DiGiCo drives Rosalía’s world tour
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With an impressive tally of 11 number-one singles in her home country, 12 Latin Grammy Awards, plus a host of other prestigious accolades throughout her music career, Rosalía is widely considered one of the most successful and influential Spanish vocalists of all time.
FOH engineer Ricky Ashford, who has been working with the singer for almost two years, has relied on a DiGiCo Quantum 338 and Quantum 225 digital mixing console for her latest Motomami world tour, which took in 68 dates at stadiums and arenas in Europe, Latin America, and North America, with Rosalía’s presence also gracing stages at world-renowned events such as Lollapalooza.
"I've been using the Quantum 338 since the console’s release three years ago," says Ashford. "For the second phase of the Motomami tour, we utilised the Q338 alongside its slimmed down version Quantum 225, with the Q225 also offering us as much channel count and robustness as we need for Rosalía.”
As a seasoned user of DiGiCo consoles with nearly a decade of hands-on experience, Ashford explains that his preference for the brand arises from the fact that the company’s products offer him the freedom to paint the audio picture without any limitations. "I also appreciate the transparency that their consoles provide,” he elaborates, adding, “Whatever you put in comes out exactly as intended.”
Ashford also appreciates the speed of the Quantum engine. "I like the SD Series, but Quantum is just so much faster,” he exclaims. “The desk offers a vast dynamic range. Input-wise, as soon as you introduce something into it, it feels much more refined and crystal clear, almost like upgrading from a 1080p image to 4K resolution, which is incredibly helpful for fidelity and ensuring the sound is exceptionally clear and precise.”
Regarding the choice of the console for Rosalía, Ashford explains that the decision to use DiGiCo was largely his own and was also supported by the management and production teams. "After getting the gig, I spent a week with Rosalía's studio engineer to get a sense of her sound,” he shares. “After that, I had the free reign to do what I wanted. Since there were no rehearsals for me to coordinate with the singer, I had to plan everything very carefully."
The audio setup for the tour includes 60 inputs, 24 channels of playback, eight talkbacks, and four microphones, including the main microphone and two guest microphones, along with six audience microphones. In addition, Rosalía utilises 12 channels for keyboards, and there is also a grand piano in the middle of the stage for her solos, plus a guitar, and a keyboard player who incorporates an organ and other keyboards.
