Live Sound Leaders: Ben Findlay’s Path to Mixing Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney And More

One key to success in the fast-paced world of audio is the ability to adapt. For an artist, producer, engineer or manufacturer, having the ability to go with the flow will make it much easier to garner success.

Ben Findlay at FOH for Robert Plant at the Royal Albert Hall
(Credit Carolyn Findlay 2013)

For engineer Ben Findlay, being prepared for new opportunities and adaptable to changes in technology has helped to bring his unique set of skills to arenas and screens around the world.

Early Years

The start of Findlay’s career in audio can be traced back to his time in Bristol. He broke into the business working as an engineer for a live sound company and was making a name for himself.

After a couple of successful years behind the live desks, Findlay got the opportunity of a lifetime, to work at the famed Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire. Founded by Peter Gabriel, Findlay found himself recording and mixing in a top-flight studio and, in turn, fulfilling a childhood dream—entering the “major leagues” of sound engineering. “As a kid, I always wanted to be a studio engineer,” Findlay stated during a Skype video chat.

Being a part of the Real World Studios team meant that Findlay was part of the Peter Gabriel team. When Gabriel did sessions outside of his home studio for radio broadcasts, the multi-tracks were sent back to Findlay, who would mix the show before returning it to the radio station. “For six months, I had been mixing Peter’s live shows while engineer Jim Warren was out on tour as the FOH mixer,” he recalled.

For the studio mixes, Findlay was using Gabriel’s Sony Oxford R3 console with a 48-channel Sony Dash tape machine. And to get everything sounding great, he used a combination of the onboard Oxford processing with top of the line outboard gear (an Empirical Labs Distressor, AMS S-DMX stereo delay, Eventide H3000 harmonizer, Teletronix LA2A, Decca mastering compressor, Bricasti M7, Quantec room simulator and a Sans Amp distortion).

Doors Opening

When FOH engineer Jim Warren got a call to fulfill an obligation from another tour, the vacant position was Findlay’s for the taking. “Peter asked me if I could mix the live show for him,” he remembered. “I really wanted to do it. I probably should have had reservations about it but didn’t. To be honest, it had been on my radar. When he did ask it was exciting. It was also terrifying.”

Making the move from a recording studio engineer to a FOH engineer can be very difficult. Always prepared to take on a challenge, Findlay knew that he needed to get up to speed with mixing live. Using the multi-tracks from the previous shows he’d been mixing back in the studio as playback, Findlay set up a couple of Yamaha PM1Ds in a large rehearsal space and began the process of relearning Gabriel’s music from the FOH perspective.

Since Gabriel loved the sound of his Sony R3 consoles and its famous Oxford processing, it only made sense that Findlay spent many years mixing the live shows on an Avid Profile. With the same algorithms from the R3, Sonnox developed the Oxford series of plug-ins that could be used with the Avid console. “What was fantastic about using the Profile was transitioning from the studio to the FOH—our favorite tools could easily be used in both,” Findlay said.

While using the Profile, Findlay blended Avid processing, third-party plug-ins and hardware effects to create an impeccable sound. Check out his signal flow for Peter Gabriel’s vocals (and see more plug-in settings at the end of the article):

— Audix OM6

— Avid Profile preampflier

—  Avid Profile HPF

— Sonnox Oxford R3 EQ with GMLR

— Bomb Factory LA2A emulator

— Avid Profile de-esser

— Sonnox Oxford Inflator

— Line 6 echo

— Quantec Yardstick / Bricasti M7

Ben Findlay PT mix window for “Back to Front” mix.

Continued Success

Quickly becoming a musical commodity, as many Gabriel fans can attest, Findlay was able to parlay his experience running FOH for Peter Gabriel into stints behind the board with Robert Plant (2009, 2013), Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens, 2009), Sting (2010), Jeff Beck (2011), Lionel Richie (2011) and even a one-off with Sir Paul McCartney (2010). “After a phone call completely out of the blue, I found myself flying to São Paulo, Brazil, to mix the gig of a lifetime,” Findlay said of the experience. “Paul was playing to a packed Morumbi Stadium, and I was to mix the TV sound!”

Ben Findlay FOH for Peter Gabriel at 02 Arena in London
(Credit Jason Kelley 2013)

By 2012, Findlay was once again behind the desk for Gabriel, this time on the singer-songwriter’s “Back to Front Tour” commemorating the 25th anniversary of his hit 1986 album, SO. On the tour, Findlay acted as both FOH engineer and location recording engineer, respectively using an SSL Live console and a portable Pro Tools rig.

His set up for Gabriel’s shows switched from the Profile to the SSL Live — after all, Gabriel purchased Solid State Logic in 2005. Unlike the Profile, third-party plug-ins like the Oxford series can’t be accessed on the SSL Live console. Findlay had to, and was able to, recapture the sonic brilliance of the live performance with a whole new set of tools to work with.

Back to the Studio

Things truly came full circle for Findlay with Gabriel’s “Back to Front” tour; not only did Findlay serve as the FOH engineer on location, afterward he headed back into the studio, put on his mix engineer hat and began mixing the tracks for the later released 4K Ultra High Definition feature film and DVD (2014).

Returning to his roots, Findlay used many of the same tools he’d used with Gabriel years earlier, when he’d first begun gaining traction for his mixing chops. Although Findlay’s long trip from the studio to the road and back again may have returned him to a familiar setting, along the way he’s undoubtedly secured his place among the elite of sound reinforcement and mixing.

Ben Findlay’s EQ settings for Gabriel’s vocal
(Credit Ben Findlay 2014)

Ben Findlay’s compression settings for Gabriel’s vocal.

Ben Findlay’s Inflator settings for Gabriel’s vocal.

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