This year saw the 50th anniversary of Tubular Bells, the iconic masterpiece created by the acclaimed British musician Mike Oldfield that was originally released in May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. To celebrate, Oldfield's creation was once again brought to life through a captivating tour spanning over 30 venues across the UK this spring. Spearheaded by Robin Smith, Mike Oldfield's collaborator and the musical director of the show, a mesmerising live rendition of Tubular Bells was performed by a talented ensemble of musicians. Show Works, a UK production company with an expertise in delivering immersive installations, musicals, tours, live streams and outdoor events, worked with the show's organisers to deliver an audio setup featuring a DiGiCo S21 console used by FOH engineer, Sam Ferstenberg, and S31 utilised for on-stage monitoring by Sam Manigley.
Show Works' managing director, Oscar Thompson, has previously collaborated with the tour producers at Fiery Entertainment on several other projects, including Rob Brydon's tour and the BBC Big Band. We were approached about the Tubular Bells anniversary tour in September and got the green light in December last year. It was an exhilarating moment for us, he says.
To meet Fiery Entertainment team's needs for a portable system without compromising on sound quality, flexibility, and power, Thompson chose DiGiCo S-Series consoles. The S21 and S31 consoles stood out for their excellent performance and favourable price point.
The consoles offered flexibility and various DMI cards allowed for seamless sharing of stage inputs between the FOH and monitor consoles, Thompson elaborates. Their compact design made them easy to transport between and in venues, and aligned perfectly with the production requirements. We didn't have any hesitation in recommending these consoles and, in fact, we ended up purchasing the S31 from Adlib for the tour as well.
The tour primarily played large theatres and music halls, including Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, G Live in Guildford, New Theatre in Oxford, Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, and Arena in Swansea, with seating capacities of up to 2,000 people. With 32 performances squeezed into a tight 57-day schedule, a large band, live vocalists and backing tracks, some weeks were particularly challenging, Thompson exclaims.
With DiGiCo consoles already in their inventory, Thompson highlights the value of the manufacturer's software and firmware upgrades, which have proven highly advantageous for the team. Upon acquiring the S31, they promptly updated both the S21 and S31 with the latest firmware, unlocking enhanced versions known as the S21 and S31 . These provided a significant boost in processing power and channel count, which proved invaluable for the Tubular Bells production.
Monitor engineer Sam Manigley, a long-time user of DiGiCo consoles, praised the S31's custom layout option, which allowed for quick and easy customisation. With 64 channels between him and FOH engineer Sam Ferstenberg, Manigley could manage multiple mixes, including IEMs and various groups. He found the console user-friendly and appreciated the intuitive and efficient setup created by Oscar.
I could easily add elements like a dedicated percussion section, making navigation a breeze. It's similar to using an iPad, with its smooth drag-and-drop functionality. The speed and efficiency it offers are fantastic, he notes. Along with 64 channels and five sets of IEMs, we also had personal mixers connected via the DMI card. I also provided stereo IEMs for the two percussionists and the bass player, who also served as a vocalist, along with my own PFL mix.
Manigley used Groups for percussion, cello, bass, guitars, piano. We also had stems from the QLab rig for click tracks. So, there was a lot going on, he explains.
A fan of live mixing, Manigley prefers a hands-on approach, finding that extensive changes in effects like reverb times are often unnecessary in rock and roll bands. Mixing on the fly, he relies on his intuition, using a set list and notes to keep everything in order, focussing on maintaining a natural flow and referring to his notes for consistency.
The main challenge for FOH engineer Ferstenberg was finding a setup that was suitable for touring, but worked within the time constraints. The S-Series provided us with a lightweight, plug and play' setup. The use of MADI, Dante and ME protocols was crucial as we ran physical inputs via a MADI-Rack and used a Little Red Box to split the signal to FOH and monitors, he explains.
A redundant Dante system was used for QLab playback and to send signal to the DQ20 amplifiers which had native Dante ports built in. The band's personal mixers were seamlessly integrated into the consoles. I also used the analogue ports on the S21 for local monitoring and talkback, as well as the built in UB-Madi port for multitrack recording and outboard effects processing. It was easy to route inputs and outputs to any of the protocols we were using across the system. I've never seen a console handle signal flow as efficiently as the DiGiCo S-Series! he says.
Ferstenberg was consistently impressed with the S-Series' functionality. The intuitiveness of the recall safe menu for each channel meant I had full control over what I wanted to change between scenes, he says and adds that this, combined with the auto-update feature, was extremely useful throughout rehearsals and into the run, meaning he could change scenes from track to track and know he had a consistent sounding starting point every time.
For busier sections, such as the iconic Master of Ceremonies', Ferstenberg already had the percussion and rhythm balanced exactly how he needed it, so he could focus on mixing the lead instruments.
Another useful feature w
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
14/07/2026
Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...
14/07/2026
Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...
14/07/2026
New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...
14/07/2026
ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...
14/07/2026
Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...
14/07/2026
Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA)
As broadcasters con...
This year saw the 50th anniversary of Tubular Bells, the iconic masterpiece created by the acclaimed British musician Mike Oldfield that was originally released in May 1973 as the first album on Virgin Records. To celebrate, Oldfield's creation was once again brought to life through a captivating tour spanning over 30 venues across the UK this spring. Spearheaded by Robin Smith, Mike Oldfield's collaborator and the musical director of the show, a mesmerising live rendition of Tubular Bells was performed by a talented ensemble of musicians. Show Works, a UK production company with an expertise in delivering immersive installations, musicals, tours, live streams and outdoor events, worked with the show's organisers to deliver an audio setup featuring a DiGiCo S21 console used by FOH engineer, Sam Ferstenberg, and S31 utilised for on-stage monitoring by Sam Manigley.
