FOH Engineer Tim Harding Mixes on a ShowMatch Line Array System from Bose Professional

	Front-of-house engineer Tim Harding

Front-of-house engineer Tim Harding has a long and rich career in the music industry. Starting out as a teenager working for Morgan Sound of Lynwood, Washington, Harding began his journey in the industry learning how to solder and fix cables, stack PA boxes, troubleshoot ground loops, set up the stage and microphone placement, and eventually monitor mixing. "Working at Morgan Sound, I really cut my teeth and pretty much learned all the various aspects of sound reinforcement. That experience and the knowledge I gained really set the stage for my future," states Harding. Over the years, he has worked as FOH for such notable artists as The Winery Dogs, Metal Church, Living Colour, Michael Schenker, Sanctuary, and many more. Currently out on the road as tour manager and FOH engineer for the legendary multi-platinum band Queensrÿche, Harding recently mixed one of the band's shows on a Bose Professional ShowMatch line array system.

"I began working with Queensrÿche in 2017 doing a variety of jobs, and then in December of last year, I took on the dual role of tour manager and FOH," shares Harding. "On this leg of the tour, which began early January 2020, we are playing a wide variety of venues across the US with special guest John 5 at select shows."

According to Harding, for these types of shows, Queensrÿche is pretty much self-contained. "For our console, my friend Robert Scovill recommended that I use the Avid VENUE | S3L-X System with three Stage 16 Remote I/Os all tied together via Ethernet -- this is the console setup that I'm carrying with us and mixing on. Additionally, we bring our own mics and in-ears, and we use Kemper amps at back line, a small bass processing rack and short splitter snake."

Recalling the Bose ShowMatch system, Harding has this to say: "I had known that Bose made sound reinforcement PAs, but I had never mixed a show on one. Last month in Dallas after I got the stage set, I headed out to front of house, called up Smaart, did a couple of traces and I was ready to go. During soundcheck, I played my usual reference track (Seal's "Crazy"), then I listened to the music and walked around the room, and I was pretty amazed at the coverage. I was also really struck by the low end of the ShowMatch system and how that felt as I was walking across the barricade and zigzagging through the house. I didn't notice any weird nulls or hot spots. I had the ShowMatch PA set pretty flat, and it covered the hall really well. I then walked upstairs, and the subwoofers were getting up there nicely with a defined low end. I found consistency across the sound plane. My only issue that day was with a system tech that understated how the environment of the hall would change with people in the building -- I had sound checked pretty loud, but the system had lots of headroom left, and we were easily able to turn the system up to compensate for the crowd. And the PA sounded smooth -- not harsh like some others when you crank them. By the way, the system integration in that room was done really well, and the coverage is very nice (including the subs). At some point, with each show, I pretty much stop tweaking stuff and just trust my show file and then go mix the show. And that night, the system and the band sounded great. I feel that the system really showcased the power and detail of Queensrÿche's music. I'd be thrilled to mix on this PA anytime."

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