DiGiCo Provides Quantum7 Console for Andrea Bocelli’s Latest Tour

Andrea BocelliThe audio team at has relied on DiGiCo professional touring consoles throughout the star’s career, beginning in 2006 with the
Original D5 Live. After a brief switch to an analog solution, production migrated back to digital with the SD7, but has recently been upgraded to DiGiCo’s flagship premium Quantum7 console and its advanced processing suite to deliver the high I/O speeds typical of the classical genre and grand piano. Number to meet places where it is hosted.

With an average of 45 concerts a year, the renowned tenor has a busy touring schedule. Allegedly the best-selling solo classic
An all-time artist with 85 million albums sold worldwide, Bocelli maintains an ongoing touring schedule for his legions of international fans and sold-out arenas around the world.

“My colleague Francesco and I started working with Bocelli in September 2006,” he comments Lead FOH Engineer Andrea Taglia. “We started with a DiGiCo D5, but digital technology was still in its infancy and we switched back to analog when Bocelli decided to hire local orchestras and choirs, as analog consoles at the time were quicker and more familiar to set up channel by channel than digital. However, it wasn’t long before digital technology was advancing rapidly and the SD7 became our mixer of choice. At this point, the number of channels in production was too large to be managed analogously. Thanks to Audio Link, DiGiCo’s Italian distributor, the transition was effortless.”

The latest world tour series “Believe” presents songs from Bocelli’s latest album “Si” as well as a broad repertoire from his 15 studio albums. In the first part, the show format includes a classic program of his best-known opera arias, in the second part his most popular hits. Bocelli is supported by soprano and pop special guest singers, including his son Matteo, additional instrumental soloists, and a supporting pop band. They are accompanied by a full orchestra and choir, often some of the best orchestras in the world, resulting in an entry list totaling 116 channels.

The decision to update the system came while planning an autumn tour of the UK. Collaboration with leading rental property Britannia Row
Productions, the team specified two of DiGiCo’s flagship Quantum touring systems, consisting of two mirrored Quantum7 consoles and associated SD racks, all connected via a fiber optic loop.

The two engineers share mixed tasks FOH engineer Francesco La Camera Mix the orchestra on one Quantum7 while Taglia manages all other FOH needs from the second Quantum7, including pop band, solo artists and instrumentalists, choir, Pro Tools tracks, and additional services such as audio from video footage and playback music for stage monitoring.

“My console setup is very simple: I have 68 input channels, all of which are orchestral mics, two mono outputs for reverb, and two stereo communications outputs that I can send to my colleague’s console. I also set up 10 stereo comms outputs with a partial mix for broadcast shows
Monitoring for the OB vans,” explains La Camera. “We were very pleased to upgrade the system as it offers many new opportunities and benefits. Quantum’s new Mustard Processing Suite is groundbreaking. The EQ helps me get the sound I want very easily and I love the new Macro, Global Mute and Snapshot features.”

“We had already eliminated the external compressors on instruments with standard SD7 processing, but thanks to the quality of Mustard processing, we’ve now replaced the analog outboard I used on the vocals,” adds Taglia. “I also love the ability to configure aux sends in many different ways to meet almost any need, from basic pre/post fader to pre-EQ and pre-dynamic.”

The production team specified the same Quantum7 system for the current North American tour, which began in December 2022.

“One of the many reasons we love the Quantum7 is the redundancy capacity across the dual engines, power supply and fiber optic connection, which also protects the console and stage racks,” concludes Taglia. “This level of redundancy isn’t available on any other console, which makes a huge difference in the way we think when we’re touring so rigorously and with such a large production. Classic audio engineers are always suspicious of digital technology and how it might transform music, but we’re really impressed with Quantum’s sound qualities, which are warm and natural.”