Aktuelle News & Schlagzeilen

Royal Albert Hall puts DiGiCo at centre of its audio universe

The Royal Albert Hall in London hosts diverse performances every night of the week. The 153-year-old building had challenging acoustics when amplifying modern music for the almost 6,000 capacity auditorium. This led to huge investment into the Hall’s audio equipment, with all sound requirements being brought in-house in 2018.

DiGiCo consoles are at the centre of the building’s audio set up, a Quantum 852, Quantum 7, SD10, SD9 and SD11 are all owned by the venue. This enables the audio department to prepare shows in advance, improving workflow during quick daily turnarounds.

Ben Evans has been Audio Operations Manager since 2021. He was part of the team who instigated the Hall’s first in-house audio team. There have been shows on stage, end-on or in the round, in the loading bays, on the stairs and even on the roof. The sound system needs to be flexible and fast to keep up. The after sales support offered by Autograph and Rob Tory, Head of Technical Support, plus the Hall’s onsite facilities in the the basement warehouse, ensures the sound team are ready for anything, including offsite rehearsals.

“During 2018, we went out to tender and had a d&b Audiotechnik system designed for us, in addition to new network infrastructure”, says Evans. “We have a different show pretty much every day, so our five consoles allow us to prep and rehearse efficiently. When combined with our fibre networking, we can serve our multitude of shows effortlessly.”

Tom Marshall is a sound designer and freelance front of house sound mixer for the Royal Albert Hall, he works on many of the performances, whether that is a book launch, pop concert or a recital from the Royal Philharmonic. He uses DiGiCo products widely, in every area of his career.

“DiGiCo is my go-to tool, it is the nucleus of my work, whether I am mixing or designing”, he says. “There are always demands from directors or producers and the speed of the console means that if I do get a request, I don’t have to make anyone wait, I can make changes instantly.”

When mixing, especially at the Royal Albert Hall, Marshall uses DiGiCo onboard effects and processing. He says the development of the Spice Rack and having the continuity across the whole Quantum range was a game-changer for him. “I find myself using the dynamic compression and EQ a lot. Having the ability to add it across a whole group is useful, especially if you are doing something with a high channel count”, he adds.

(Photos: DiGiCo)

www.digico.biz

© 1999 - 2025 Entertainment Technology Press Limited News Stories