DiGiCo Quantum 338 doubles up for Tash Sultana
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Following an initial 15-date jaunt across Europe and the UK in March and April, Sultana has just now completed a 32-show North American trek, which kicked off on in June in Las Vegas and wrapped up on 24 July in southern California. For the run, Nashville-based Worley Sound supplied the tour with its FOH and monitor control packages, both of which were built on DiGiCo Quantum338 consoles.
The current 2022 world tour finds Sultana morphing from a solo act to a full band setup for the first time.
“I started touring with Tash in 2017 and carried a DiGiCo SD11i system that I loved on many dates around the world for the solo years,” says Perth-based FOH engineer Sam Perrignon. “I had it racked in a case above a 12U rack housing my Lake processor, Waves servers and RF measurement receiver, with an array of Ergotron arm mounts, and I really appreciated its efficiency and being able to maintain a very small footprint at festivals.
“However, as our channel list has now significantly grown, mixing on a larger surface is certainly an improved experience and I am really enjoying the Quantum338 with its center-screen processing section, daylight viewable screens, and bridge-light/sun-shield. The console’s worksurface is great—I have speedy access to everything I need—and the DiGiCo-Waves integration is nice and fast, keeping my fingers away from the touchscreens as much as possible.
“Also, software-wise on the Quantum series, I’m already a big fan of Mustard processing across all of the acoustic drums, with the VCA compressor type being a particular favourite.”
Excluding talk and utility inputs, Perrignon notes that there are approximately 70 inputs coming from the four members onstage where he shares a 32-bit module-loaded SD-Rack with another Quantum338 carried for monitors. “There is a mix of analog inputs from the SD-Rack and MADI inputs from playback that are piped into the monitor console and copied onto the Optocore network,” he describes.
“The band side is fairly conventional, but for Tash's solo section, a lot of the show is mixed on groups. As I receive direct and looped inputs, this avoids doubling up on external processing.”
Hailing from Wollongong, just south of Sydney, monitor engineer Jordan Tanner has also been working with Sultana since 2017, when he and Perrignon established their touring and production management company, RTA Touring. “I feel that the Quantum338 surface is right up there among the fastest,” he says. “I find the master section particularly well laid out, as far as macros, snapshots and talk sections go—and two master faders is of course a huge win.”
Sultana’s recent North American leg of the Terra Firma Tour found them performing at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, NYC’s Pier 17, Vancouver’s Orpheum Theatre, the Hollywood Palladium, and numerous other venues in addition to a slot at the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
