Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

DiGiCo Desks Are Unbreakable On the Road with Janet Jackson

01/11/2015

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - November 2015 -- Janet Jackson embarked on a major world tour at the end of August, hitting the road on the initial North American leg with audio production provided by VER Tour Sound, including a pair of DiGiCo SD7 consoles, at front-of-house and monitors. At the end of September, StubHub announced that the early dates, in support of Jackson's new No. 1 album, Unbreakable, placed the tour among the top 10 hottest concerts of the fall season based on sales through the online ticket marketplace.

The non-stop Unbreakable show, which features over 30 songs in just over 90 minutes, generates 109 inputs, including Pro Tools tracks, to the two DiGiCo desks. Even with all those sources, Kyle Hamilton, Jackson's FOH engineer since her previous tour, in 2011, has no need for additional outboard effects. I've always stayed away from using extra outboard stuff, just because I don't need it. Everything I need in a desk is already there. If I need a nice tap delay, it has it. If I need a standard verb, it has it, he says. In addition to the SD7 he is also using a DiGiGrid MGB coaxial MADI interface to record to a laptop for subsequent virtual soundchecks.

He likes to keep things simple, he continues. Reverbs are for when you're in a sterile environment, to create atmosphere and ambience. I just add the stuff that makes it cohesive for the environment that we're in. My goal is to mix to make it sound like the record with a live feel. That particular method has kept me working for the last 22 years.

Hamilton, who is only carrying four outboard mic preamps for vocals and bass in addition to the console, continues, I have a high-powered desk, the SD7, and the desk itself sounds great. What I'm getting from the band sounds great. Our Pro Tools is incredible and the stems are all amazing, because we take time to go through all of that meticulously. So I don't need to add extra processing.

He adds, Pro Tools is the sixth band member. If you break it down to a five-piece band it sounds empty if you don't have all the elements there. The meat of everything comes from our band; the sweetness comes from Pro Tools.

Hamilton has worked with a who's who of major artists, including Pharrell Williams, Wale, A$AP Rocky, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Demi Lovato, Prince, Toni Braxton, R. Kelly, Nicki Minaj, Jamie Foxx and many, many others, over the course of more than two decades. He has been using DiGiCo consoles since 2008, when he took a D5 out on a Lionel Richie tour. I've used them all: SD5, SD10, SD11; from the biggest to the smallest. I know the DiGiCo family very well, he says.

Monitor engineer Jim Roach, whose resume includes Guns N' Roses for the last three years, Maxwell, Jill Scott, Brian McKnight, Joe Cocker and Keyshia Cole, among others, is another longtime DiGiCo fan. I've been using DiGiCo since 2010, maybe a little before, and I used a D5 in 2007. The audio quality is stellar, he says. With other digital consoles, I sometimes find myself missing the old analog sound, but DiGiCo happens to have a sound that I love.

Roach feeds 44 outputs to Jackson and the five band members drums, bass, guitar, keyboards and a DJ and the three background vocalists, all on in-ears, plus nine dancers, on side fills, as well as the production and technical crew. The DiGiCo console has proved to be very useful on this project, as the musicians experimented with different instrumentation and song arrangements during the extensive rehearsal period, he reports.

It's the most flexible console I've ever used, says Roach. On a show like this that changed and evolved over the course of 10 weeks of rehearsals they were trying out different ideas it was great to be able to change the console around every other day to meet the new configurations.

The Unbreakable World Tour is currently scheduled through the end of June 2016. The current North American leg is followed by several dates in Japan. Following a brief hiatus over the holiday season the tour will resume in January 2016 in the US before heading to Europe in late March, returning in May for more shows in the US and Canada.

For details on Janet Jackson's concert itinerary, visit www.janetjackson.com/tour. VER Tour Sound can likewise be found online at www.verrents.com.

DiGiCo Press Contacts

David Webster at DiGiCo

Tel: +44 1372 845600

Email: webby@DiGiConsoles.com

Chris Shuler at Public Address

Tel: +1 269 815 5055

Email: christophershuler@comcast.net

Images:

1) JanetJackson_KyleHamiltonSD7FOH.jpg Kyle Hamilton at the Unbreakable tour's DiGiCo SD7 FOH desk

2) JanetJackson_JimRoachSD7MON.jpg Monitor Engineer Jim Roach mans the monitor mix on an SD7
LINK: http://www.digico.biz/docs/latest_news/EuuZFkZluuVimCOHBz.shtml...
See more stories from digico

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

09/07/2026

Omaha Productions Goes All-In as World Series of Poker Main Event Returns to ESPN

With 50+ cameras, three trucks, 60+ EVS channels, RFID hole-card workflows, and ...

