Soundcom buys DiGiCo SD10 within days of consoles debut
Published: ASIA
INDIA: Sound.com has made its first purchase of a DiGiCo mixing desk, becoming one of the first companies to own an SD10 digital live console in a sale that was revealed within days of the new desk’s official introduction at Frankfurt Pro Light + Sound 2011. The purchase is through the manufacturer’s Indian distributor Rivera International.
The Mumbai-based production company will receive one of the first desks to come off the production line, and Sound.com managing director Warren D’Souza can clearly see the benefit of early adoption.
‘It’s nice to get in at the beginning because we know the console will have a shelf life of a decade, and if you buy the latest and the greatest you start earning from day one,’ he explained. ‘Secondly in terms of market position in the country I didn’t want to have a ‘me too’ type product. People have SD9s and they have SD8s, but I thought that my debut with DiGiCo should be with the headline desk that India can make affordable and tangible. With the amount of input and output density that you require today, the SD10 will give me the kind of busses that I need, which I would have had limitations on with other consoles.’
The 96-channel SD10 was announced at Pro Light + Sound as sitting between DiGiCo’s large-format SD7 and the smaller SD8 in terms of price and features. The 96-channel desk boasts an anodised aluminium worksurface overlaid with polycarbonate panels, a 15-inch, touch-sensitive screen, and 37 100mm faders.
The Sound.com purchase reportedly marks the fulfilment of a long-term ambition for Rivera International’s Rajesh Sadarangani. ‘For us, when we started with DiGiCo we always wanted Warren and the Sound.com team to be on board,’ he explained. ‘It took a while, but when the SD10 was announced, we just knew that it was going to happen with Sound.com as the SD10 was just perfect for them.’
DiGiCo itself is also clearly pleased. ‘We’re really happy about it,’ confirmed James Bradley. ‘Sound.com is the perfect partner to have, certainly for the SD10 at that level. It’s going to be a brilliant introduction to the market. We’d been talking with Sound.com for a little while – we talked many times about the SD8, but I told them to hold on for a little while because we felt that the SD10 would be much better for the applications they’re doing.’
According to Mr D’Souza the desk will mainly be used for sporting related events as well as a number of television shows where its broadcast software can be utilised. ‘I have always wanted to be a part of the DiGiCo family,’ he admitted. ‘At the time I started my career, I wanted to own a D5 and by the time I was ready to buy there was the SD10.’