Based in the South of Holland, Theaters
Tilburg is a combination of concert hall, large theater and studio. It has
recently invested in five DiGiCo systems to replace its existing analogue set
up.
Supplied by DiGiCo’s Dutch distributor TM
Audio, two SD9s and three SD11s along with associated D-Racks were chosen to
fulfill Theater Tilburg’s requirements.
“As we needed to replace all our analogue
consoles, we started to prepare for purchasing new mixing consoles last
season,” says Theater Tilburg’s Pernel van Herpt. “With our focus on the
future, we decided to make the swap to go fully digital in all our rooms.
Looking at our future programming and bookings, which were heading more towards
music shows, and the fact that we have to work with our in-house crew more and
more, we felt the need for digital systems with a quick and flexible workflow.
“After performing intensive comparisons,
we concluded that the DiGiCo SD Series was the perfect choice for us because of
its sound quality and intuitive, easy-to-use interface.” “All the D-Racks are
fitted with AES/EBU output cards to guarantee a full 100% digital signal flow,
starting with the 24bit/96kHz AD converters behind the pre-amps in the rack,
and ending in the power amplifiers behind the DA converters,” explains TM’s
Jaap Pronk.
“All setups can be used individually or in
combinations with rack sharing when using the DiGiCo Little Red boxes, which we
also supplied, and benefit from DiGiCo’s unique Gain Tracking™ system.
“A DiGiCo UB MADI USB2 audio interface
was chosen for virtual soundcheck and multitrack recordings, which became a
very welcome tool during the first days of in-house training.”
These took place during the summer break,
when a large dressing room became a DiGiCo training centre, with TM Audio
hosting the sessions. Following these, the more experienced engineers connected
a number of multitracks to the console setups, helping the inexperienced
engineers to gain a better working knowledge of the systems.
“Following the training sessions, we
integrated the DiGiCo consoles in the Theater’s home network, both wired and
wireless,” adds Jaap. “We also supplied laptops with touchscreens that all had
pre-installed offline software, which has many advantages.
“For example, during a musical rehearsal
the director can use a laptop that is synced with the console to implement all
the technical notes from the script into the automation of the mixer, while the
sound engineer does his audio run through. This means there are no more A4
sheets, which always get lost, or questions like ‘where are we?’, as during the
show the engineer sees his technical script on screen.
“Another welcome function for a theatre
combination such as this is the ‘Template’ function, which has ‘write
protected’ sessions that can be stored for individual rooms or production
types.”
Enthusiasm is running high with the
engineers of Theaters Tilburg, who are enjoying working with the new consoles
and know that, with DiGiCo consoles at the heart of its audio system, Theatres
Tilburg is ready for the future.
