At the end of 2009, Mexican audio rental company Speed Audio, invested in a DiGiCo SD8 digital mixing console, and since then it has been in almost constant use on a varied range of projects from high profile artists, including Spanish singer songwriter Shaila Dú;rcal, Israel’s Shiri Maimon, Mexico’s Kalimba, composer Carlos Cuevas, Pepe Aguilar, Susana Zavaleta, Pablo Montero, Argentine Queen tribute band, for two consecutive years with Mexican Christian community Mega Frater, as well as on a host of corporate events.
Speed Audio’s Juan Gabriel Fernandez and Miguel Guerra declare that the overriding factor for their investment is the SD8’s sound quality.
“It is an exceptional console and unique in the live sound arena,” states Guerra. “The more we get to know the SD8, the more it fascinates us. It’s really easy to use and has a lot of shortcuts that are a great help and give you the time to get the best out of the console. The ability to work offline is also very helpful.”
There are a number of functions that Speed Audio and his team have found particularly useful: the ability to mix channels from a single fader; to be able to move banks of faders to exactly where they want them; to assign and un-assign functions as needed (“It’s as if you’ve physically cleared them from the console,” Guerra says); snapshot processing; multitrack recording; and the ability to perform a virtual soundcheck instantly without the need for a reboot.
“Actually, these are just a few of the things we really like,” he adds. “In truth, it’s a console that’s easy to use and it has enormous advantages over other digital boards. We have spent time getting to really know the SD8 and how to operate it perfectly, so that we can offer the best service and the best sound quality.”
The most recent outing for Speed Audio’s SD8 was for Mexican artist Pepe Aguilar, in Mexico City’s National Auditorium, where Juan Gabriel Fernandez utilized it for monitor duties, handling a total of 56 inputs and making use of facilities such as snapshots, multiband compression and the SD8’s onboard FX.
“We’re anticipating that DiGiCo consoles will become known here on a national level,” concludes Fernandez. “We’re very much looking forward to the day when we see them specified on riders as the engineers’ first choice.”
