DiGiCo D5 - live board

[slaves666]

I got a last minute call to mix a band, 2 nights on a Digico D5 board. What I though was going to be a painful experience turned into one of the best live gigs I've done.

Now if only I could get something like this in my studio.....

DiGiCo - Professional Digital Console

[Remoteness]

Yes, DiGiCo make awesome products.

I wonder how many replies you would have received to date if your original post was placed in this forum instead of the one you placed it in?

Have you used the D5 on other gigs since 2007?
If so, how did it go?

[jeremyglover]

i find digico to be the hardest or should i say, the least intuitive of the digi boards. the digidesign ones, i just stare at the screen play with plug ins and get bored. i thought the allen and heath one was cool (ilive) and the soundcraft i6 was ok too.

i'd still rather have a midas and a gang of outboard though,
then i can do 2 things at once and not page/page/page

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by passivepeter

i find digico to be the hardest or should i say, the least intuitive of the digi boards. the digidesign ones, i just stare at the screen play with plug ins and get bored. i thought the allen and heath one was cool (ilive) and the soundcraft i6 was ok too.

i'd still rather have a midas and a gang of outboard though,
then i can do 2 things at once and not page/page/page

Ha ha, heard that.

[Roland]

I own a Digidesign Venue, and would say that the learning curve is pretty steep as there are so many things that you can do with it. With the greatest respect, there are things I can do that I wouldn't dream of with the Midas, because you couldn't keep up with the workload. Couple that with the fact that the Venue's onboard effects are stunning, scene recall, virtual soundcheck, etc, there is little wonder that digital boards are the order of the day.

Regards


Roland

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by Roland

I own a Digidesign Venue, and would say that the learning curve is pretty steep as there are so many things that you can do with it. With the greatest respect, there are things I can do that I wouldn't dream of with the Midas, because you couldn't keep up with the workload. Couple that with the fact that the Venue's onboard effects are stunning, scene recall, virtual soundcheck, etc, there is little wonder that digital boards are the order of the day.

Regards


Roland

The thing I like is the USB memory stick settings saving and instant recall. That alone is enough. But the Midas sounds soooo much better, "to my ears".

[Roland]

Originally Posted by memphisindie

The thing I like is the USB memory stick settings saving and instant recall. That alone is enough. But the Midas sounds soooo much better, "to my ears".

I don't know how, the mic amps in the Digidesign are great, I've done quite a few recordings with the console and I can't fault the sound quality at all. I like the Midas, probably the best analogue live desk, but it's not the best sounding desk I've ever used. I own some Crookwood I-pre's and there about as up-market as you can get, but the Venue's are not disgraced alongside them. Interestingly I believe that the analogue EQ model used on the Venue is supposed to be based on the XL4, personally I prefer their digital eq setting, once you get used to it, I haven't found anything that I couldn't do with it.

Obviously YMMV.

Regards


Roland

[bishopthomas]

Is this really going to turn into yet ANOTHER digital vs. analog thread? I was kind of hoping to read about the D5...

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by Roland

I don't know how, the mic amps in the Digidesign are great, I've done quite a few recordings with the console and I can't fault the sound quality at all. I like the Midas, probably the best analogue live desk, but it's not the best sounding desk I've ever used. I own some Crookwood I-pre's and there about as up-market as you can get, but the Venue's are not disgraced alongside them. Interestingly I believe that the analogue EQ model used on the Venue is supposed to be based on the XL4, personally I prefer their digital eq setting, once you get used to it, I haven't found anything that I couldn't do with it.

Obviously YMMV.

Regards


Roland

They should have modeled it on the XL3.

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

Is this really going to turn into yet ANOTHER digital vs. analog thread? I was kind of hoping to read about the D5...

Oh, heck no, the D5 is awesome, sounds great, works like a charm. Industry leader.

[Roland]

The Digico stuff is great, but I am suprised that some people prefer it over the Venue, I've used both and recorded with both, my point has always been with the Digidesign that there isn't any sonic compromise over what is considered state of the art today, that coupled with it's effects capability and plugins, really makes it a no-brainer.

Whenever people talk about consoles where bands are actually taking their own console around with them, more and more go Venue, being used to it, I'm not at all surprised. I reckon if I spent an hour with any engineer with decent ears, showing them what Venue sounds like and what it can do they would be a convert, it's simply that good.

Regards


Roland

[jude]

i pick the PM5drh as my fav live digital desk.
everything works just like in the studio with a DM2000.
fav feature is using all channel faders to control the selected graphic EQ
the on board effects are awesome (spx2000 algos)

and basically i think it looks pretty damn cool!

[fifthcircle]

Roland- I know you really like the Venue, but I would respectfully disagree on the sound of that versus the DiGiCo offerings.

I have used the Venue for some stuff where fidelity was key and I was really unhappy with the sound. The internal summing was fine and having plugins was great. However, bugs in the software asside (DiGiCo has its issues at times as well), I was quite unhappy with the analog front end on it. We ended up with mic pres on stage for everyting to get it where it needed to sound. The difference in quality of sound between the pres and the lack of pres was nothing short of staggering.

Most consoles can use the upgrade in sound, but I've found the DiGiCo offerings to need the upgrade less...

In the end, however, to each their own.

