Kimbra tours with DiGiCo SD11
Published: ASIA
NEW ZEALAND: Kimbra, a singer-songwriter and guitarist hailing from New Zealand, utilised a DiGiCo SD11 console for her recent tour. Australian audio engineer Rod Matheson selected the desk, which was supplied by Group Technologies.
‘The great thing about the SD11 is that I could fit it into a Samsonsite case,’ enthused Mr Matheson. ‘I made a frame which goes over it that keeps the buttons and screens protected. It just looks like luggage to customs officials. They seem to make a big fuss when they see a road case, trying to charge additional freight and the like. It's pretty amazing that I could just check it in as regular luggage.’
Mr Matheson continued: ‘During some of the bigger gigs along the tour, I had a few people walk past me and say “you're not using that little thing are you?” The answer from me was always a resounding “yes”. Also, when we were wiring up all the gear before the band went on stage, I could complete line checks for everyone before we got out there. There aren't many systems around that can let you do anything like that.’
After a few shows, Mr Matheson stated that Kimbra no longer needed to sound check. ‘After a couple of shows, we had it down. She had tonnes of promotion to do as well so it was one less thing for her to worry about. She became really confident as did the band.’
Mr Matheson previously used a D5, then an SD7, and concluded that ‘the jump from the SD7 to the SD11 was very easy – it was really just a matter of getting used to the multi-function keys. The D-Rack is just great, and I was surprised by how warm it is.’