UK-based digital console manufacturer,
, was the live music console of choice at the 54th Annual
A® Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, as specified by longtime show production partner
. The 3-1/2 hour music celebration and ceremony garnered the second highest ratings of any GRAMMY airing with approximately 41 million viewers.
A combination of five of DiGiCo’s newer SD10 consoles (two as ‘redundant’ backups for monitors) along with one of its larger format SD7s handled FOH and monitor duties—for a total of 400+ I/O’s and 256 mic preamps distributed between 6 SD Racks—among four engineers in three locations within the Staples Center arena.
The entire PA system was powered by a versatile Optocore fiber optic network, which made it possible for the consoles to tie together seamlessly and also allowing the signal path to stay 100% digital from the mic preamps to amplifiers. Additionally, the Optocore network cut the traditional massive wire clutter down to merely two strands of fiber per console.
“The show’s producers continue to raise the bar in broadcast entertainment year after year and we needed to follow suit with the technology,” said Mikael Stewart, ATK’s production mixer and VP Special Events. “By using the best and most advanced tools, we guarantee the highest fidelity for every performance. The sonic quality of the DiGiCo consoles was one of the biggest assets this year, in addition to the Optocore infrastructure that allowed complete flexibility and accessibility.”
The process to vet the DiGiCo consoles began several years ago, when ATK began to contemplate making a switch from the consoles that had been used for nearly a decade. ATK’s Stewart along with audio consultant Jeff Peterson were instrumental in the decision to bring DiGiCo onboard and into the mix.
Peterson designed the show’s PA and console system and functioned as the systems engineer during the event, with assistance from audio consultant Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher. Ron Reaves was at front-of-house on an SD7 mixing all the musical performances alongside with Mikael Stewart, who handled all the non-music production assets on an SD10. On stage right and left respectively, Tom Pesa and Mike Parker facilitated monitor mixes for the artists on both performance stages on a pair of SD10s (with an additional two serving as ‘redundant’ backups).
“There was a noticeable difference in how the system sounded this year,” recalled Peterson, “and the comments and compliments came from touring and recording engineers alike. It’s not that the sound was bad in previous years by any means, but the overall intelligibility and the quality of the audio was noticeable. There was detail that we had never heard before, which we attributed to the addition of the DiGiCo consoles.”
“Not surprisingly, DiGiCo offers the most flexible, high performance range of digital audio mixing systems available today,” added Group One Ltd president Jack Kelly, DiGiCo’s US distributor. “With the expanding I/O and processing requirements of most of today’s large productions, including the recent GRAMMY awards show, the DiGiCo SD Range of consoles are ideal solutions for today’s engineers.”