--Ben

[Remoteness]

The DiGiCo desks I've used sounded very good to my ear.
I was very impressed with the sonic quality of the D5.

[bossaroel]

having used both Digico systems and Digidesign Venue systems on a regular basis I have to say that I clearly prefer Digico for it's preamps and overall sound. Especially the new SD series.

French singer Julien Clerc is touring with a Venue system but exchanged the preamps for Aphex 1788 which go digitally into the stagerack and the FOH engineer told me it was a huge upgrade soundwise.

In my experience the Venue system is a little more stable software wise. And I like the ability to use all kinds of plugins although I often have the feeling that plugins are overused (too many fancy compressors on channels / groups / masters = lifeless and boring sound).

And IMHO a digital desk which sounds as good as a Midas XL4 still has to be built (or I haven't heard it yet...).

Roel

[memphisindie]

Originally Posted by bossaroel

having used both Digico systems and Digidesign Venue systems on a regular basis I have to say that I clearly prefer Digico for it's preamps and overall sound. Especially the new SD series.

French singer Julien Clerc is touring with a Venue system but exchanged the preamps for Aphex 1788 which go digitally into the stagerack and the FOH engineer told me it was a huge upgrade soundwise.

In my experience the Venue system is a little more stable software wise. And I like the ability to use all kinds of plugins although I often have the feeling that plugins are overused (too many fancy compressors on channels / groups / masters = lifeless and boring sound).

And IMHO a digital desk which sounds as good as a Midas XL4 still has to be built (or I haven't heard it yet...).

Roel

Gotta agree on all counts. Haven't knowingly heard the venue, have heard a LOT of Digico, me likey the Digico. I found it to be a very short learning curve from my normal analogue and PT background.

[Roland]

These are off a Digidesign.

Jonathan Bratoeff Quartet.mp3

Clown Revisited.mp3

[LX3]

And by far the most disappointing FOH mix I recorded at Bestival was off a Venue.

That doesn't mean the Venue is bad. I just think a lot of the perceived quality differences between live consoles are more to do with the rest of the system (and what you do on to board in an effort to compensate for the system) than the boards themselves.

Until you can compare boards side-by-side, with lots of channels going, and preferably with studio monitoring rather than over a PA, I think it's hard to make a true comparison.

(Although I'm quite prepared to believe that changing preamps improved the sound of whatever)

Anyhow, that's my 2c. At the end of the day, thank heavens different people like different consoles, because otherwise there'd be no competition.

[Roland]

Hi Lx3, Of course it does depend on who's on the board. It's virtually impossible to make quantifiable judgements on mic amps via a PA. My only gripes about the Venue are, the initial settings of the eq, (the flat default's are all over the place) and I would like 16 aux's yet still be able to retain the 8 stereo groups.

The good stuff? The effects are pro-tools based and great quality, you instantly recognize the reverb sounds as you hear them all over records all the time, it's really quiet, noise is beautifully under control, virtual soundcheck, intergration with Pro-Tools and pure sound quality. I've done quite a bit of recording with it so have been able to take it away from a PA environment and listen back to the sound and it's pristine.

Regards


Roland

[jude]

Originally Posted by bossaroel

And IMHO a digital desk which sounds as good as a Midas XL4 still has to be built (or I haven't heard it yet...).

Roel

the XL8 isnt too far from it

[Jim vanBergen]

I made the mistake of mixing on a Venue on version 1.x software. What a mistake. I have only liked the sound of the desk since v2.1; but for the life of me, no one at digi will explain exactly what they changed in the software that sounds so much better to me.

I prefer the Profile over the Venue personally, for space and ergonomics. I do like having all my normal PT plugs available, but they are still only plugs.

The DiGiCo D1 and D5 boards sound great at 48k, the SD7 and SD8 are a major step forward. I am happy to use any of these products and find them very neutral mix surfaces to deal with, very robust, and intuitive to deal with. For patch, routing, Aux & EQ changes- this desk is super fast. I have mixed several hundred shows on D5s and about thirty on D1s, fewer on Profile/Venues and far more on PM5Ds due to availability.

The DiGiCo desks are also a real pleasure to do 5.1 post mixes on.

Having said all that- I like the Studer Vista a WHOLE lot which no one has mentioned, their live software is now a whole lot improved in the last 18 months... and feel that the Studer and DiGiCo platforms are as good and neutral sounding as a really good analog desk without the ability to overdrive the THD for a nice warm sound, like you could on an XL3. But I do own an SSL buss comp and Neve 5042 "tape path", which does better job making a live mix sound more like the record (SSL glue + tape warmth & compression) in my mix chain, when I absolutely have to have it.

Nice thread!

[MidasHatesGold]

mixed with the digico sd8...

outperforms evry yammy desk.

but.... to much colours

[Steven1145]

Anybody interested in my Digico DS00 for a fixed install? Just asking, you never know

[VCA-MAN]

Originally Posted by passivepeter

i find digico to be the hardest or should i say, the least intuitive of the digi boards. the digidesign ones, i just stare at the screen play with plug ins and get bored. i thought the allen and heath one was cool (ilive) and the soundcraft i6 was ok too.

i'd still rather have a midas and a gang of outboard though,
then i can do 2 things at once and not page/page/page

I agree, although it can be hard to pull off during the festival season with 48
inputs or more. I prefer the Digi profile in this situation.