Tokyo-based rental company Tokyo Sanko added two DiGiCo Quantum 338 consoles to its inventory.
Tetsuya Matsunaga, audio department manager and system engineer at Tokyo Sanko, said: “Digico is a super machine. The company produces faultless consoles that can adapt to many different scenarios. We’ve been using their desks for over a decade now and are consistently impressed by what we’re able to achieve.”
Tokyo Sanko first heard about DiGiCo when it was introduced by an agency during the industry’s transition to digital consoles back in the early 2000s, but it was the flagship SD7 that sealed the team’s decision to invest. Matsunaga said: “I liked that I could customise things freely on the SD7. I first used the desk in a small-scale venue, and it sounded incredible. This is when I realised how powerful it could be.”
Since then, Tokyo Sanko has continued to turn to Digico for numerous live shows and projects, including an outdoor concert at Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto where the SD7 was used for the first time. The Shrine is located within the city, so the main challenge was to ensure clarity of audio, whilst keeping under the 90dB noise limitation. The Digico SD7 delivered balanced sound that matched the breath-taking setting of the venue.
Matsunaga explained: “This project cemented our love for Digico. The console delivered a beautiful sound in a complex setting, so we expanded our portfolio with the addition of other consoles including the Quantum 7. The Quantum 338 now pushes our rental services into a new era.”
The Quantum 338 follows in the footsteps of the Quantum 7 and boasts a wealth of flexible design features. It merges tried and tested workflows with substantial processing power and includes 128 input channels.
Additionally, the desk uses separate FPGAs for control and processing. When asked about Quantum's unique features, including Nodal and Mustard Processing, and Spice Rack with Chilli6 and Naga6, Matsunaga said: "They’re really useful. I've been using the dynamics in the basic Digico to the extent that I might only use one piece of outboard equipment for vocals. With the Mustard and Spice Racks, you're all set.”
Eiichi Abe and Takumi Koga, sound engineers at Tokyo Sanko, also expressed their reliance on these features. Abe said: “I use Spice Rack's Chilli6 and Naga6 a lot. If it's Quantum, I feel like I'm doing this without any concerns.”
Koga added: “Of course, the processing speed of Quantum is faster, and the desk also has its own features like Mustard and Spice Rack, but Quantum can use SD EQ and comps, too, which are sometimes programmed behind the scenes. This is a job that can't be done without Digico, I think we’d be lost without them.”