Stage Sound Services Invests in DiGiCo Quantum T Software

Cardiff-based sound hire company, Stage Sound Services (SSS), has long-standing relationships with many award-winning sound designers. Recently, keeping up with demand has necessitated a substantial investment in DiGiCo Quantum consoles. Regardless of the console size, one thing unites them; DiGiCo's Theatre software. Company owner, Phil Hurley, explains why the T software remains so popular with theatrical sound designers.

"Our SD10T was an absolutely rock-solid, stable console and the Quantum 338T has been the perfect upgrade," Hurley says. "Having multiple screens is a big advantage, theatre designers jumped onboard very quickly, and it has now become an industry standard. It quickly became a solid choice for mid-sized and larger musical theatre productions. In fact, our first Quantum 338T is on Stranger Things: First Shadow in the West End."

Hurley has quite a collection of DiGiCo consoles, including six Quantum 225s, 19 Quantum 338s and four Quantum 326s, all with T software upgrades. He has also added the Quantum 225 DS upgrades to the entire SSS Q225 collection. With a strong return on investment, Hurley continues to purchase DiGiCo products with confidence.

"As a rental company, it's all about investing in the right tools at the right time," he explains. "When the SD10 came out, we invested heavily early on, they continue to work hard and have been on a lot of shows. Our investment in the Quantum 338Ts is based on that history and, with the upgrades available, we know we're going to get a lot of use out of our new stock."

Sound designer Tom Marshall has relied on SSS equipment and support for over ten years. They have supplied many of his designs, including Bank of Dave, the Musical which premieres at the Lowry Theatre in Salford during May. For him, the Quantum Series and T software is the ideal match. The combination enables him to design the console architecture offline in advance, building in contingency, before working with the Number One sound operator to program the show during rehearsals.

"Thanks to the versatile T software, I use DiGiCo desks on every show I do, no matter what the style," Marshall notes. "Smaller Q Series consoles, such as the Q338 and Q326, have allowed me to replace the SD10T workhorses on all shows I'm designing, they're great mid-scale touring theatre FOH consoles. The Quantum 338 has very quickly become a favourite and the offline editor is a fantastic tool; I can create a show file in a very short amount of time. Personally, I find it the easiest console software to navigate, especially as it retains the original DiGiCo 'Channel strip' GUI, which has always been a leader in the market when it comes to ergonomics and use. The Mustard EQ and dynamics offer a lot more flexibility, plus they sound great. I do tend to rely quite heavily on onboard processing like the Optical compressor emulators and Spice Rack. All the Quantum features, the T software, three screens, and now the Fourier interface, makes the Q338 a great console."

Marshall uses Fourier transform.engines on many of his designs and, as he continues, it has proved ideal in theatrical environments.

"I've been using the transform.engine for a while now, either as a stand-alone device using MIDI program change to alter reverb presets, or with the full integration within the desk, which I utilised for the Olivier Awards," he says. "Fourier sits very well within the DiGiCo ecosystem and is a great interface."

His thoughts echo Hurley's experience, with many sound designers opting to go digital with their effects choices. For SSS, this represents a shift in the type of outboard equipment they stock, with hardware being replaced with software devices, such as Fourier's transform.engine.

"We've still got some traditional effects units that go out, too, but that's very rare now," he expands. "It's all about the digital plug-ins. People have been looking at lots of different options over the last five to ten years and now the Fourier range has, for a lot of engineers, become an indispensable tool. There are lots of factors involved, but the range of processing, ease of use and compatibility means it's really easy to use. There are still some that prefer the old-style effects, but the transform.engines are definitely taking over."

DiGiCo has always been heavily invested in the theatre market. Since the development of the D5T in 2004 with theatrical design greats like Andrew Bruce, they have listened to what sound designers and engineers need and responded with tools that allow creativity to flow freely. As Hurley concludes, this early investment in digital consoles has resulted in firmly established relationships that deliver great results for everyone involved.

"I think the strength in DiGiCo as a theatrical market leader goes back to when they developed the T software," he finishes. "In those early days, we invested in the D5Ts and the work on the T software has been constant since then. The older consoles have done great service, but the Quantum range, with their powerful processing, stability, clear screens, and great workflow, are always popular. DiGiCos do seem to be gaining more and more recognition as one of the most stable consoles in the mid/upper scale musical theatre market. Adding to that with the Fouriers has just given DiGiCo even more ways to convince us to spend with them!"