UK - DiGiCo is known throughout the industry for its high levels of support and customer care. The ethos of understanding is not just reserved for customers, as James Thompson found out when he landed the role as mechanical designer at DiGiCo.
Thompson is autistic and for him that means being hyper focused and having acute attention to detail. Thompson had not often used DiGiCo consoles and, as a designer, on the job experience is essential. As a freelancer for T&B Events, Thompson has mixed on a variety of consoles, so when they suggested joining them over the summer and mixing on a DiGiCo Quantum 225, he jumped at the chance.
T&B Events are a production company on the UK’s South Coast specialising in live events and during the summer they are kept very busy with festivals. Owned by Ben Wood and Thomas Hands, the company has been facilitating large-scale live events for 10 years. The team at T&B have worked with Thompson on several occasions over the years, but this time was his first with a DiGiCo.
“I'm a musician first, I've always been involved in music. In about 2010, I went over to the dark side,” Thompson states. “I started off mixing monitors and I was good at it, largely due to having played drums in the band, so I could always understand what the band needed to perform at their best. Due to my autism, I find social cues difficult, so to be with a company like T&B that is massively good putting on great shows is a real honour, they’re such a good gang of people.”
Thompson’s autism also means he is sensitive to sound. This could be thought of as a drawback when mixing for a large crowd, but it is something he really enjoys and with the DiGiCo Quantum 225 processing. The accuracy of the console is something he appreciates.
“I love the Spice Rack, especially the multi-band compressor,” he says. “It’s so exact. If you dial in a frequency to compress, it literally only changes that single frequency, nothing else. It’s a such a clean, accurate sound. I had to do a fair bit of self-training in preparation for the gig and the resources available are incredible. When you’re mixing for bands, especially ones like Dakka Skanks, who I mixed a few weeks ago, the precision of the desk is crucial; you just don’t want to do them a disservice, they’re such great people. I think it’s very important to get those fundamental console features just right, and the DiGiCo is bang on.”
It is not just the products that Thompson appreciates about working with DiGiCo. In his previous employment he was bullied, something he attributes to his then, undiagnosed autism. When looking for new employment, he used a recruitment agency to help him, but it did not go as he had hoped. The agency was not welcoming of his specialist skills, they were apprehensive about mentioning his autism and he missed opportunities. Frustrated, he contacted DiGiCo directly and they could not have been more welcoming. The move into the sound industry made him realise how much more understanding of neurodiversity it is, and working at DiGiCo has given him a whole new level of confidence.
“The knock-on effect of me finding my happy place has been fantastic. My wife Ann has always been massively supportive, but working at DiGiCo and being understood has made life easier for me, my wife, my family. It’s been a big ripple effect.”
Thompson is keen to keep using the Quantum 225 and T&B Productions are only too happy to oblige, as Ben Wood, managing director explains.
“James is a great member of the team and the DiGiCo Quantum 225 has been a great fit for the company,” he concludes. “We had a few head-scratching moments, but DiGiCo support was always on hand to suggest solutions and get us back up and running.”
