Coach Shares Paul Simon Stage Setup

Nashville, Tenn.—Michael “Coach” Conner has over 30 years of experience spanning theater and live music, with touring credits that include Steely Dan, Sam Smith, Ray Price and many others. At a recent Yamaha Audio Lab Mix Clinic in Nashville, along with Universal Audio, he talked about shaping Paul Simon’s live sound for the past 15-plus years.

“This isn’t a typical pop show,” Coach said, “It’s about reinforcing what’s already happening on stage—not overpowering it.”

Coach’s hybrid FOH rig is built around a Yamaha Rivage PM10 and four Universal Audio Apollo x16D interfaces, each acting as a virtual rack of outboard gear. “Each one is like a 17-space analog rack in a single rack unit,” he said. “With the x16D, it’s all native Dante. No conversion, no latency.”

He praised the Yamaha Rivage PM10 for its transparency and onboard tools. “The dynamic EQ on this desk is one of the best I’ve ever used. It’s so transparent, you almost don’t realize it’s working, until you turn it off.”

He leans on Yamaha’s built-in noise suppression to manage more than 40 mics on percussion alone. “Using the DaNSe plug-in helps clean up the mix without touching the tone.”

To capture Simon’s vocal, Coach uses the AEA KU5A ribbon mic, an unconventional choice for live sound. “It’s smooth, natural, and forgets the room at about six feet. Perfect for a quiet stage like ours.”

The mic runs through a Rupert Neve Designs RMP-D8 preamp, which integrates seamlessly with the Yamaha console. “They sound amazing,” he said. “You plug in a mic, and you’re 90% there before touching EQ.” 

Discover more great stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!

He applies the UAD TLA-100A Leveling Amplifier plug-in to Simon’s vocals. “It’s one knob that fixes everything. It rounds out the edges without wrecking the tone.” On the master bus, he uses the UAD Manley Massive Passive EQ for subtle tonal shaping, and the UAD Studer A800 tape simulator for gentle guitar saturation. “It’s not about being flashy. It’s about making things sit right.”

Even Simon’s stage monitoring runs through Dante. “We’ve got coaxial speakers placed Texas-headphone style: one over the shoulder, one on the floor, one on a stump. We align them with millisecond precision. It’s crude, but it works.”