From “Pufferfish” to Quantum112: DiGiCo’s smallest mixer makes big impact with Ed Sheeran

DiGiCo’s long-rumoured “Pufferfish” has finally surfaced – and it’s got quite the bite. Now officially unveiled as the Quantum112, this ultra-compact powerhouse is already making waves on tour with Ed Sheeran, where FOH engineer Simon Kemp and production manager Chris Marsh are putting it through its first high-profile tests. Fittingly, the compact desk made its debut at NPR’s iconic Tiny Desk Concerts on September 12, before jetting off – still under wraps – to Brooklyn’s Domino Park for an exclusive TikTok LIVE show celebrating Sheeran’s eighth studio album, Play.

DiGiCo has enjoyed a long history with Sheeran, tracing back to 2011, when Marsh began mixing the artist’s early solo tours on a compact SD11. In 2017, to accommodate an ever-increasing need for more busses, Marsh stepped up to an SD7 and subsequent Quantum7, which he toured with until passing the FOH mix baton on to Simon Kemp in 2023.

“I enjoyed six years on the SD11, going from pubs and clubs to stadiums – we even did Wembley and Croke Park with it in 2015,” said Marsh. “But it was finally time to say goodbye to the convenience of the small console and increase my front-of-house footprint to match Ed’s ambitions for shows moving forward.

“This was a big change as I could no longer walk in with a mixer under my arm, it cost more on freighting, and it was a logistical consideration at festivals and venues alike. I chose the SD7 and Q7 for many reasons, but mainly that it gave me an almost unlimited opportunity to expand and handle the demands of the artist. It was the right move at the time.”

“When we launched the Mathematics tour in 2022, I attempted to return to the SD11 for our launch shows in pubs and small venues but simply could not make it work. The console would not stretch to our requirements. I truly wish that I had a Quantum112 at that time, but I am so pleased that we have this option now. As production manager, it is a game-changer for being able to make Ed’s show translate into smaller venues, offering quicker turnarounds and cost-effective freight movements. It almost makes me want to be back at the faders again!”

Those FOH duties, of course, are now in the very capable hands of Kemp, who has mixed Sheeran for the past two years, after working with everyone from Mariah Carey, Usher, and Lionel Richie to Robbie Williams and Passenger.

“The exciting thing about Ed’s show is that we do it all – from tiny popups to stadiums and everything in between,” added Kemp. “He creates loops via his guitar and vocal mic, which feed into Ableton and come to me via MADI as individual loop inputs. Years ago, the routing was likely fairly simple, but that has evolved into a much bigger setup. Today, we have the availability to have 16 channels of looper inputs, and the source can be his guitar or his looper vocal mic. We also now have a keyboard where he can loop samples, and for the bigger shows, there are three main vocal mics, three loop vocal mics, and five separate guitar inputs. It all adds up.”

DiGiCo’s smallest and newest addition to the Quantum Range – the Quantum112 – is a single-screen, 12-fader desk that is the company’s first true flypack mixer. Designed to fit within a rugged and robust Pelican Air 1637 case, the ultra-compact console, when packed, weighs only 23 kilograms – 50 pounds – qualifying it as a standard checked bag option on most flights.

When Kemp was first briefed on the top-secret Pufferfish, two thoughts immediately came to his mind: “My first reaction was: I love the idea of getting this show back onto a small console that I can check at the airport and do a gig anywhere in the world. That thought was quickly followed by: how in the world am I supposed to fit this show onto 12 faders?!

“But as it turns out, it’s been great, and the desk is so easy to get around, which is essential seeing that monitors for the looper setup are also run from FOH. I’m not sure how DiGiCo fit so much into such a small footprint, but it really covers everything I need, and with the help of macros and a huge touchscreen, I can be anywhere almost as quickly as if I had 36 faders.”

Aside from applauding the Quantum112’s compact size and remarkably light weight, Kemp already has a list of other features and functions that he particularly appreciates. “I’m really impressed with the big screen and its brightness in the daytime,” he said.

“In terms of mixing, the Mustard Source Expander has been great. Spice Rack has also been a must for us, and we use it for both Ed’s vocal and guitar. It’s a really powerful setup, and quite a robust little console in general. We’ve given it a good test throughout our US promo shows and it seems very hardy; the faders are great as well.”

A proper tour in support of Play is set to kick off closer to the end of the year, dramatically scaling up the production requirements, but the mix will steadfastly remain on DiGiCo’s Quantum platform. “We’ll be carrying a much-larger Quantum852 for that, but seeing that they’re both Quantum surfaces, transitioning the show between the two extremes in surface size is surprisingly painless. Even in the early stages of the Quantum112, before its file converter function existed, it didn’t take me long to shrink the show onto the little flypack mixer.”

“To my knowledge, I don’t think there’s any other console out there that can do what the Quantum112 does,” he concluded. “It has all the I/O that I need as standard on the back – and still has space for two DMI cards! Honestly, I can’t see any other mixer even getting close to its versatility. We’ve really been impressed with it.”

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