Minneapolis production company, rental house and systems integrator Reach Communications has bocame the first company in North America to take delivery of a DiGiCo Quantum225 mixing console, and promptly used it on a live-streamed show by up-and-coming regional act Yam Haus at the Twin Cities music venue First Avenue.
Now an independent FOH engineer and production manager, Reach’s former lead audio engineer Adam Bufis manned new Q225 for the show. ‘I’ve been using DiGiCo consoles for a dozen years, including the SD12, SD7, SD5 and Quantum338, and I have to say that – while the Q225 incorporates a lot of what I’ve always loved about DiGiCo – it’s also a serious game-changer,’ he says. ‘After using the Q338 on a few shows, I knew that Quantum was the way to go in the future. So when I found out that Reach had gotten a Q225 into their rental inventory, I requested it for the Yam Haus show, and want it for whatever other shows happen this year as live music returns.’
Bufis first tagged the Q225 for its deliver of his show files. ‘I had to double-check that it wasn’t just in my mind, but everything really does sound better,’ he recalls. ‘What DiGiCo has done with the summing engine and algorithms is spectacular, making it sound even clearer and more vivid.’
He is similarly effusive about how Mustard performs on the Quantum225. ‘The tube compression and EQ are also spectacular. Waves is still great processing, but now that I have this as part of the Q225 package, I have less and less need for outboard processing. Now, it’s Mustard for all compression and EQ.’
The console’s new fader arrangement also finds favour: ‘The resolution on them is excellent, and the same goes for the screens – I don’t have to squint. The angle the screen is set at is perfect, and the move to LCD metering is great. It’s helpful to be able to look down and see the channel name and meter next to each other, especially in a darkened room. It gives you an enhanced sense of control.’
Reach Communications co-owner and event services manager Dan Brown says that his company had recently sold its DiGiCo SD9 and felt the time was right to move further into Quantum territory, with the Q225 now joining Reach’s Quantum7, SD5, SD12, and two SD10 desks. ‘The Quantum desks are so flexible,’ he says. ‘Adam came in here with tracks and did pre-production for the Yam Haus show at First Avenue, then took the files back to the club and was ready to go. We’re excited to have another Quantum console in our inventory and we appreciate what DiGiCo has done with updates to the software. They’ve always taken great care of customers like us.’
