Duran Duran's Simon Lebon gets the Specialized Treatment that only the XTA D2 Can Provide
XTA
Posted 2005-08-30
Preparing for the second leg of the band’s Astronaut world tour, timeless rockers Duran Duran are in peak form. Lead singer Simon LeBon looks and sounds incredibly confident on stage, and part of the secret is in his ear: Monitor Mixer Leon Dalton has a pair of XTA D2 Stereo Dynamic EQ’s on his monitor vocal, assuring LeBon that he’s hearing a sound perfectly tailored to his voice.
Dalton has one XTA D2 positioned on the input to the monitor console from LeBon’s microphone. The other D2 is stationed on the console output to the singer’s in-ear monitor. The result is perfect sound. “Simon has a very flamboyant vocal style,” remarks Dalton. “He has a lot of nuances to it, especially in the top end. So the ability that the D2 gives me to choose which frequencies I compress and precisely how much is incredibly helpful.”
Dalton was introduced to the XTA D2 while working with global sound company Britannia Row. “I immediately realized how musical the D2 is,” he says, noting features including its three bands of full range dynamic equalization on each channel, independent control of envelope and frequency for each equalizer band, and a separate “listen” facility for each band to easily gauge its contribution to the overall channel sound. “Much superior to the unit I was using at the time.” Dalton concludes, “It’s the best dynamic compressor I’ve ever used in this kind of application, and I’m looking forward to using it again.”
