Let’s Talk About Celine

Pro Sound News - November, 1998
by Clive Young

   Click on the image below to see a larger version
When Celine Dion played Madison Square Garden in September, the best part for most fans was “My Heart Will Go On,” her hit song from Titanic. If there were any sound engineers in the crowd though, no doubt the high point for them was watching Dion explain personal monitor systems to more than 18,000 people.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you,” Dion said to the audience. Minutes earlier, the video screens, perched high above the stage, had gone blank, causing concert goers in the nose-bleed seats to chant, “We can’t see!” Since Dion had monitor buds in her ears, she initially couldn’t hear the chants clearly. “We have these things now,” she said, pointing to the Shure PSM-600 radio pack above her backside, “and there are little monitors in my ears. It’s the new system these days. We don’t have monitors on the floor anymore.” In moments, Dion was singing again, and like they say, music calms the savage fan; video screens or not, Dion had the audience in the palm of her hand.

Only 10 shows into Dion’s world tour, there were still a few glitches to be ironed out; for a tour carrying 12 43-foot trucks’ worth of equipment, it is not too surprising. Dion and her erstwhile band are performing in the round; filling the ear buds is Daniel Baron, Dion’s monitor engineer since 1987. His monitor mixing area sits 10 feet from the stage, an arrangement Baron loves, noting, “I’m not behind a huge wall of cabinets and subs, trying to hear my little personal monitors. It’s a better environment to mix.”

Baron handles those mixing chores on a modified, custom Soundcraft Series Five (92x34) which arrived four days before the tour’s debut in Boston. “We started working with Soundcraft in January to put together the ideas,” he said. “Or if the sounds stops and you have a buzz, you know which one it is. With 92 inputs, you don’t have time in three seconds after a song’s over to find which input is buzzing.”

He is not the only one with a new console, however. FOH engineer Denis Savage is mixing the tour on a spiffy Soundcraft Broadway console (80x32x5). “The software was designed to mix live stuff; it’s not a studio console at all,” he remarked about the desk, which he noted had been simple to program. “It’s a human-sized console; I’m not stuck with two big consoles, running around like I used to before.”

Notable about the production is the 75 channels of wireless equipment used every night. Every band member and backup singer has Shure personal monitors, and there are nearly 50 Sennheiser wireless mics on hand, in addition to the plethora of Neumann mics used. Throw in wireless walkie-talkies and headsets, and it is no surprise that they brought a IFR Com 120B RF spectrum analyzer along for the ride.

Performing in the round has brought a number of new challenges to the audio crew; not only do they deal with reflections, but they also have had to deal with a PA provided by Solotech (Montreal) that is almost entirely hung from the ceiling. The all-Meyer PA rig includes stalwarts such as MSL-6 boxes, MSL 4s and DS-2s, but also includes the new PSW-6 cardioid subs which are used for low-end on the short sides of the stage. The sound staff uses a complete hardware/software RMS™ Remote Monitoring System, which allows the engineers to monitor from FOH position the limiting activity, fan and driver status, power output, and temperature of the installed speakers.

Perhaps most intriguing, however, are the production’s MSL-5s. “We have the only ones in the world that are self-powered,” said Francois Desjardins, PA engineer/SIM tech. “When management decided to go in the round, we knew it would be impossible for us to have amplifiers hanging, so we called Meyer and asked if they could put amplifiers into the MSL-5s. They said, ‘Oh yeah, we can do that.’ The end result is amazing - that’s a serious speaker! We’re really happy with them.”

All that equipment and hard work helps create a dramatic evening of music. So, with the tour booked well into 1999, and many venues already sold out as a result, it is safe to say that Dion, her crew and its equipment will indeed “go on” for quite some time.

Vital Stats Celion Dion Solotech, Montreal
FOH Engineer: Denis Savage Monitor Engineer: Daniel Baron Monitor Assistant: Marc Theriault System Engineer/SIM Engineer: François Desjardins Head PA Tech: Marc Beauchamp PA Tech: Isabelle Lainesse PA Tech: David Braseau PA Tech: Alexandre Miasnikof FOH Console: Soundcraft Broadway (80x32x5) Monitor Console: Custom Soundcraft Series Five (92x34) House Speakers: Meyer MSL-6, MSL-5P, CQ-2, MSL-4, DS-2 UPA-1A, 650-R2, PSW-6 Monitor Speakers: Shure PSM-600 personal monitors systems; Aura Shakers; Meyer UM-1, MSL-4		House Amplifiers: Crown MA-5000VZ, MA-1200 Monitor Amplifiers: Crown MA 1200; Hafler P-1000 FOH Equipment: Meyer CP10, SIM; Klark Teknik DN-410; BSS TCS-804, DPR-901, DPR-901, DPR-404; Allen Smart; Manley limiter; dbx 162; Crane Song STC-8; Drawmer M500 Monitors Equipment: dbx 160, 160x, 900, 209; BSS DPR-404; Lexicon MXP1, LXP1; Digitech StudioQuad; Yamaha REV500 Dion’s Monitor Rack: Meyer VX-1; GML EQ; Millenia HV-3B, mic splitter, Midas XL-88; Lexicon PCM90; ATI MX2; BSS DPR-404; custom Garwood Radio Station Microphones: Sennheiser MKH-40, MKH-50, MKH-60, 609,604, 608, MK-2, 835, EM-3532, SKM-3075, SK-50; Neumann TLM-170, TLM-103, KM 184, KMS 150; Jensen DI; Klark Teknik DI; Avalon DI