Terry Tew Sound and Light (TTSL) is a BAFTA albert accredited hire company based in Loughton, Essex. The team have invested heavily in DiGiCo consoles for the last decade, from the SD11 to their latest purchase of the DiGiCo Quantum 7. Delivering excellent, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for broadcast and live events are what the TTSL team prides itself on, so environmental considerations are a key part of the company ethos.
DiGiCo consoles remain on the TTSL inventory because of the consistent workflow across all the consoles and the wide choice available. While the company is best known for its work in the broadcast sector, all areas of performance and events are catered for, so mixing consoles need to be flexible and powerful to remain in stock.
Terry Tew Sound and Light has over 35 full time members of staff with many more freelance engineers on its books. Head of RF, Jonathan Edwards, explains that it is engineer choice, and the consistent workflow between consoles that makes DiGiCo a popular option, whatever the show.
“Kit has to be flexible to earn a place on our inventory,” he says. “Once the freelance staff know the workflow, they will be happy with any DiGiCo console, this means we can keep our inventory sleek and hard-working and our engineers happy. We have a 15,000 square foot warehouse in Loughton, but there is never enough space, so the more the kit we have out working, the better!”
One of the TTSL’s regular freelancers is Adam Waller, front of house engineer for Beverley Knight. This summer, the company provided the audio equipment for Beverley Knight’s summer touring schedule. She appeared as a special guest with Gary Barlow on his Songbook Tour and headlined with Will Young for the Warwick Sessions. Waller and monitor engineer Phil Down chose the SD11 at front of house for its compact size, while the smaller footprint of the Quantum 326 and its super bright screens made it perfect for bright, daytime summer gigs. Using TTSL and maintaining the same equipment for every show has had huge benefits, not just for the engineers, but also for the artists, as Down explains.
“The Quantum 326 has been a great fit for us, the layout and new screens make navigation on stage much more straightforward, and the visibility has been excellent even in the brightest summer festival conditions,” he says. “Its footprint is ideal for busy festival stages where space is always at a premium, yet the Quantum 328 manages to pack an incredible amount of processing power into such a compact frame. The new processing has been a real highlight too, particularly Chilli, and my standout favourite the Mustard Optical Compressor. It delivers a smooth character but with the ability to be really aggressive when needed, which has been invaluable, especially for vocals in the IEMs.”
The compact layout of the DiGiCo SD11 means that Waller is entirely self-sufficient at front of house, where space is often at a premium. The SD11 is small enough to sit on top of a small, wheeled flight case and, if required, Waller can lift it into place himself, making the get-in and get-out a breeze.
“I take up so little space in front of the house and I can get away really quickly. In a ten-minute changeover, I can have my console packed up and generally two lovely locals might even carry it backstage for me,” he adds. “The regular combination of SD11 and Q326 was mega and we soon found that musicians were complimenting Phil on their monitor mixes. They were really getting settled and liking the tonality of everything that was being put into their ears. Beverley really noticed the difference in consistency, too. This gave us the opportunity to work on the fine details of the mix, both in the monitors and front of house.”
It is the innate understanding of what it takes to get a show on stage that means Terry Tew Sound and Light is always ready to assist. It is a passion the team share with DiGiCo, resulting in a winning combination that has kept the relationship going strong. As Waller concludes, when you have the right equipment and the right team behind you, anything is possible.
“The reason we use TTSL is because the service is outstanding and you know Terry [Tew] will go the extra mile to make sure we are okay, and we have everything we need. That’s why we use him as a supplier; his customer service is impeccable,” he finishes. “Going-forward, we both want to use Quantum consoles, so now DiGiCo has made the Quantum 112, I’m seriously considering swapping over!”
