Gary Barlow’s 2025 Songbook tour visited a range of venue sizes and styles across the UK and Ireland, so, for engineers, having a constant and reliable mixing console to work from is a necessity. Skan PA, a Clair Global company, supplied two DiGiCo Quantum 7s, allowing engineers to share stage racks, saving space on the truck and delivering peace of mind.
Luigi Buccarello is FOH engineer and has toured with Gary Barlow since jumping into the Take That tour of 2024, and explains why, for him, only a DiGiCo will do.
“I’ve used DiGiCo consoles on and off for many years, but it is only in the last few that they have become my go-to choice,” Buccarello said. “I find the workflow extremely intuitive and they are very reliable. I just love how immediate everything is. You never need to press more than a button to get where you need to, which makes it very fast to use. It’s extremely clear to look at, which lets you focus on the mix. I also find the extra bank of faders in the middle section very useful.”
Buccarello tends to mix into groups, so having three banks of 12 faders on the console surface means he can keep his VCAs central, with the band on the left and vocals on the right, reducing his need to scroll through layers or split is concentration between the stage and the console.
“I love how on a Quantum 7 everything is in front of you at any given time,” he said. “It’s extremely clear and feels very familiar.”
Becky Pell is monitor engineer, a role she shares with Saul Skoutarides, alternating dates throughout the tour. The pair find that the Quantum 7 delivers everything they needs to do their job, with an intuitive workflow that gives them the space to ensure that the focus is exactly where is should be, with the artist.
“I’ve been using DiGiCo consoles since 2004, when I was in a tech role for Rod Matheson on Kylie’s monitors,” Pell recalled. “He and Chris Pyne at front of house were among the first users of the original D5s and I’ve mixed on DiGiCo almost exclusively since 2009 with Anastacia. I really love the workflow – it felt intuitive from day one and having been on DiGiCos for so long, they feel like home. Sharing the monitor role means that an intuitive workflow is particularly important. We need to be looking at the band, not peering down at the console. Console navigation is key and DiGiCo is the best I’ve found at that.”
There are approximately 50 input channels coming from stage, with spares, reverb returns and talk mics adding to the channel count. In addition to the band, there are backing vocalists and brass players, bringing the number of musicians to 12, plus four tech mixes. Utilising DMI-KLANG directly via the console means she can facilitate the full spectrum of mixes without moving from the console.
“I first trialled KLANG about ten years ago,” Pell explained. “I was struck by both the sense of space it opened up in the three-dimensional space, rather than one dimensional stereo, and also by how much I could reduce the level of the central element in a monitor mix because of that space. Anything that helps us to keep listening levels low gets my vote.”
KLANG integration is not the only feature that Pell appreciates. The Macro functions are also high on her list of indispensable tools. These ‘one-touch’ commands can complete a myriad of useful functions, from turning talkback on or off, to bespoke console setups that can prepare quickly for line check or show time. Sharing racks with Buccarello is another feature of DiGiCo products that Pell appreciates, just as much as production does
“In terms of space freed up by rack sharing, having a DiGiCo at FOH makes life easier,” Pell continued. “Production like that, too, because it cuts down on stage real estate and truck space. When input problems arise, there are fewer things to fault find without a split rack, and I like the fact that we can both see exactly the same input metering.”
It is a match made to last and, as Buccarello concluded, the pair are more than happy with the way their sound works.
“The DiGiCo Quantum 7 is very open and transparent. It’s extremely accurate, and the perfect canvas to build a mix over. Audio for the tour was provided by Skan, now part of Clair Global,” Buccarello finished. “They are great, their support is fantastic. DiGiCo is also amazing, which is one of the main reasons why I enjoy using DiGiCo products so much. You always feel supported and looked after anywhere around the world, whether you have a technical enquiry, need prep time on a board, or you just want to test new products.”
