Digico consoles ensured impeccable sound at the Latin Grammys

Firehouse Productions supplied four Digico consoles for the 19th edition of the Latin Grammys: two SD7s and a pair of SD10 consoles that covered the live sound of the event.

The 19th edition of the Latin Grammy Awards, which took place on November 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and aired live on Univision, brought together the future and the past of Latin music, featuring a wide range of genre options, from the dominant pop of Korol G and J Balvin to the cerebral lyricism of Jorge Drexler, who won this year's Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

What they all had in common was impeccable audio, thanks to the installation of four consoles Digico for the show: two SD7 consoles for production and front-of-house music, and two SD10 consoles for monitors, along with a total of eight SD-Racks, all supplied by Firehouse Productions, whose vice president, Mark Dittmar, and the systems technician, David Crawford, designed the event's sound system, and in which Luis Espinal also served as a systems technician. The front-of-house music mixer Ron Reaves and the production mixer Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher they used both SD7 consoles, while monitor mixers Mike Parker and Mike Bove used the tables SD10.

Dittmar said: "Digico consoles are a very powerful platform for working at shows like this, where engineers are potentially faced with complex workflows. The SD consoles have so many features that simplify workflows and allow engineers to focus on the sound. For example, we used the remote iPad function on the SD10 monitors, which really allows engineers to focus on what each artist on stage needs, and allows them and their teams to achieve things like installation on stage. heard properly and quickly. The SD consoles also allow you to work in the domains you want: traditionally we do analog splits between consoles, and each desktop has its own set of SD-Racks, and there is never a problem. They are rock solid, no matter how you use them.

Ron Reaves, veteran FOH music mixer for the Grammy Awards and Latin Grammy Awards, says the SD7 equipped with the Waves plug-in package is the perfect choice for awards concerts and shows. “The Latin Grammys differ a little from the regular Grammy Awards presentations in that most artists use long tracks, and the challenge is always matching the live vocals to those songs, which tend to be highly compressed, noisy and with little dynamics in them,” he explains. "When you put a live vocal through a big microphone against them, the sonic differences are often strident. However, that's where the Digico console really shines. I really like using the onboard compression and dynamic EQ functions. Between them, I don't have to use any plug-ins, which also helps keep the workflow nice and simple, which is important in a live show. This is a lively, fast and happy show, and you really have to pay close attention as "I couldn't imagine using anything but a Digico for it."

Production mixer Andrew “Fletch” Fletcher used an SD7 to feed 56 inputs of performances, acceptance speeches, stage patterns… These came from all over the place from the four onstage podiums (two wireless and two pop-ups, the last a backup podium) to event hosts Carlos Rivera and Ana de la Reguera, four handheld microphones, and a full musical backup from the Reaves console.

“That's one more thing Digico is always loved for: redundancy,” Fletcher says. "The SD7 has two complete engines, and I know that if there is ever a problem, it will be a seamless transition from one to the other. It allows you to focus all your attention on the show, which is where it should be."