
Ancienne Belgique first opened its doors in 1994 and underwent a massive two-year renovation to create a multi-purpose musical hub. Today, it boasts a superbly kitted out 2,000-capacity main hall; the club, which is a great sounding 280-capacity room dedicated to bands on the circuit as well as the Brussels local scene; and a state-of-the-art recording studio.
All of our crew are capable of doing everything, and what's nice is that we are also interchangeable between the main hall and the club, opens Ancienne Belgique's technical manager Mark Vrebos. For example, a rock and roll show might be all-standing and full to the brim,but if we have jazz music we might choose to make it all seated, or half and half. We can also bring the capacity of the main hall down from 2,000 to 800 if needed. It's basically a very versatile space. Then we have the club, which is a fantastic place for local acts to showcase their talents.
We knew we wouldn't be able to use our good old analogue boards forever; we keep them alive, and we still use them because it's good to have both options. But it was getting more and more difficult, and we didn't want to wait until it was too late to make a digital investment Vrebos explains. Today, we absolutely need digital. Sometimes we're doing festivals with five bands on stage, all of them doing a soundcheck, so that is not going to work if we're analogue! And the age of engineers is changing too, so we have found the demand for digital is way higher than it used to be at festivals and shows.
In addition to the sonic quality that comes with a DiGiCo, it was the familiarity of the brand with travelling engineers that drew Ancienne Belgique to opt for them.
In my experience everyone knows a DiGiCo, so when they see one they're happy and everyone knows at least the basics of how a DiGiCo works, reveals Vrebos. I also really love the analogue channel strip feel - the whole top down' thing. It stays with analogue logic, top to bottom, and that is extremely important to me. And then there's the flexibility of the consoles - the fact you can do anything on them, and that they're so fast to navigate.
The SD12 was chosen for its high power, functionality, and small footprint.
All DiGiCo desks have that reliability, but the fact that the SD12 is more recent, with newer technology, was very appealing. That was the idea behind investing in it Vrebos continues. Also, the new 32-bit preamps are built into the SD12, which are incredible sounding; the noise floor is now so low, and you get a cleaner, better overall sonic, and a way cleaner signal to noise ratio, which is very important. And, of course, the small footprint makes them ideal.
Ancient Belgique is very important in the Belgian scene, and across Europe: think Paradiso in Amsterdam, or London's Aventim Apollo. But what is particularly impressive about the place as an organisation is its unparalleled commitment to Brussels's grassroots artists.
Every year, we try to raise money from the local government to help some of our young bands make an inroad into the music business. That could be putting on a gig, providing a space to rehearse, or offering the use of our recording studio. We also have a full camera system, so we have helped bands with promo videos, too. Basically, we try to adapt to whatever they need Vrebos concludes. Artists and engineers really enjoy playing here due to our setup and production managers also love coming here. They know that we have everything they could possibly need and that they're going to get a great sound thanks to our great PA systems and fantastic sounding consoles. It's quite rare that a venue like this can guarantee that.
Press Contacts:
Maria Fiorellino at DiGiCo
Tel: +44 1372 845600
Email: maria@digiconsoles.com
Web: www.digico.biz
Sarah James at Gasoline Media
Tel: +44 1483 223333
Email: sarahj@gasolinemedia.com
More from DiGiCo
01/06/2025
Known for its avant-garde productions, the Musical Theatre in Toru took on the ambitious task of presenting Jesus Christ Superstar in a format never before see...
01/06/2025
Known for its avant-garde productions, the Musical Theatre in Toru took on the ambitious task of presenting Jesus Christ Superstar in a format never before see...
01/06/2025
NEW YORK CITY - June 2025 - To honor the legacy of the Allman Brothers Band, godfathers of Southern Rock, the musical supergroup known as The Brothers recently ...
01/06/2025
The theatre's nightly performances are not limited to a single genre and span a full spectrum of theatrical, dance and musical performance. Sound engineer, ...
01/06/2025
LOS ANGELES, California - June 2025 - In just a few short years, Benson Boone has gone from a brief stint on American Idol and his first chart-topping single to...
01/05/2025
The brand-new Danish translation of We Will Rock You opened in the Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen ahead of a nationwide tour, and is produced by Lion Enterta...
01/05/2025
CLINTON, Mississippi - May 2025 - Morrison Heights Baptist Church is everything you'd expect from its name: theologically conventional and traditionally ori...
01/05/2025
The venue's size ensures that every audience member has a perfect view of the stage, but it also means that every piece of equipment must earn its place and...
01/05/2025
The tour is all about letting every audience member really enjoy the music, Li Wenhao, Senior Product Manager of RAC, Technical support for the FUN! ONLY tour ...
01/05/2025
ESCONDIDO, California - May 2025 - Multi-Grammy-winner Lenny Kravitz is currently on the US leg of his Blue Electric Light tour, which kicked off in Europe in J...
01/05/2025
Prochazka knows the power of relationships, so it has always been important to him that ATEC Pro be renowned for more than just supplying great equipment. Becom...
01/05/2025
With my previous console, Freeman recalls, I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an op...
01/04/2025
Organized by the Association of Audio-Video Producers and the Phonographic Academy, this huge celebration of Polish music took place in three different cities. ...
01/04/2025
Organized by the Association of Audio-Video Producers and the Phonographic Academy, this huge celebration of Polish music took place in three different cities. ...
01/04/2025
Nina is an incredible artist, and I'm truly grateful to be part of her journey, Plaschke explains. I used the Quantum 338 throughout the year, for both th...
