In the hands of Beckie Campbell, an Allen & Heath dLive S7000 mixing system is more than a console, it’s a base from which students can start their careers in professional audio. As the owner of B4 Media Production, a live event production company based in Vero Beach, Florida, Campbell’s business model serves a wide-ranging client base while empowering the next generation of audio engineers.B4 has a presence around the country at conferences, festivals, faith-based entertainment events, live concerts, and more. “I’m not locked into anything,” Campbell says of her gear preferences. “I just want to use the best. When I first used an Allen & Heath dLive S7000 console, I instantly fell in love with the classic, warm sound of its preamps, plus the feel of it, which, if you’re a traditional knob-turner like me, feels right at home. Conversely, if you’re a pinch, drag, drop, and swipe kind of operator, the desk has you covered there too.”
Since many of Campbell’s freelance front of house and monitor engineers are new to the game, they often arrive with experience limited to only one or two other consoles. “Despite its world class sound and advanced features, the dLive system is simple to get up-and-running, and in terms of training, it couldn’t be easier. If you are familiar with a tablet or smartphone, there’s really nothing standing in the way of getting behind a dLive. Managing work flow is intuitive and quick. Nothing is hard to find or inaccessible, and with Allen & Heath’s map of color-coded functions, visual orientation is instant.”
Beyond her role as production maven and audio den mother to those starting out, Beckie Campbell is also the chapter head of the Orlando SoundGirls. “A number of SoundGirls have an interest in the dLive consoles,” she notes. “They like their capacity to work with multiple stage boxes, which makes everything from patching at festivals to corporate staging all that much easier.”
