Julian Coryell’s musical odyssey began with his first guitar at the age of five.
Growing up in a musical home (his father is guitar legend Larry Coryell), Julian
quickly developed his own style, adeptly fusing rock, pop, jazz, blues, R&B,
classical, and more. A trained vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Coryell has toured
with the likes of Alanis Morissette, Aimee Mann, Leonard Cohen, Dave Brubeck, and
Billy Cobham. He’s also an accomplished producer and co-owner of a busy full-
service recording facility in Southern California.
As a performer, Coryell plays a wide variety of gigs, sometimes solo, often with his
trio and other groups. He may play a small club today and a stadium tomorrow. But
a lot of his gigs are in intimate settings, and for these, his Mackie® Reach™
integrated, portable, all-in-one Professional PA system has become a crucial tool.
“Reach is perfect for gigs where a lot of small PAs won’t cut it but a big PA with a
separate mixer is overkill,” Coryell explains. “For a lot of gigs, I need more than
two inputs but not dozens, and I have to be loud but not ear-blasting. Reach hits
that sweet spot. It includes good-sounding effects, so you really do have everything
in one unit.”
As Coryell observes, today’s musicians are asked to do more with less. “Years ago,
if you were going to a gig, you had someone to help haul your equipment,” he
recalls, “but not anymore. So having a light, portable, loud, integrated,
multichannel PA makes a big difference. I can just walk in, put the Reach onstage,
plug in, and start playing-no hassling with a lot of wires, no delayed start times
because a soundman took too long to get the PA together.”
Reach features Mackie’s EarShot™ personal monitoring system, which utilizes a
side-facing, full-range speaker on each side, individually defeatable, with
independent level control. “I usually leave the monitors on but I like that you can
turn them off in some situations,” Coryell notes. “You also can use the monitor
section to extend the main room coverage so you can reach more people.”
He has found the Reach’s Bluetooth™ connectivity quite useful for streaming break
music from his phone between sets. It’s also handy for teaching. “I often stream
tracks to the Reach for students to hear and play along,” he relates. “Reach’s mixer
lets me independently control the student’s level, my level, and the tracks.”
Reach is a valuable tool for today’s gigging environment, observes Coryell.
“Musicians are increasingly expected to provide high-quality service without a lot of
help,” he concludes. “The Reach can do it all, and I’m delighted to no longer have to
haul and set up a lot of gear in order to get a great sound.”