01/04/2025
COSTA MESA, California - April 2025 - The 2004 comedy-drama The Terminal had Tom Hanks' character trapped in New York's JFK airport due to a diplomatic ...
01/04/2025
Wilkinson has worked with Craig David since 2013. For him, choosing DiGiCo is all about flexibility. Working with an artist who is performing across a wide rang...
01/04/2025
Luna Park is a historic venue and occupies a special place in the hearts and minds of Argentinians. It was built in 1932 on the site of the Luna Park open-air s...
01/04/2025
Ampli, the primary AV supplier for the Clouseau tour, delivered an extensive ran...
01/04/2025
LOS ANGELES - April 2025 - After a seven-year hiatus, two-time Grammy Award winners Linkin Park are back on the road. Their 50-plus-show From Zero World Tour wi...
01/04/2025
The Quantum 338's ease of use and bright screens are a welcome upgrade and perfect over the summer for outdoor concerts, Collis says. When we are travelin...
01/04/2025
Polesi ski made a name for himself early in his career. Renowned for his attention to detail and ability to mix his creative and technical skills, Polesi ski st...
01/03/2025
CHESSINGTON, UK - March 31, 2025 - DiGiCo's mixing consoles have long been praised for many reasons, including their pristine sound, intuitive operation, an...
01/03/2025
The Mazowsze Auditorium is housed in the Karolin complex, which offers a full cultural experience. There is everything from hotels to education on site, with th...
01/03/2025
NEW YORK CITY - March 2025 - A 50th anniversary is a once-in-a-lifetime milestone, but in the fleeting world of television, even a decade on air is a rare achie...
01/03/2025
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pennsylvania - March 2025 - Delaware County Christian School in southeastern Pennsylvania has undergone the initial phase of a major refresh of ...
01/03/2025
LONG BEACH, California - March 2025 - Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center's Terrace Theater is said to hold a special place in the hearts of comedi...
01/03/2025
I love the Quantum 225 and 338, Clements explains. Their size is just right, the frames are easy to manoeuvre into any venue, and the small FOH footprint and ...
01/03/2025
It was the start of a new cycle and a new era in terms of venue sizes, Pike recalls. Solotech were able to help us out in terms of budget, so for our first gi...
01/02/2025
Radzimir D bski, professionally known as JIMEK, is a composer and conductor, well known for blending classical sounds with modern music genres. His Subclassics ...
01/02/2025
WEST POINT, New York - February 2025 - The Eisenhower Hall Theatre on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point is celebrating its 50th an...
01/02/2025
OAKLAND, California - February 2025 - Oakland, California-born Kehlani recently embarked on the third and final leg of their Crash World Tour, which, since Sept...
01/02/2025
2024 was Afrikaans is Groot's biggest year yet, boasting nine shows over two weekends, with over 70,000 people enjoying the spectacular cultural experience....
01/02/2025
As a child, Daniela knew she wanted to be involved in the live music industry. She loved music but was not keen on performing. Watching a gig at 13, she caught...
01/02/2025
The show is very heavy on Snapshots and MIDI recalls. Dilijit is very active on social media, so we use a lot of busses, too, Narayan explains. The console re...
01/02/2025
Touring arena sized venues is a massive logistical undertaking and juggling a mixture of full production shows and fly-ins means that finding the path to consis...
01/02/2025
BARCELONA, Spain - ISE stand #7F300 - February 2025 - It's no secret that many of Broadway's and West End's largest theatrical houses steadfastly ch...
01/01/2025
North joins DiGiCo following an extensive career in the audio industry. He trained at the University of Salford, gaining a BA in Popular Music and Recording wit...
01/01/2025
The DiGiCo S31 is favoured by engineers from all over the world because of the power and flexibility housed within the compact frame that offers three 10-inch t...
01/01/2025
ANAHEIM, California - January 2025 - NAMM Stand #17901, ACC North Level 2 - When Fourier Audio's transform.engine began shipping to sound reinforcement comp...
01/01/2025
FARMINGDALE, New York - January 2025 - Long Island, New York-based Group One Limited, the US distributor for DiGiCo, Solid State Logic, Calrec, KLANG, Fourier A...
01/01/2025
Ben Evans has been Audio Operations Manager since 2021. He was part of the team who instigated the Hall's first in-house audio team and is well placed to un...
01/12/2024
CERRITOS, California - December 2024 - Who says local governments can't get big projects done and done right? The City of Cerritos, California is the owner ...
01/12/2024
Cantonese Opera is one of the traditional Chinese opera genres, with a history spanning more than 300 years. The art-form is popular in the area of Zhujiang Riv...
01/12/2024
BERGEN, Norway - December 2024 - From the 2013 release of his remix of Ed Sheeran's track, I See Fire, chased by his own hit, Firestone featuring Conrad...
01/12/2024
Like all houses of worship, The Crossing, a 1,400-seat Christian church in Columbia, Missouri, seeks to craft a clear and consistent message for its visitors an...
01/11/2024
We introduced our SD8 back in 2012, updating the SD with a 32-bit card in 2019, so when the time came to upgrade our system, we asked various people about the Q...
01/11/2024
We introduced our SD8 back in 2012, updating the SD with a 32-bit card in 2019, so when the time came to upgrade our system, we asked various people about the Q...
01/11/2024
SOUTH KOREA - November 2024 - The words Sold Out appear next to every single date on the schedule of The first HOWL tour for Japanese-born/South Korea-based g...
01/11/2024
The DiGiCo Quantum 338 is a powerful digital mixing console with 128 input channels, 64 aux/subgroups and a 24 x 24 full processing matrix. Based on seventh gen...