DiGiCo SD9 Is Soundbound in India

The end of November saw a music conference -- Soundbound -- held in Mumbai, with a range of live performances for participants to enjoy after the business of the day. The first two nights featured gigs by Shaa'ir + Func, one of India's most successful indie bands, mixed on a DiGiCo SD9, the first to be deployed on the Indian sub-continent.

Soundbound and the associated live shows were sponsored by the British Council. It was part of the long-term SoundPad project, bringing together high-profile names from the Indian and British music communities to engage in workshops, where everything from music technology and concert photography to good touring practices were discussed. Entry to the sessions was free.

As well as British participation in the workshops, the best of the country's audio technology was on show at the Shaa'ir + Func shows, where production company Arowana Soundgroup deployed its DiGiCo SD9. Brought in by event management company Mix Step, Arowana Soundgroup chose to use the SD9 because of the console's combination of high quality in a small footprint. "The venue had very limited space available and we knew the SD9 would achieve the desired results," says company owner, Rakesh Nalavade.

The show featured two support acts, as well as the headliners, with the console being set up with around 30 channels.

"We were using a Nexo PS15R2a PA, so we used two outputs for the PA and the other six outputs of the D-rack for sends," Nalavade continues. "We also used four Matrix outputs from the SD9's local I/O to run fills in the pre-function area.

"The SD9 made our job much easier because it is designed to make live mixing as straightforward as possible. At the same time it has excellent sound quality. The bands, the audience and the client were amazed at the SD9's sound quality. They loved it and we rocked the show."