Australia (September 23, 2016)—At first glance, it might seem like overkill to use DiGiCo SD consoles for a tribute act, but the Australian Pink Floyd Show is no “mere” cover band. APFS has toured 35 countries, sold more than 4 million tickets, and will play over 120 shows this year alone, all with lasers, inflatables and 3D projection at hand. With everything else in the production at such a pro level, it’s no surprise that the audio is taken that seriously as well.
For the current North American run, Milwaukee-based Clearwing Productions has been supplying an SD5 for front of house and an SD10 at monitors. Both desks share an SD-Rack and are connected via an Optocore network.
“With the consoles sharing the same SD-Rack on a network, it’s a very solid and seamless system,” observes Jeff Schauer, Clearwing’s system technician on the tour. “It makes for a very efficient system, too, since we only have to carry a single rack.” Schauer says that the SD-Rack is also being used to drive the PA system, porting the AES audio through the Optocore loop to the stage rack. “As a result, we don’t have to re-clock the AES signal from front of house when it hits the stage to be distributed to the mains, and when we’ve carried an opening act, we’d just add another stage rack into the loop and it’s seamless. It makes my life a lot easier. We would never have been able to do that before with another console.”
FOH engineer Trevor Gilligan is using all of the SD-Rack’s 56 channels and says the snapshot automation allows him to manage a complex mix. “It’s especially handy for fader changes and mutes,” he says. “It’s just a real pleasure to use, and I’m looking forward to getting the Stealth Core 2 upgrade when we get back to the UK.”
The Australian Pink Floyd Show
www.aussiefloyd.com
Clearwing Productions
www.clearwing.com
DiGiCo
www.DiGiCo.biz