"I instantly liked DiGiCo the minute I used one of their consoles," Richards admits, during soundcheck at London's Hammersmith Apollo. "Whatever the model, you're getting real value. Be it the great EQ, the excellent pre-amps - the list goes on - everything you're working with is always the same quality as the flagship SD7, which you really can't argue with."
Richards likes the SD10 for its functionality, user interface, and overall sound quality. "DiGiCo is always great for channel count; I'm running 54 channels here on my SD10, and what's also really handy is having 12 faders in each fader bank rather than eight, particularly so when working with drums," he enthuses. "For example, on this show I have several additional snares and kicks, so there are a lot of channels, yet I can still pack the whole kit into one bank, which is absolutely ideal. I then have another bank for all of the percussion and effects. It works really nicely, because everything is there in front of you."
Richards is also a big Waves fan, and for this tour, has borrowed a PuigChild and Maxx BCL units from audio provider, SSE Audio.
"SSE has provided me with some Waves hardware," he reports, turning to the outboard rack. "The PuigChild is superb for Paloma's vocals, as she has quite a peaky mid-range - it really fattens the vocal; and I use the Maxx BCL across the PA."
(Jim Evans)
