In the heart of Brighton’s North Laine, the Komedia hosts performances covering the comedy that cemented its reputation, to a massively popular programme of arts. When the time came to retire its long-standing FOH mixing desk, the Komedia team looked to DiGiCo’s Quantum 225, purchased through James Pergrande at Solotech.
‘Our previous console was pretty tired, and it was getting to the point where we were having to spend time explaining the features to visiting engineers, which isn’t ideal,’ says Technical Manager, Emma Henderson.
‘Having a robust, industry-standard mixing desk was important. ‘It needed to do a lot; not just sound great, but fit into our budget and have easily accessible features that would be recognisable to as many people as possible,’ she continues.
‘Training is also important to us; we have a huge training programme. When we send the trainees out into the world, they’re inevitably coming across the DiGiCo family of desks, so if they have that grounding, it’s a massive bonus.’
Fully self-funded, the venue also raises money for local charities, and has a strong commitment to inclusive entertainment through its Komedia Productions operation. The team believe in the power of the arts to enrich lives and, DiGiCo’s sense of community was part of what convinced them to go with the Quantum 225.
‘The help from DiGiCo has been awesome, they’re well known for their support and that’s another reason that we chose the Quantum 225,’ Henderson says. ‘DiGiCo’s Tim Shaxson came to train us all when the desk was brand new and I said, “Let’s put the desk in. Let’s do a show in three hours. Let’s do it because we’ve got out of the box”. I think he thought I was pretty out there – in a good way I hope – but he stuck with us.’
With the diverse performances and people coming through the building on a nightly basis, the Komedia needed a mixing desk that would be universally recognisable, but also endlessly flexible. Using the DiGiCo Quantum 225 Set Spill feature allows an engineer to group faders for easy recall at any point. It meant the desk could be up and running in record time, changing from a stand-up comedian to a club night with the touch of a button. Henderson really appreciates this feature.
‘We do such a massive range of shows with incredibly tight turnarounds between each one,’ Henderson says. ‘We’re a “disco” loadout kind of venue, so we needed something you can switch around easily. With the Quantum 225, you can swap the layouts around and you can boot sessions really easily. That means you can jump from a gig into a club really fast, and then you take it from being set up to do a gig to being set up to do comedy, which was a massive boon.’
Another consideration for the Komedia is space – the venue makes the most of its 415 standing capacity making the compact dimensions of the Q225 is a bonus. Henderson has seen that the way acts tour is changing, and the venue is experiencing fewer touring desks coming to it, but the odd one still comes through. Usually, the touring desks are DiGiCo, too, so the advantage of being able to plug into the venue’s MQ-Rack eliminates the need to strike the venue’s control position.
As the venue prepares for its 30th birthday, Henderson and her team know that technical upgrades are just one part of the longevity of the venue and its position in the community. ‘We are an independently funded space, and we average 12 shows a week,’ she says. ‘We do a lot, even for very good team, and we make our own profit. For an art space that’s amazing.
‘It’s very much the team that are implementing the upgrades; we pretty much do all of it ourselves. In the past year, we’ve done a lot of work to make this venue a really good space for people to come to. Installing the Quantum 225 is a big part of that process.’
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