DiGiCo Quantum 338 Console Central To 34-Concert Residency

Two of Argentina's most respected artists, Abel Pintos and Luciano Pereyra, joined forces for an epic series of concerts, with an extra four dates added due to huge demand.

Staged in Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, the concerts were performed 'in the round' and at their core were two DiGiCo consoles - a Quantum 338 at front of house and a DiGiCo SD10 at the monitor position.

Luna Park is a historic venue and occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of Argentinians. It was built in 1932 on the site of the Luna Park open-air street-fair and, with a capacity of 8,500, has hosted some of Argentina’s most memorable events ever since. The coming together of two of the country’s most popular singer-songwriters meant the residency would be both popular and high profile, so the equipment specified by rental company Buenos Aires Live Show (BALS) needed to be of the highest quality. To help guarantee success, DiGiCo’s distributor for Argentina and Uruguay, Equaphone, also offered delivered a full service and support package.

Walter Logarzo is Marketing and Communications Manager at Equaphon and has overseen their involvement in this huge project.

"In recent years, demand for DiGiCo consoles, especially the Quantum series, has grown significantly, both from international and local artists in Argentina," he said. "Having DiGiCo consoles allows us to offer better service and enables our clients to obtain the best results. In fact, DiGiCo is one of the most requested products for BALS."

The Quantum 338 builds on the power of a Quantum 7, with all the processing of its larger counterpart, but in a smaller format. It is a 128-channel mixing console, with three 17” high-resolution, touch-screen LCD displays. With 38 physical faders on the console surface, engineers can respond quickly to any situation, a must when mixing a face paced show like this.

"Mustard processing has been a real improvement for the engineers," Logarzo continues. "As well as the quality and stability of the audio system, delivering full support has ensured that the whole team were very satisfied with our service."

Ramón Gallo was technical supervisor for the residency and oversaw the co-ordination for the project. A freelance engineer, Gallo works regularly on BALS projects and this one was even more special as it is likely the last major event to be held in Luna Park before it is temporarily closed for a massive $34 million USD refurbishment project.

"Working with DiGiCo consoles is always a pleasure," Gallo explained. "The shows were in the round, which means every audience member got an amazing view and a spectacular listening experience. DiGiCo consoles give a very clean sound, so they are perfectly suited to Abel and Luciano. For situations like these we will always ask for a DiGiCo console to be provided."

Diego González mixed the concerts from the front of house position. He agrees the Quantum 338 was a great choice for the residency, thanks to its reliability and clarity, plus the ease of workflow provided by the intuitive console surface.

“Mixing this series of concerts was a high profile and exciting opportunity. With so many performances together, it felt like a family by the last night” he explains. “The Quantum 338 reacts exactly as we want it to, with no surprises. Once you’ve tried the Mustard Processing it’s very hard to go back; it has completely reduced our reliance on out-board effects. Being in Luna Park for the last shows before the arena completely changes was very special, too. Using the Quantum 338 meant that we could trust it would all go to plan, and it really exceeded our expectations.

The Quantum 338's physical faders can be assigned to any channel type, giving engineers the flexibility and control required to work in high-pressured environments. With the Es Ahora, (It’s Now) residency performed with 360-degree staging, the clean lines of the set and completely unobstructed view for the audience meant there was no room for error. DiGiCo’s powerful processing and stability enabled the engineers to mix confidently and redundant power supplies and Opotocore redundancy provided extra peace of mind.

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