page: 
 title: Chris Gilpin Uses The Ultimate Monitoring Tool For TOOL
author: 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK: Veteran monitoring engineer Chris 
Gilpin and his ATI Paragon II console have their work cut out 
for them on Tool's much-anticipated world-wide tour. The tour 
comes in support of their equally anticipated 
album "Lateralus", which marks the end of a five-year hiatus 
for the nouveau heavy metal quartet. The band hit the 
festival season in Europe, Australia, and Japan before 
returning to the states late in the summer for several more 
months of tireless touring with sound company, Showco. 
Having worked with such acts as Metallica, Tori Amos, and A 
Perfect Circle (Tool lead singer Maynard James Keenan's 
other band), Gilpin has the experience to run with the best.

Gilpin first worked with an ATI Paragon II with A Perfect Circle 
and has worked on other consoles only grudgingly since. Tool 
presents a unique challenge to the monitoring engineer 
because guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor, and 
drummer Danny Carey all demand loud wedge mixes while 
vocalist Keenan prefers in-ears. "The trick is to achieve a 
separated vocal sound without incurring bleed from 
everything else," observed Gilpin. "Consequently, I end up 
duplicating most channels, one channel for wedges and the 
second for in-ears. The Paragon II has a wealth of in-line 
processing; each channel has its own gate, compressor, and 
four band parametric EQ. That allows me to tailor each 
instrument for both wedge and in-ear monitoring. As the tour 
goes on, I invariably end up using more of that processing 
power, homing in on the perfect mix. I know I would end up 
settling for much less if it meant carting around a bunch of 
bulky and expensive outboard equipment."

As it stands, a lone TLA compressor joins the usual 
complement of sound effects processors. With effects, 
doubled tracks, and uniquely tailoring wedge and in-ear 
mixes, Gilpin is using the better half of the Paragon II's forty 
outputs. He also makes good use of the Paragon II's 
comprehensive routing assignments, backing up Keenan's in-
ear output with a second unit set to a different frequency 
should disaster strike. The remainder of the tour will snake 
through the South to the West Coast and then up through 
Washington.

The ATI Group is the parent company of Audio Toys 
Incorporated, API Audio and Uptown Automation. Audio Toys 
manufactures the industry leading Paragon mixing console 
and associated rack mount gear. Uptown Automation 
manufactures and installs moving fader and mute 
automation for analog mixing consoles. API is the leader in 
analog recording consoles, including the famed Legacy 
Console and 500 and 200 Series Lunchbox modules.





 
 
Posted to t.d.n: 03/14/02 15:15:36