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Versengold upgrade with Klang for 20th anniversary arena shows

Bremen, Germany-based Folk band Versengold have recently enjoyed their biggest tour ever. With a string of sold-out performances ahead of them, they knew their current sound set up would need upgrading. Klang:Konductor was their solution, implemented by Tjado de Vries.

Since 2018, Versengold have been on a steep trajectory, both in terms of venue size and recognition. Going from a small, self-contained rig, where they were in charge of their own monitoring during performances, to the upgrades they now enjoy. Employing Tjado de Vries to work on their monitor mixes was the beginning of a new experience for them.

“The audio setup at the time was fairly simple, with an SD9 at front of house”, explains de Vries. “Monitoring was provided by the band itself with one of the backline staff supporting them. I was originally Front of House engineer but, with the small monitor desk maxed out, I was doing guest monitor mixes, too.”

During the 2022/23 season there was a shortage of staff, so de Vries ended up on stage covering the backline. “I realised the monitor mixes needed tweaking, so I got stuck in, riding the audience mics, adjusting a few things”, he says. “The band noticed the difference and that was enough for them to realise they really needed a dedicated monitor engineer, so we decided to invest in a real solution. The mix needed much more space than a tight stereo mix could provide.”

De Vries got the members of Versengold to try out a Klang demo on their phones and iPads. They eventually opted for Klang:Konductor because of the flexibility it afforded them, having in mind that there was an album release tour in much more intimate clubs after the arena shows. “We were using peripherals that weren’t part of the Klang or DiGiCo family so we had some minor clocking issues, but the team at Klang helped me iron out our teething troubles”, notes de Vries.

According to the engineer, the combined benefit of new IEMs and their new mixes has been massive: “They really appreciate the wideness of the mixes, especially the string players on violin and nyckelharpa (key fiddle). It had an enormous effect on their stage relationship, improving the accuracy of their intonation right from the very first rehearsal.”

“For me, the app is a real bonus”, he continues. “Having the screen at eye level means that I’m not looking down at the desk and getting distracted. I can keep my eyes on the band and respond to their needs pretty much instantly. Using Klang also makes it a lot easier to get a transparent mix at lower volumes. I don’t have to use compression or drastic EQ as I might have done before.”

(Photos: Thorben Ziegler)

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