Prairie Sun Live, a live sound reinforcement and rental company based just north of San Francisco on a rural ranch that also hosts the companion Prairie Sund Recording Studios, recently upgraded its DiGiCo SD7T console to a Quantum7T with the addition of a new Quantum engine.
“I purchased my SD7T from the West End of London seven years ago and have rented it out for many events locally and nationally thanks to its theatre-specific ‘T’ software package,” explains Prairie Sun owner/founder Mark “Mooka” Rennick. “I bought the SD7T because, like the SSL 4000 E/G and vintage 80 Series Neve desks that I have in my studios, it represented the absolute top of the line. This console has always been sonically pristine and transparent, incredibly flexible, and infinitely programmable. And with its new Quantum engine, which Paul Bell installed for us, it really doesn’t get any better than this — no, and for many years to come.”
With decades of studio experience to his credit in working with artists that include The Grateful Dead, Carlos Santana, Nine Inch Nails, Wu Tang Clan, Tom Waits and many others, Mooka notes that one of his primary goals with Prairie Sun Live is to help make shows sound and feel as good as they do on a quality recording. “DiGiCo is the tool for a serious creative to really make this happen,” he says. “We pair our desks with two SD-Racks loaded with 32-bit ‘Ultimate Stadius’ Mic Preamps and DAC modules, and they make a clear difference. Add the Quantum engine to the mix and DiGiCo elevates the fidelity of live sound to what I think it should be and where it’s headed, especially with immersive audio’s hot new experience.”
As both a live sound company and rental provider, Prairie Sun Live has deployed its DiGiCo consoles around the Bay Area for shows by many artists, and festivals also represent a fair portion of the company’s client base along with numerous wineries, corporate gigs, theatrical shows and other events on the West Coast and across the Rocky Mountain states.
“We set up the Quantum7T at front of house alongside several guest consoles and the contrast in sound quality was very noticeable,” notes FOH engineer Nigel Wolovick, referring to the recent Emerald Cup Harvest Ball. “It was such a blast to mix on, without needing to rely on any external plugins. I was able to get incredible tone out of each channel, especially with the new Mustard and Spice Rack processing options. It essentially brings the analog behavior of the best studio equipment right into the console. The added processing paths at 96 kHz sets it apart as well. Of all the processors, I used the Dynamic EQ the most; it’s a great tool for precise control over the resonance issues and sibilance, without losing overall fidelity. DiGiCo completely raised the bar.”
Mooka adds, “DiGiCo is the most upgrade-friendly company in the world, in my opinion, and I don’t just mean the Quantum engine. Consider the I/O counts of my first SD9 and SD10 versus now. With the Stealth Core 2 and SD10+ software upgrades, my SD10 can accommodate 144 input channels, which means it’s way more flexible and powerful today than when I bought it. How many companies can you say that about their products?
