Digico consoles ensured the sound at the Latin Grammys 2018

Firehouse Productions provided four Digico consoles for the 19th edition of the Latin Grammys: two SD7 and a pair of SD10 models, who covered the live sound of the event.

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

What they all had in common was high quality audio, thanks to the installation that was made for the show with four consoles Digico for the show: two SD7s for production and front-of-house music, and two SD10 for monitors, along with a total of eight SD-Racks.

These equipment were supplied by Firehouse Productions, whose vice president, Mark Dittmar, and the systems technician, David Crawford, They designed the event's sound system, and in which Luis Espinal also served as a systems technician. Front-of-house music mixer Ron Reaves and production mixer Andrew 'Fletch’ Fletcher used both SD7 consoles, while monitor mixers Mike Parker and Mike Bove made use of the SD10 consoles.

Dittmar has assured that “Digico consoles are a very powerful platform to work at fairs like this one.”, where engineers are potentially faced with complex workflows. SD consoles have so many features that simplify workflows and allow engineers to focus on sound. They 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 any problem. They are solid as a rock, It doesn't matter how you use them.".

Ron Reaves, veteran FOH music mixer for the Grammy Awards and Latin Grammys, claims that 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 to match the live voices with those songs, which tend to be highly compressed, noisy and with little dynamics in them”, explains. “When you put a live voice through a big microphone against them, 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. Among them, I don't have to use any plug-ins, which also helps keep the workflow nice and simple, what is important in a live show. This is an animated show, fast and cheerful, and you really have to pay close attention as it goes. “I couldn’t imagine using anything but a Digico for it.”

Production Mixer Andrew 'Fletch’ used an SD7 to have 56 presentation tickets, acceptance speeches, Stage patterns… These came from all sides from the four podiums on the stage (two wireless and two pop-ups, the last a backup podium) for the hosts of the event Carlos Rivera and Ana de la Reguera, four handheld microphones, and a full music backup from the Reaves console.

“It's another thing why Digico is always loved: the redundancy. The SD7 has two complete motors, and I know if there's ever a problem, It will be a perfect transition from one to the other.. Allows you to focus all your attention on the show, which is where it should be”, comments Fletcher.