DiGiCo’s S-Series delivers on Tubular Bells tour
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To celebrate, Oldfield’s creation was once again brought to life through a tour spanning over 30 venues across the UK this spring. Spearheaded by Robin Smith, Mike Oldfield’s collaborator and the musical director of the show, a live rendition of Tubular Bells was performed by an ensemble of musicians.
Show Works, a UK production company with an expertise in delivering immersive installations, musicals, tours, live streams and outdoor events, worked with the show’s organisers to deliver an audio setup featuring a DiGiCo S21 console used by FOH engineer, Sam Ferstenberg, and S31 utilised for on-stage monitoring by Sam Manigley.
Show Works' managing director, Oscar Thompson, has previously collaborated with the tour producers at Fiery Entertainment on several other projects, including Rob Brydon's tour and the BBC Big Band. "We were approached about the Tubular Bells anniversary tour in September and got the green light in December last year. It was an exhilarating moment for us,” he says.
To meet Fiery Entertainment team’s needs for a portable system without compromising on sound quality, flexibility, and power, Thompson chose DiGiCo S-Series consoles.
“The consoles offered flexibility and various DMI cards allowed for seamless sharing of stage inputs between the FOH and monitor consoles,” Thompson elaborates. “Their compact design made them easy to transport between and in venues, and aligned perfectly with the production requirements. We didn’t have any hesitation in recommending these consoles and, in fact, we ended up purchasing the S31 from Adlib for the tour as well.”
The tour primarily played large theatres and music halls, including Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, G Live in Guildford, New Theatre in Oxford, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, and Arena in Swansea, with seating capacities of up to 2,000 people. "With 32 performances squeezed into a tight 57-day schedule, a large band, live vocalists and backing tracks, some weeks were particularly challenging," Thompson exclaims.
With DiGiCo consoles already in their inventory, Thompson highlights the value of the manufacturer’s software and firmware upgrades, which have proven highly advantageous for the team. Upon acquiring the S31, they promptly updated both the S21 and S31 with the latest firmware, unlocking enhanced versions known as the S21+ and S31+. These provided a significant boost in processing power and channel count, which proved invaluable for the production.
Monitor engineer Sam Manigley, a long-time user of DiGiCo consoles, praised the S31's custom layout option, which allowed for quick and easy customisation. With 64 channels between him and FOH engineer Sam Ferstenberg, Manigley could manage multiple mixes, including IEMs and various groups. He found the console user-friendly and appreciated the intuitive and efficient setup created by Oscar.
