Manning Bar has stood as one of Sydney’s premier mid-sized music venues since opening in 1974, hosting concerts from Australian artists and bands including Brad Cox, Beddy Rays and INXS, as well as international acts Nabihah Iqbal, Janet Devlin, and Foo Fighters. Recently, the venue upgraded its technical infrastructure to provide a comprehensive and user-centric mixing workflow using a DiGiCo Quantum 225, supplied by Group Technologies.

Located on the campus of the University of Sydney, the purpose-built, 1,000-capacity, venue is also a favourite among students and music enthusiasts. In this recent collaboration, Manning Bar worked with Group Technologies, DiGiCo’s Australian distributor, to replace its existing console with a more intuitive and rider-friendly Quantum 225 mixing desk.

With an extensive history as a DiGiCo user, Manning Bar Production Manager Zac Ruokari was aware of the UK brand’s capabilities and performance, which played a key role in his choice of the desk for the venue. ‘The choice to move to DiGiCo at Manning Bar was, among a multitude of other reasons, to assist in aligning with most touring bands’ tech rider requests,’ he explains. ‘As much as the previous console was very capable, it tended to scare a good percentage of touring engineers in terms of workflow, patching and setup. The DiGiCo OS and patching, on the other hand, is a natural fit for most of engineers due to its significant worldwide footprint, familiarity and user-focused design.’

Having worked with every DiGiCo SD Series console at different times and in venues around Australia, Ruokari is particularly familiar with the thinking behind them: ‘They’re easy to use, fantastic sounding, and I have loved having the ability to add a Waves Soundgrid to the setup, and also to record multitrack via Madi so easily,’ he says, adding that his favourite attribute of the Quantum 225 is the ability to configure the console with the of aux and matrices needed for each show.

‘I’m also really loving the new Mustard channel effects, plus the new touchscreen is a massive improvement, especially in a bright room,’ he adds.

Since being installed, the Quantum 225 has garnered significant attention and praise, impressing not only Ruokari but also professionals and patrons alike. ‘I see every FOH engineer’s eyes light up when I mention we now have a DiGiCo at Manning Bar,’ he reports. ‘The fact that the OS will be familiar to anybody who has used an SD Series console means that most touring engineers are already comfortable using the 225 when entering the venue – a massive difference compared to what was in place prior.

‘We had Electric Six and Switchfoot come through recently and they loved it. Everyone has commented on the clarity of the preamps and the cleanliness of the output, even the bar staff can hear the difference. The Quantum 225 is most definitely ticking all our boxes.’