Touring relentlessly over the past year, singer Kimbra recently completed a five-week, 20-plus date tour of the US, playing alongside the likes of Jay-Z and Australia’s Gotye. Travelling with her, Australian engineer Rod Matheson took along a DiGiCo SD11 console for monitor duties – almost as hand luggage.

‘The great thing about the SD11 is that I could fit it into a Samsonite case,’ he says. ‘I made a frame which goes over it that keeps the buttons and screens protected. It just looks like luggage to customs officials.

‘They seem to make a big fuss when they see a road case, trying to charge additional freight and the like. It’s pretty amazing that I could just check it in as regular luggage,’ he explains.

If the small size of the desk helped Matheson escape comment from customs officers, it had the opposite effect when it was set up. ‘During some of the bigger gigs along the tour, I had a few people walk past me and say “you’re not using that little thing are you?”,’ he says. ‘The answer from me was always a resounding yes!’

Matheson also found that using a console of this size provided new possibilities with set-up, particularly at festivals where numerous acts performed successively across tight timeframes. ‘At festivals, we were wiring up all the gear before the band went on stage,’ he says. ‘I could complete line checks for everyone before we got out there. There aren’t many systems around that can let you do anything like that.’

Being a long-time DiGiCo user, Matheson found the transition to the SD11 painless: ‘I went from the D5 to the SD7 originally,’ he reveals. ‘The jump from the SD7 to the SD11 was very easy; it was really just a matter of getting used to the multi-function keys. Using macro’s for cues and my own functions is great.’

With the ability to save show settings, cues and virtually ever parameter imaginable, Kimbra and her band also shared the advantages of the console: ‘Kimbra didn’t even need to do soundchecks after a couple of shows, we had it down. She had tonnes of promo to do as well so it was one less thing for her to worry about. She became really confident as did the band.

‘The D-Rack is also great,’ he continues. ‘I ran most outputs from that point. It’s is super direct/simple. Now I’m designing a drawer for the D-Rack so everything can come out of one point.’

And the sound? ‘It was surprising how warm it all is. The beauty of in-ears and digital... It really makes a big difference.’

More: www.digico.org