LAS VEGAS - May 2014 -- Britney Spears is currently taking a break from touring, settling into a two-year residency on the Las Vegas Strip at Planet Hollywood's Axis theater, which was revamped for the purpose at a reported cost of $20 million with new staging, lighting, projection, and sound equipment, including a pair of DiGiCo digital audio mixing consoles. Britney: Piece of Me, which has already grossed nearly $18 million, brings a dance club atmosphere to the 4,600-seat theater, where the singer, backed by 14 dancers and a four-piece band, performs two-dozen hits from her 15-year career.
Marc Delcore, the show's musical director and keyboard player, appreciates the finesse with which veteran front-of-house engineer Robert Cubby Colby, using the DiGiCo SD10 console, is able to deliver every nuance of the band's performance to the audience. I spend as much time as I can during soundcheck with Cubby, reports Delcore, who joined Spears in early 2000 as a keyboard sound designer and programmer before first appearing onstage with her on the 2009 Circus tour. If I ask him to bump a track that might not be sitting where I need it, the flexibility to make that change but also keep what we just did is really important for me.
According to Colby, the DiGiCo console's snapshot functionality enables him to translate the tracks coming off stage, which have been carefully crafted by the musicians, to the audience. With the help of virtual soundcheck and snapshots I'm able to recall sequenced tracks that are a very big part of a show like this, especially a dance show, he says. Britney sings every song live, but there are additional tracks when they're doing the heavy dance numbers. Snapshots give Marc the security of knowing that these levels that they work on so hard translate to the live environment.
Britney pretty much has to stick to her script, but I have a lot of freedom to play different chords or different sounds, continues Delcore. Anything that the band throws at him, Cubby hears right away and he makes the adjustment. He catches everything and is able to make those adjustments with the console. It's important for him to be able to make those changes on the fly. He's such a great engineer.
Monitor engineer Johnny Balistrere, generating 42 sends to side fills and wedges for Spears and the dancers, with in-ear feeds for the band, had not previously used a DiGiCo console. Once he learned that he would be using an SD5, Balistrere spent some time on the phone with Matt Larson, national sales manager at Group One, DiGiCo's U.S. distributor, who also directed him to an online video tutorial. It's a great training video, says Balistrere. I was able to retain most of what I watched and apply it to this console. It's the most impressive, well-thought-out console I have ever used in my career. You can operate it with ease.
Balistrere continues, It's a very musical console. Certain things I want to be digital, certain things I want to be analog. The fact that I can customize digital and analog sounds in my mixes, separating inputs into a digital head amp or putting a DigiTube [tube emulation] on and making it a little more gritty, is one of the greatest features.
By chaining effects, Balistrere is also able to deliver significant sound pressure levels to Spears' wedges without having to worry about feedback, he says. With condenser mics and headsets, I'll take a vocal and send it to five or six effects, turn the sends down, and use them as vocal boosts with minimal effect. I'm able to get 112 or 113 dB, A-weighted, three feet from the wedges with her Crown CM-311A headset mic without even a hint of feedback. I'd never experienced that in my life until I used a DiGiCo console.
Balistrere prefers to fix problem inputs at the source rather than use subtractive EQ. But with the DiGiCo console I find I'm running even flatter EQs than I was previously in other consoles. So I can experiment more with my mic technique and placement, and not have to go right to the EQ section and cut it. It's a very easy, precise, smooth console. I've got to say, it's hard to go back to anything else!
Julio Valdez, systems engineer and designer for 3G Productions the rental house that supplied the show's DiGiCo desks and d&b loudspeaker system notes that the SD10 and SD5 were the natural choices for this massive production that is nightly drawing capacity crowds. The sheer number of channels, pristine 96K sound, and ease of use were all huge factors in making these consoles the right gear for the job, he says. They say you're only as good as your tools, but I really must compliment Cubby on the consistently exceptional mix he's providing. He really makes the SD10 shine and I know he's very happy with DiGiCo, as we all are.
Cubby agrees: "My relationship with DiGiCo goes back to the companys inception and I can honestly say that out of all of the digital consoles available to musical productions and mixers around the world, DiGiCo holds the key to undisputed audio quality and function. And with spill sets and other new features, the company continues to set the bar even higher. I love the SD10.
I also have to give a lot of credit to Marc Delcore, he adds. To be able to work on pursuing the best possible musical experience and audio quality with a musical director and keyboard player of his caliber really benefits this whole production. The same can be said of production manager Jason Danter, who has worked with Lady Gaga, Beyonc and many others. Music is the number one focus of this production, and it has been a pleasure to be part of a show with such great audio facilities and a band that really cares about how it sounds.
Britney: Piece of Me began its most recent leg on April 25. Fol
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
08/10/2026
Calrec will be located at Booth 444.
Freedom to choose
The media landscape is evolving quickly, and the broadcasters best placed for what comes next will be...
08/10/2026
LiveU has announced that CRD Audiovisuel relied on LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit, with built-in native LiveU IQ (LIQ ) connectivity, to deliver live...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
LAS VEGAS - May 2014 -- Britney Spears is currently taking a break from touring, settling into a two-year residency on the Las Vegas Strip at Planet Hollywood's Axis theater, which was revamped for the purpose at a reported cost of $20 million with new staging, lighting, projection, and sound equipment, including a pair of DiGiCo digital audio mixing consoles. Britney: Piece of Me, which has already grossed nearly $18 million, brings a dance club atmosphere to the 4,600-seat theater, where the singer, backed by 14 dancers and a four-piece band, performs two-dozen hits from her 15-year career.