09/07/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Dana Shearer, Syracuse University

A recent graduate from Westchester, NY, this experienced technician has already started her first gig in the industry, as a REMI A2 Comms Specialist at ESPN In...

09/07/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Lightcasts Andreas Kisslinger on the Role of Automation, Cloud-Based Workflows in Streaming

Live sports production is a fast-paced industry with no signs of slowing down. W...

09/07/2026

TV Skyline, thinXpool, DMC Production Collaborate on Deutsche Telekom's World Cup From NYC

From a rooftop studio in Manhattan, multiple Germany-based companies share respo...

09/07/2026

FOX One and Overtime Announce Creator Series Race to Glory for FIFA World Cup 2026

Overtime has announced a content partnership with FOX One to produce Race to Glo...

09/07/2026

Ross Production Services Standardizes on Clear-Com Intercom Across Mobile Production Fleet

Clear-Com has announced that Ross Production Services (RPS) has standardized on ...

09/07/2026

NetApp Returns as Presenting Partner of 2026 NFL Madrid Game

The NFL has announced that NetApp will return as Presenting Partner of the NFL Madrid Game, featuring the Atlanta Falcons against the Cincinnati Bengals at the ...

09/07/2026

The R&A and Cisco Announce Multi-Year Network Infrastructure Partnership

The R&A and Cisco have announced a multi-year partnership making Cisco the Official Network Supplier of The R&A and its Championships. Cisco will deploy AI-read...

09/07/2026

Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach, and LTN Complete Live Syndication of 25 Words or Less LIVE

Fox Television Stations, Extreme Reach (XR), and LTN have announced the completi...

09/07/2026

Wynn Records Launches Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Platform Powered by Kiswe

Kiswe has announced a partnership with Wynn Records to launch the Wynn Records Network streaming platform, debuting Saturday, July 11 with a Salita Promotions b...

09/07/2026

NEP Europe Announces Multi-Year Agreement as Wimbledon Broadcast Services Provider

NEP Europe has announced a new multi-year agreement with Wimbledon Broadcast Ser...

09/07/2026

Thropic Games Raises Pre-Seed Round Led by The Famous Group

Thropic Games, a company offering casual mobile games tied to fan fundraising for sports programs, has announced a pre-seed funding round led by The Famous Grou...

09/07/2026

Game Creek Video Purchases 10 Grass Valley K-Frame Switchers for Fleet Expansion

Game Creek Video has reached an agreement with Grass Valley to purchase 10 K-Frame production switchers as part of a two-year fleet expansion. Two systems have ...

09/07/2026

Gravity Media Powers ITVs FIFA World Cup Coverage with Three-Hub Remote Production

Gravity Media is delivering a three-hub remote production workflow for ITV's...

09/07/2026

Report: North American Broadcast Journalists Spend Up to 75% of Time on Technical Workflows

A new report from Quickplay and Caretta Research, The Broadcaster Revolution Wi...

09/07/2026

DAZN to Broadcast Esports World Cup Free to Global Audiences

DAZN, the world's leading sports entertainment platform, has announced a long-term strategic partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation to serve as t...

09/07/2026

YES Networks Mike Webb on Finding Opportunity for Innovation in Live Regional Sports Production

The regional sports network is staying busy this summer with broadcasts of the N...

09/07/2026

Universal Audio Black Box HG-2 & elysia karacter

Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...

09/07/2026

Neumann launch U 47 FET Bon Scott Edition

Limited-edition mic celebrates rock icon Neumann have partnered with the Bon Scott Estate to create a limited-edition version of the U 47 FET that honours b...

09/07/2026

Plugin Station: Plug-in management software

Handles organisation, updates, troubleshooting & more Created by pro-audio software developer Julian Worden, Plugin Station from Julian Michael Technologies...

09/07/2026

LANDR expand Fair Trade AI programme

Introduces new $1 million advance programme LANDR have just announced the next phase of their Fair Trade AI programme, a pioneering opt-in music-licensing p...

09/07/2026

Spitfire Audio expand low-cost Originals range

Four new titles now available Spitfire Audio have just introduced four new titles in their Originals range, bringing the total count of libraries in the low...

09/07/2026

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion

SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion 9 July, 2026 Media releases SBS acknowledges the gravity of the matters before the Roy...

