A combination of five of DiGiCo's newer SD10 consoles along with one of its larger format SD7s handled FOH and monitor duties - for a total of 400+ I/O's and 256 mic preamps distributed between six SD Racks - among four engineers in three locations within the Staples Center arena.
The entire PA system was powered by a versatile Opticore fibre optic network, which made it possible for the consoles to tie together seamlessly and also allowing the signal path to stay 100% digital from mic preamps to amplifiers. Additionally, the Opticore network cut the traditional massive wire clutter down to merely two strands of fibre per console.
"The show's producers continue to raise the bar in broadcast entertainment year after year and we needed to follow suit with the technology," said Mikael Stewart, ATK's production mixer and VP special events. "By using the best and most advanced tools, we guarantee the highest fidelity for every performance. The sonic quality of the DiGiCo consoles was one of the biggest assets this year, in addition to the Opticore infrastructure that allowed complete flexibility and accessibility."
Peterson designed the show's PA and console system and functioned as the systems engineer during the event, with assistance from ATK's Andrew 'Fletch' Fletcher. Ron Reaves was at front-of-house on an SD7 mixing all the musical performances alongside with Mikael Stewart, who handled all the non-music production assets on an SD10. On stage right and left respectively, Tom Pesa and Mike Parker facilitated monitor mixes for the artists on both performance stages on a pair of SD10s (with an additional two serving as 'redundant' backups).
"There was a noticeable difference in how the system sounded this year," recalled Peterson, "and the comments and compliments came from touring and recording engineers alike. It's not that the sound was bad in previous years by any means, but the overall intelligibility and the quality of the audio was noticeable. There was detail that we had never heard before, which we attributed to the addition of the DiGiCo consoles."
(Jim Evans)
