Re: Help me understand 'Riders'
I think the term "friendly" simply refers to the frequency it appears on band's riders. So a rider friendly board is one that has more chance of being one of the ones listed on most rider documents.
Usually the boards will be determined by the artists sound guys - they are the ones who are working the console and they will fear two things: Working on a substandard console or working on a console while technically similar or superior, they are unfamiliar with it so will not be as comfortable.
Ie, if you're used to working on a midas XL4 and someone wants to give you a mackie vlz, you're probably not going to be happy. Or, if you're a yamaha guy (7cl, 5d) and someone proposes a pro-6, it may be too far out of your comfort zone to ensure you can do your job properly for your artist/employer.
But as Justice as written, there is a whole land of compromise out there. Some acts may not have enough clout to demand they get what they want. Or they may realise that bringing in their specced gear to replace similar quality gear is an expense that doesn't benefit everyone in the long term; or the size of the gig is one that dictates lesser gear should be ok/more appropriate. Eg line array and all the fruit for a 200 cap private function is overkill.
My .02
andrew