09/07/2026

Press Release: NFVF Sixth Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP6) Status Update

08 July 2026, Johannesburg - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...

09/07/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G

Blackmagic Design Announces New UltraStudio Express 3G Brie Clayton July 9, 2026 0 Comments New extremely portable capture and playback models with 3G...

09/07/2026

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for NetConnect+ Plans

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card Management Platform for ...

09/07/2026

Hong Kong Jockey Club Expands Intercom Infrastructure Wit...

Riedel Communications today announced that the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC), one of Asia's most prestigious horse racing organizations, has significantly up...

09/07/2026

Game Creek Video Switches On Next-Gen Production with K-F...

Leading North American mobile production facility provider standardizes on Grass Valley's fully IP-native K-Frame production switchers for its fleet of next...

09/07/2026

Miri Introduces Self-Service Cellular Data and SIM Card M...

Miri Technologies Inc. is rolling out a new online portal that provides customers and resellers with self-serve management tools and usage analytics for the com...

09/07/2026

Beeble Introduces AI-Driven SwitchHDR Converter

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/07/2026

DP Aakash Subramaniam Chooses ZEISS Supreme and Nano Prim...

Cinematographer Aakash Subramaniam, WICA faced a conceptual challenge: how could he make a film about dying that doesn't feel like one? The film, Our Weird...

09/07/2026

Enjoy Gigafast speeds and Ultimate TV pack for less

Thursday 9 July 2026 Enjoy Gigafast speeds and Ultimate TV pack for less The latest deals have dropped from Sky TV and Sky Broadband, the award-winning provid...

09/07/2026

Local campaigns with impact

Hands up who would like to dress up as a giant crisp packet? The call that went out across the agency as our anti-litter campaign, Wish you weren't here fo...

09/07/2026

GeForce NOW Turns Up the Heat With New GeForce RTX 5080-Powered Toronto Server

This GFN Thursday brings more games, more power and more ways to play on GeForce NOW. The cloud gaming service is expanding with a new GeForce RTX 5080-powere...

08/07/2026

Aqueduct Racetrack Goes Silent

The end of the Big A' marks the demise of one more iconic sports venue and its signature sound After 132 years as one of the preeminent horse-racing track...

08/07/2026

Memphis Athletics, Learfield Continue Long-Term Partnership

Memphis Athletics and Learfield have signed a long-term renewal to their 25-year relationship, which sees Learfield's Tiger Sports Properties continue repre...

08/07/2026

T-Mobile Brings ABS Challenge System, 5G Batting Practice Cams to 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia

MLB All-Star Week returns to Philadelphia for the first time in 30 years as Amer...

08/07/2026

SVG Enterprise Launches Inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, Oct. 19 in New York

Former Wall Street Video event expanded to include all Enterprise sectors SVG Enterprise has announced the inaugural Enterprise Video Summit, taking place Oct....

08/07/2026

Wrigley Field Revamp: Chicago Cubs Upgrade LED Videoboards To Match New 1080p Control Room

An offseason project enhanced eight video displays around the venue in time for ...

08/07/2026

A Beacon on Biscayne Bay: Miami Heat Reflect on Ambitious Renovation at SVG Venues & Teams Summit

Kaseya Center has a ton of new features that weren't available to the indust...

08/07/2026

FIPRESCI Establishes Jury at Sundance Film Festival

The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the Sundance Film Festival are pleased to announce the establishment of a FIPRESCI jury beginning wi...

08/07/2026

Universal Audio introduce Black Box HG-2 & elysia karacter

Latest analogue-emulation plug-ins revealed Universal Audio have just added two new analogue-emulation plug-ins to their DSP-powered UAD line-up. Developed ...

08/07/2026

Pitch Innovations release Loop2Kit

Turn any audio loop into a playable kit Pitch Innovations have recently introduced an interesting new tool that's capable of creating playable kits from...

08/07/2026

MonkeyC update Rando sampler plug-in

Adds new keyboard-split function MonkeyC have recently launched an update that overhauls their powerful software sampler. Described as the sampler that mad...

08/07/2026

Strymon unveil the TimeLine MX

Four new delay algorithms & dual-engine functionality Strymon have just announced that the much-anticipated MX version of their hugely popular delay pedal i...

08/07/2026

Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup on SBS

Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup on SBS 7 July, 2026 Media releases Australia's Round of 32 match against Egypt a...

08/07/2026

SBS and Koorie Heritage Trust announce three-year partnership to celebrate First Nations cultures and communities

SBS and Koorie Heritage Trust announce three-year partnership to celebrate First...