Milwaukees Marcus Center For Performing Arts Undergoes Sonic Renewal With DiGiCo Posted: November 2012 | For Immediate Release
Celebrating over 40 years of top-flight cultural and community programming including symphony music and theater productions, the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts is situated in the heart of the downtown Milwaukee theatre district. Uihlein Hall, with a seating capacity of 2,305, is the largest of the Marcus Center theaters, and is home to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Milwaukee Ballet Company, Florentine Opera Company, the Marcus Center Broadway Series, and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra. Seating is continental (no center aisle) with three balconies and a side loge. A recent revamp of the audio system, saw the PAC swapping out an aging analog console with a DiGiCo SD8.
Through a rigorous two year process to find a suitable console, house sound engineer Tim Kraetsch put a variety of digital consoles through technical paces, investigating each console's features in a live situation, which enabled him to see how fast he could adapt to each console under the gun and to see what, if any, drawbacks there were. After trying out different manufacturers consolesincluding a DiGiCo SD11 at the annual Summerfest music event in Milwaukee as part of the audio production crew for the last two yearshe recommended the SD8 to George Batayias, the venue's technical director. After the sound quality, which Kraetsch says is the best of the three major console manufacturers, he loved the console's features and ease of use. Additionally, they opted for a 60-channel SDRack operating at 96kHz, which will allow them to eventually upgrade to fiber optics down the road. He's also intrigued by the DiGiCo UB MADI interface which allows for recording with a simple selection of a button on the large 15 touch screen and looks forward to using it for archiving shows, for virtual sound checks and also for training of other staff and guest engineers.
Because this was considered to be a major capital expenditure, Kraetsch explains, money for the console had to be budgeted 5 years out. We knew we wanted to upgrade to a digital console, and because of the timeframe, we also knew we had the luxury to take our time in looking at all the options that were happening within the console sector of the industry. Because of that, we could see the innovation and directions that the consoles were headed to, and make the best choice for our situation. One of the biggest challenges we faced was how to use the existing infrastructure of the system so that we wouldnt incur any additional expenses in the install. Thanks to the 8 local mic/line outputs on the back of the console, we were able to accomplish that. In fact, we were able to actually physically do the complete install in about an hour! Not bad when you see how powerful this system is.
The DiGiCo interfaces with a distributed speaker system comprised of an EAW 850/650 main speaker system augmented with EAW JF260, JF 80, JF 60, and Tannoy delay speakersall of which are powered by Crest Amplifiers. The console is also connected to an older Crest amp EAW distributed speaker system.
Since the completion of the install, the SD8 has been used on productions ranging from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Pops Concerts, The Florentine Opera, and the Milwaukee Ballets Production of Dracula, managing a typical 24-32 inputs and 2-6 outputs. For Kraetsch, one of the most useful features in tackling these productions has been the ease with which he can patch inputs into any configuration needed to aid in mixing the final product, along with all the standard features available on each channel. I love the 4-band parametric and Dynamic EQ feature that only DiGiCo offers. The fact that each channel has two dynamic sections that allow the Dynamic 1 to be a Compressor, Multi-Band Compressor or a De-Esser, and Dynamics 2 to be a Gate, Ducker or a second frequency-conscious Compress allows us to add an artistic approach to our mix. The fact that you have two insert points on each input channel is also fantastic.
Although the console has only been in place for a short while, the upgraded sound system has elicited comments from the public, from performers and from the internal production staff. It's amazing how much feedback we've already had, laughs Kraetsch, particularly from the public. The sonic quality of the SD8 is amazing. Most digital consoles that are currently in use have a tendency to sound crunchy;' the DiGiCo sounds clean and airy and is definitely one of the best sounding consoles out of the boxwithout the use of any plug-ins or extra processing.
Even people who don't comment on such things have taken notice. I'm excited now that the SD8 is situated to be able to dig in and learn the depth that this console has to offer to our productions and audiences.
For more information, please visit: www.marcuscenter.org/
DiGiCo Press Contacts
David Webster at DiGiCo
Tel: +44 1372 845600
Email: webby@digiconsoles.com
Diane Gershuny DGPR
Tel: 562-366-8869
Email: dgershuny123@gmail.com
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
02/07/2026
BLAST, a competitive entertainment company focused on esports, has announced more than $133 million in revenue for 2025, representing more than 40% year-over-ye...
02/07/2026
Riedel Communications has announced official SKAARHOJ panel support for SimplyLive production workflows, enabled through the SimplyLive 2.1 release. The integra...
02/07/2026
The Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic has deployed LiveU video-over-bond...
02/07/2026
Gravity Media USA has announced the appointment of Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development, effective July 1, 2026. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Bosto...
02/07/2026
TwelveLabs, a video intelligence company, has announced $100 million in Series B funding co-led by NEA and NAVER Ventures, with participation from Amazon, Radic...
02/07/2026
The Pro Padel League (PPL) has announced a broadcast partnership with USA Sports that will air five PPL championship matches on CNBC during the 2026 season, the...
02/07/2026
LiveLike, a digital fan engagement platform, has announced eight confirmed FIFA ...
02/07/2026
Cobalt Digital has received Future's Best of Show Award, presented by AV Technology at InfoComm 2026, for its blueCORE family of standalone signal processor...
02/07/2026
Synamedia has announced the appointment of Dr. Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transition...
02/07/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) and Sony Group Corporation have announced an expanded collaboration for the Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC), taking place in Paris, Fra...
02/07/2026
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. ( Z') has announced exclusive broadcast and digital rights for the Bundesliga in India for five years, beginning with the...
02/07/2026
An effort uniting News, Sports, Local, and Telemundo, the 50+-camera live produc...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Following the successful launch of its inaugural APAC Mentoring Programme last month, the Rise AV APAC Regional Council will bring the conversation around mento...
02/07/2026
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K Used to Shoot Director Takahisa Zeze's Cry Out
Brie Clayton July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Highly mobile camera supports tense and de...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions acquires BFE, expanding its lead in European broadcast, medi...
02/07/2026
Berklee Alum and Faculty Perform at Boston Public Library's 250th Anniversar...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
Milwaukees Marcus Center For Performing Arts Undergoes Sonic Renewal With DiGiCo Posted: November 2012 | For Immediate Release 
