JAIPUR, India — The latest addition to Soundcraft’s mid-range digital console family, the Si3, has made its way to India and onto major shows with indie rock band Agnee mixed by sound engineer Denzil Fernandes.
Fernandes was making his first excursion on the Si3 after being introduced by Yogesh Dhawan, from New-Delhi based rental company, Dhawan Electricals. Yogesh is no stranger to Soundcraft’s digital and analog boards, with MH2, GB8, LX7ii and FX16 lining up alongside his Si3.
Fernandes was standing in for the band’s regular FOH man Nitin Joshi and was eager for the chance to try the new desk. He works for Pune-based sound and lighting company, SoundEffects.com.
“Last year I had a chance to see a Vi6 at one of the trade shows in Mumbai. Although I have worked on MH2s this was my first experience of Soundcraft’s digital desks.”
He said that considering he had no previous experience of the desk, the learning curve had been remarkably short. “I felt entirely comfortable with within the first hour of sound check and I must say that for a console in this price range the Si3 sounded fantastic.
“With my eyes closed it sounded very close to a high quality analog board, and the EQs, dynamics and effects all sounded great,” he continued. “But one of the most important features that impressed me was that all controls for a selected process are presented in front of you for editing at the same time; there is no using a cursor or layers etc.”
With its intuitive operation and high input and bus count the Si3 has been designed for live use on both touring sound systems and in fixed installations. In so doing, Soundcraft has revisited the control topology employed on the Spirit 328 and 324 digital consoles, and made it even easier.
Agnee is a five-piece band that draws large audiences in India, and their sound engineer said his debut on the Si3 couldn’t have been smoother. “All in all the console was really sweet sounding and straightforward to use. Given the chance I would definitely use it again.”
Yogesh Dhawan added, “Soundcraft have made this console so user friendly that you don’t need a manual to explain it. Denzil took to it right away.”
Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Inc.
For more information, please visit www.harman.com.
