Front of house engineer Howard Heckers utilizes a DiGiGrid IOS audio interface as the central hub of his work with Kings of Floyd, a popular Pink Floyd tribute band based in Germany that regularly undertakes national tours of theatre venues.
“I’ve been a DiGiGrid user for a while now, having started touring with the Waves LV1 around three years ago,” explains Heckers, noted for his work with Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson. “In 200-plus shows during that time, DiGiGrid products have never let me down. I use the DiGiGrid IOS for front of house — it’s the best option available with eight inputs, eight outputs, two headphone outputs and AES. It’s ideal for PA feeds and some local inputs like talkback and playback from a video stream for the show. I love the preamps — very transparent and clear.”
Heckers, whose career credits also include Liza Minnelli, Melanie and Randy Newman, adds that he owns several DiGiGrid units: “I actually have three Waves LV1 setups for different tours. The Kings of Floyd gear stays in the truck but I use a similar setup for other tours. I’ll be upgrading my IOS’s to IOS-XL as soon as I have a break in the current Kings of Floyd tour. I also use a DiGiGrid MGB (coaxial MADI interface) on another tour – this is my newest setup that deploys a DiGiCo rack on MADI to MGB on FOH and has an IOC at FOH.”