By November of 2014, Motley Crue’s epic “Final Tour’ was attended by over 1.3 million
people. Throughout the band’s 158-show journey across six continents, they relied on
a custom-configured rig by Playback Control to automate each performance’s audio,
video, pyro, MIDI effects, and lighting. According to Nikki Sixx, the band’s legendary
co-founder, bassist, and songwriter, Playback Control’s turnkey automated rig allowed
the band to fully bring their creativity to the stage.

“Our “Final Tour’ show was about pairing musical textures with visuals, like lighting
and fire,’ Sixx explained. “The Playback Control rig automated these theatrical
features and incorporated sound effects created in the studio that could not be
replicated on stage. Playback Control helped us to bring our studio on tour, and get
elements like the pyro and the music to work together automatically.’

Since Motley Crue is comprised of a bass, guitar, drums, and a vocalist, they struggled
to easily replicate their complex studio sounds– like textured background vocals –
live. For years, they had experimented with and painstakingly managed the
reproduction of these sophisticated sounds. Just in time for the “Final Tour’, veteran
audio designer Viggy Vignola, who had worked with the band as a sound technician
for over twenty years, helped to program their studio sound effects and accompanying
stage features into an automated playback rig for the band’s live performances.

“I built a Playback Control system for Motley Crue to automate pyro, video, lighting
and audio scenes via timecode, with MIDI program changes for Tommy Lee’s drums,’
Vignola explained. “It took myself, Nikki and Tommy Lee, about a month to program
all of the audio in the studio – which was the easiest part of the system’s
configuration. The rest of the show, including features like pyro, which would erupt in
time with the music, had to be done when they were putting on the final touches.’

The playback rig for the “Final Tour’ show was custom built in collaboration with
Playback Control co-founder and CEO Lance Wascom to include automated audio
playback, as well as stage video, pyro and lighting. All features were programmed into
multiple MOTU Playback Interfaces with DP9 Software on a timecode, so that audio
and MIDI effects would come into a song automatically when needed without the
band’s involvement, while pyro and lighting features were configured to work with the
show’s set list.

Vignola programmed Motley Crue’s system to run up to twenty-four audio playback
tracks – including two separate timecode outputs and eight electronic drum outputs.
The rig was also built with four master Apple 13′ MacBook Pro computers to run the
“secret sauce’ software, with a backup 13′ MacBook Pro for Tommy Lee’s drum
triggers, which were programmed to automatically toggle between effects, when
necessary. Vignola also programmed wireless MIDI control for Tommy’s drum coaster
and teleprompter.

According to Sixx, Playback Control took reliability to the next level; even traditional
playback rigs, which depended on the drummer to manage the timing of effects live,
left room for error. “Tommy Lee used to have to think about hitting a pedal to bring in
the live recording audio while playing the drums in front of thousands of people,’ he
explained. “Accidents happen, but with Playback Control, we did not have to worry
about that. Everything was programmed to automatically play at a certain point in our
live performance.’

Since Motley Crue filled stadiums of thousands of people at a time, it was imperative
that the system was bullet-proof. “Playback Control is the most reliable system you
could have, which was a top priority for the band,’ Vignola commented. “Every system
is built to incorporate a patented Dual RTR (Real Time Redundancy) technology that
eliminates the standard “Master-Slave’ computer system that doesn’t protect against
undetected glitches or outages. Instead, it can incorporate two or more Apple
computers to operate independently, but in sync with one another, thereby creating
multiple masters. If one drops out, the other will take over automatically.’

The ability for artists to reliably bring studio effects on tour opens up a new level of
possibility during the recording process, says Sixx. “In the early 1980s, we tried to
find a way to replicate the chopped guitar effect in “Wild Side’ live,’ he commented.
“This effect is a charming part of the song’s sound that needed to be heard on stage.
With Playback Control, artists don’t need to worry about how they are going to re-
create a sound made in the studio live. There’s a new idea that the studio can go on
tour with us, and that idea allows a band to be even more creative during the
songwriting process.’

Sixx continued, “The playback rig is another instrument in itself, and it doesn’t get the
recognition it deserves — similar to a DJ’s turntable. Viggy developed this system
knowing what artists need. It takes all hesitation away from the band on stage. We
know when the pyro is going to fire, we know when the audio effects will come in.
Playback Control is great for performers.’