Beyoncé and Jay-Z On The Run with DiGiCo
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All of these elements are connected via an Optocore HMA fibre loop between two DiGiCo SD7 consoles for the FOH mix (one primary console and a second for use by supporting acts on the tour) feeding a d&b audiotechnik J-Series PA system, while four more SD7 desks are assigned to the monitor mixes.
In addition, another SD7 is on the tour to mix full-band rehearsals as set lists change and new songs or new arrangements are added (the duo’s hit album, Everything Is Love, dropped in the middle of the tour), and to mix and record writing sessions as inspiration strikes during this 48-city, four-month-long tour. A DiGiCo SD12 console is also on hand to mix vocal rehearsals in dressing rooms. The five primary consoles on the tour use five DiGiCo SD-Racks, with a sixth used as a support rack.
“The DiGiCos are the only consoles that can do this show,” observes Jason Kirschnick, international operations officer and global project manager at Eighth Day Sound, the sound-reinforcement provider for On The Run II. “The wireless and in-ear counts are enormous. Stephen [Curtin, FOH engineer] uses a lot of subgroups to keep and manage all of the stage inputs on a single SD7, with the second SD7 on the same fibre loop and with the sessions loaded and ready there as a spare. No other desk could touch what the SD7s are doing here.
“Everyone is sharing fibre on this tour,” Kirschnick continues. “That’s one of the reasons that it’s the preferred console for the FOH and monitor mixers: its work-surface flexibility makes it the only console that lets them set up the exact custom workflows they need. It just has more options than any other console. That’s why it’s number-one on all the riders.”
(Jim Evans)
