuls and running at 96K and being able to run cat six cables or whatever to the stage from for a house and then you turn around and they got a big rack of outboard gear, all analogue gear it just doesn’t make any sense man like you just may as well have an analogue snake and a analogue desk like it’s the same thing and let me tell you something man those did you go desks does este sevens are just as heavy as any analogue desk ever was it’s just so ridiculous. It’s just a bunch of BS.

[@brody5211]

Your source reliable on this

[@ara5823]

@@brody5211 yes it is. spell check and grammarly suck as well

[@zuu1701]

Do you realise how heavy a 150m, 200+ channel analogue snake is? hahaha. A combination of digital and analogue equipment is the best imo. (source: I toured with Depeche Mode for two months in 2017 / 2018)

[@ara5823]

@@zuu1701 Yes I do realize. And you didgtal snakes have a limit to how long they can be. And how much coverting are you doing. isnt it better not to convert the Analogue at all? Or as little as possible. true Sound is analogue. analogue in the beginning and analogue at the end. (source: Been touring for 30 year) dont need to name drop

[@zuu1701]

@@ara5823 We convert digital signal into fiber these days if we need the distance. That travel's roughly 60+ miles... I've yet to be given a FoH position further from that from the stage... Even when I've mixed the biggest arenas in the world. Good luck with your next all analogue tour though.

[@cecilia_mackie]

OMG Haha! Let's be friends?:)