Sandy Dillon's Guard World On NBC's The Tonight Show

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Aug 26, 2011 11:32 AM, By Jack Kontney

For over 5 decades, The Tonight Show on NBC has dominated late-night television. One of the entire aspects of the uncover has always been music, with a hired gun college of music band and solid river of important and violation guest artists. The current residence band, led by bassist/composer Rickey Minor, has been in place for about 15 months.

For the past 15 years, the human running monitors is to show's musicians has been Sandy Dillon. With an 11-piece band in a college of music seating only beneath 400, minimizing the SPL from the theatre is a vicious component in developing great sound for both the announce and the college of music audience. An without doubt answer is the use of in-ear monitors (IEMs) instead of building wedges is to musicians.

"When the current residence band came in, primarily you think you would be going with all in-ears," Dillon said. "In fact, you paid for a garland of Shure PSM 900 units to use for them. We had about a week of interregnum to put all together, but after a couple days of rehearsals, it was strong to both me and Rickey Minor that not everybody was cozy with that.

"So Rickey done the preference that you would speak to any musician away and do what they were many cozy with. Because if the musicians aren't comfortable, that can start the music."

As a result, the band is right away sporting a operation of monitoring solutions, inclusive both wireless and hardwired IEMs, protracted by Clair 12AM building wedges.

"Some players are particularly on in-ears, a few have wedges with subwoofers," Dillon said. "In addition, every associate of the band has a singular ear blend that has Jay Leno's dialogue, in addition to send from the executive and the AD giving them time cues. I can moreover increase a click follow to the blend when the band needs one.

"That's all done with a singular duct of Sennheiser G3 IEMs given there's no need for particular mixes. It's similar to an extended IFB with improved audio. We moreover use the G3 is to horn section's in-ears."

In addition to the perfect size of the residence band and the varying needs of guest artists, the fact that in-ear systems are stereo means that guard world at The Tonight Show is exceedingly channel-hungry. To hoop it, Dillon uses a Studer Vista 5 digital blending console, that provides 20 stereo Aux outputs (40 channels) along 40 more mono Aux sends, with the adaptableness to change their deployment with ease.

To accustom key band members and guest artists who do use in-ear monitors, Dillon not long ago updated 8 channels of Shure's new PSM 1000 to his arsenal.

"I had the chance to beta assessment the network with our guitar player, Paul Jackson Jr.," Dillon said. "Shure has done a great work with the 1000. The RF is stronger, and they sound great. I unequivocally similar to the stereo imaging. I proposed using them a couple months ago, and they have achieved perfectly."

The PSM 1000 offers several features that are vicious to success in an RF-intensive mood similar to NBC Studios in Burbank. The bodypack receivers competition identical tiwn antennas for farrago reception. In multiple with the system's 72 MHz tunable bandwidth and modernized RF filtering, the PSM 1000 offers well-developed fortitude and up to 49 coexisting frequencies.

Frequency coordination at The Tonight Show is rubbed by Soundtronics , that written the receiver network and provides the magnitude chart indispensable to accustom the immeasurable form of wireless microphones, IEMs, IFBs, PLs, and other RF sources in use. For on vacation bands, Soundtronics provides Dillon with a list of frequencies that may be used to encounter their requirements.

From Dillon's perspective, it's all about functional reliability.

"The PSM 1000 has helped a lot," he said. "The new RF filters are great. We can fill up frequencies a lot closer than I would have been cozy with previously. The other underline that I admire is something called Cue Mode.

"That enables the guard guy to module all the frequencies in use onto one beltpack, so you only strike a symbol and switch between them. It's a unequivocally intelligent underline and saves a lot of time."

Three of the PSM 1000 systems are in use nightly, for Tonight Show Band lead vocalist Dorian Holley, guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. and percussionist Kevin Ricard. The outstanding systems are dedicated to on vacation bands, and is to guest piece for one person artists who sometimes come together the band.

"I've used the network on guest artists similar to Ben Harper, David Cook and Javier Coln, leader of The Voice on NBC," Dillon said. "They all desired it."

Bandleader Rickey Minor moreover wears a lapel microphone that fulfills a dual function, permitting him to speak both on-air with horde Jay Leno and to communicate directly with all the band members.

"Paul Whitman at ATK Audiotek in Valencia helped us with that," mentioned Dillon. "They got Rickey a footswitch device that changes his mic between the on-air feed and the guys' ears. That lets him change songs, give direction, or whatever he needs in the march of the show."

Optimizing the music guard blend for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is a routine of regular evolution.

"Right now, we're beta contrast other in-ear unit, the Quadra from Lectrosonics," Dillon said. "It gives the artist 4 channels of signal, so I can give a full stereo mix, in addition to well-defined channels for, say, the outspoken and reverb. That gives the musician a lot of adaptableness to listen to precisely what he wants.

"The only situation is the additional knobs; a few people might obtain confused. But, I've got one guy contrast it now, and he loves it. It's other great piece of technology, and a unequivocally great choice to have in your complement of tools."

One thing that's very coherent in vocalization with Dillon is that The Tonight Show is particularly a brand-neutral environment. Rather, every bid is put in to developing the most appropriate sound high quality in live television.

"We have a absolute band full of astounding musicians, and our work is ensure they sound great on the air," Dillon said. "That starts with creation them comfortable, that means giving them the guard sound they need, with no apprehension of failure.

"We use whatever apparatus is most appropriate is to job. That's my running principle, and probably the reason I'm still here after 15 years."v