It’s no surprise that multi-instrumental country music artist Amber Leigh has been getting a lot of attention as of late. Playing fiddle, guitar and mandolin while blending country, Irish and bluegrass influences into a seamless pop-country sound, Leigh splits time between her south Florida base and Nashville. With a self-contained operation that played about 265 live dates in 2011, this is one artist who knows the role that hard work plays in success.

To make all that travail both easier and more productive, Amber Leigh has acquired an Allen & Heath iLive-T112 digital mixing console with a companion iDR-48 MixRack. “It’s really important for us to have consistency and to be self-contained, so we needed something we could travel with whether we’re on a bus or an airplane,” says Holland Ryan, the band’s sound engineer.

Both Amber Leigh and Holland Ryan are residents of south Florida. Ryan first became familiar with the iLive while mixing at the Old School Square Performing Arts Center in Delray Beach. “In redoing our sound system there, it worked out that the iLive was best for our needs and budget,” Ryan notes. “I had some training on it and learned what a great system it is. So when Amber and I realized that we needed a console we could carry everywhere with us, it was an easy choice.”

With the flexibility afforded him by the iLive system, Holland Ryan handles both the front of house and monitor mixes for the band. “There’s really no reason not to,” he explains. “We’re a five-piece band with 37 inputs, and everyone being on in-ears means the monitor mix will be consistent night after night. With the iLive, it’s almost too easy.”

Amber Leigh adds the artist’s perspective, stating, “With the iLive, each night I step on stage, I know my monitors will sound just as incredible as they did the show before, and that the audience will get to hear the show the way it should sound every time.”

The band’s output requirements fit easily into the architecture of the iDR-48 MixRack. The FOH outputs start with the standard left/right stereo, with frontfill and subwoofer outputs added as needed. Ryan also uses another stereo output to record each show. On the monitor side, there are stereo outputs for seven IEM mixes (five band members, plus Ryan and a crew tech). “There’s also one extra sub output for the drummer’s butt-kicker, which still leaves us extra outputs for a videographer plus anything else that might happen,” he says.

But beyond the basics of inputs, outputs, size and weight, what Holland Ryan really loves about the Allen & Heath iLive system is its flexibility and sound quality. “I really do love the flexibility of the surface and how easy it is to use,” Ryan states. “And as far as sound quality, it’s really clean and clear, equal to if not better than any other digital desk, even the more expensive ones. In fact, we plan to use it for recording Amber’s next album.”

To accommodate that need, Ryan simply specified a Dante interface card when purchasing the iLive-T112. This allows a separate split of all inputs to be sent to an outboard recording device. “Obviously, we’ll be using it for live tracking,” he says, “but with the clean sound of the preamps and effects, it just makes sense for studio recording as well. We can’t wait to get started on that.”

According to Holland Ryan, the Allen & Heath iLive-T112 is a key component in keeping up with Amber Leigh’s tour schedule. “Everything about this console is easy – setup, operation, transportation, you name it. We can show up at an event that’s already started, and just plug in and run a Cat5 cable through the audience. And being able to put it on a commercial airline is huge. It’s a double bag charge, but that’s a small price to pay for having your own console and knowing your show is going to be perfect. In the music industry today, you want to be as self-contained as possible. The iLive is a huge part of that for us, and we are absolutely loving it.”

Photos of PALM BEACH STATE COLLEGE SHOW

]]> http://www.AmberLeigh.com/2012/01/18/palm-beach-state-college-show/feed/ 0 http://www.AmberLeigh.com/2012/01/16/amber-leigh-voted-south-floridas-female-artist-of-the-year/ http://www.AmberLeigh.com/2012/01/16/amber-leigh-voted-south-floridas-female-artist-of-the-year/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:30:57 +0000 admin http://www.amberleigh.com/wp/?p=670 [Continue Reading]]]> In a Online Voting Ballot on www.SouthFloridaCountryMusic.com, Amber Leigh took home the favorite for  South Florida’s Female Artist of the Year!

“Thanks everyone who voted for SFCM female artist — It means a lot to me that there are great artists in florida making music, and more importantly, there are AMAZING fans, that support and insure that we, the artist, get to continue making music for a living. Thanks so much to SFCM for spreading the word and keeping country music rockin’ in south florida– as I always say “Nashville’d Be Better By The Beach” .…thanks everyone!!!! ”