DiGiCo Launches SD11 Console

DiGiCo has launched the SD11 console last week at NAB. The SD11 is designed to be equally at home as a desktop console or mounted in a 19" rack. By simply removing the end cheeks and armrest, 19" rack fixings are revealed, making it straightforward to incorporate the SD11 into any touring or installation environment.

Manufactured with a steel chassis for strength and a polycarbonate-overlaid, aluminum work surface for reduced weight, the SD11 features 12 touch sensitive moving faders below a 15" touch sensitive screen. Sixteen microphone pre amps, eight line outputs and two mono AES I/O are provided; in addition to which users have the option to connect a DiGiCo D-Rack to the CAT5E port. This provides a remote I/O rack frame with an additional 32 microphone inputs and up to 16 outputs. Further connections are a MADI port, GPI/O, MIDI, overview screen output, word clock I/O, an Ethernet port for console remote control / networking, and a USB port for file exchange and session backup.

The SD11 features 32 input channels with full processing, eight of which can be configured as full Flexi Channels. All inputs have dual mono inputs for fast "Main" and "Alt" channel switching, which are suitable for corporate events where a large number of spare microphones may be required.

Standard input channel processing includes channel delay; single and multi channel presets; HPF and LPF, with 24db per octave; four bands of parametric EQ with band curve selection; compressor and gate; moveable insert point and access to all bussing.

Standard output channel processing includes output delay; four bands of parametric EQ; filtering; compressor and gate; moveable insert point; groups with buss to buss routing; and auxes that have direct talk to output with dim control for fast monitor communication.

Dynamic EQ provides both expansion and compression on all four bands of the parametric EQ. These powerful processors can be assigned to any of the input or output channels, whether they are mono, stereo, or LCR and four units can be allocated as required. Multi-band compressors are also installed, giving the user extended dynamic control of any input or output channel. Again, four units can be positioned on either input or output channels.

One of the more unusual features for a digital console with the SD11's small footprint is that it has 12 Flexi Busses, which can be user configured as either mono or stereo. In its maximum configuration these could be used as 12 stereo mixes -- equal to 24 busses.

An additional stereo or LCR Master buss and 8x8 output matrix is provided, facilitating the SD range's renowned routing flexibility. Eight control groups (VCAs) are also provided for faster access to multiple channels and busses, user and snapshot configured for ultimate show control. Dual solo busses are also provided, making the SD11 well suited to managing front of house and monitoring tasks alike.

An unlimited amount of snapshots can be saved and recalled, with user defined recall scopes being set globally, per snapshot or per channel function. Additional tools include feature-defined crossfade, sequence fire, MIDI control and a snapshot notes panel.

In addition to the SD11's core processing functions, insertable Stealth stereo FX and 12 graphic EQs can be routed, controlled and even snapshot recalled for the most complex show design. Four Stealth stereo FX units can be configured at any time from the palette of thirty-three effects.

Additional processing is available through the SD series integration with Waves plugins. Unlike all other sound grid platforms, DiGiCo provides complete control of plugin parameters, as well as recall of snapshots and single loading and saving, directly from the console's surface. Sixteen stereo sound grid racks can be inserted, with up to eight plug-ins in each rack.

Like all DiGiCo consoles, the SD11 software runs on a standard PC or Intel-based Macintosh for offline preparation and remote control of the console. One SD11 can also be linked to another, using a standard CAT5 crossover cable, providing 24 faders for control. In this configuration, the audio engine of the first SD11 provides complete redundancy for the other.

Advanced security options can be configured to protect console settings from accidental or unwanted change. These can also be password protected, making it possible to vary the amount of user parameter control.