The Ferst Center for the Arts, located in the heart of the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) campus in Atlanta, implemented a DiGiCo S21 digital console to head the sound reinforcement system serving a newly-constructed outdoor space to present the new Skyline Series of performances ranging from live music to contemporary dance.
Meanwhile, the Ferst Center hall, which seats nearly 1,000, has been utilizing a DiGiCo SD9 console at front of house since 2014. And while that console is being serviced and updated, the new S21 — acquired via Atlanta-based integrator Rock N Road Audio — has been transferred to take its place, joined by two D-Racks used on the Ferst’s stage and connected to FOH and the venue’s Meyer Sound Galaxy 408 PA system processor via DiGiCo Little Red Box Cat-5 interfaces.
“We definitely wanted to stay with DiGiCo so we could interface with the existing DiGiCo equipment we have here,” explains Joe Davis, audio engineer for Georgia Tech Arts. “Since the SD9 was due for some needed maintenance, we were able to bring the S21 inside and use it to mix front of house, so we never skipped a beat.”
Davis adds that the S21 is a true utility tool, a 48-channel mix desk with 21 physical faders and dual ten-inch multitouch screens. “We have a number of other spaces here, such as ballrooms, that will use portable sound systems, and the S21 is very lightweight and compact and easy to roll in and out as needed,” he says. “It can handle anything we ask it to.”
Once the SD9 does return to its FOH role, Davis says the S21 will also add monitor mixing to its agenda when needed, as well.
