Digico SD9 first choice for Royal Shakespeare Company

DiGiCo’s SD7 console was installed in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre in Stratford upon Avon in 2011. It has now opted to use the SD9 console for its touring shows and West End transfers having been so impressed with the previous console.

“We have a long relationship with DiGiCo and needed a console to transfer showsthat currently exist on an SD7, but would be playing in smaller venues,” said Jeremy Dunn, head of sound at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford. “We looked at all the usual comparable desks, but the audio team were very keen to stick with DiGiCo software and their way of working.” The smaller footprint and ease of transferring shows on the SD7 were important for Dunn and his technicians but he was also impressed by some of its other facilities. “One of the great features is the MADI I/O. This means we can connect a laptop directly to the SD9, via an RME MADI card, to run all our sound effects using one cable,” he said. “The I/O at the back of the desk is great for the limited amount of radio mics we use and the remote rack will sit between the band and the amp racks – perfect!”

Dunn concluded, “The amazing thing about the SD9 is that it has great facilities andyou can transfer shows designed on the SD7, but it’s much more compact in terms ofboth the size and price.” The SD9 will make its first appearance on the Taming of the Shrew tour, and then on Julius Caeser and Much Ado About Nothing at London’s Noel Coward Theatre this summer.