DiGiCo S21?

Re: DiGiCo S21?

Michael Smithers said:
Anyone have any recent news about the S21? It seems all has gone quiet.

In early July the Aus importer said they had one, and in mid July it was showing at the Montreal AES Conference, but not with final firmware.

Cheers,
Michael
Click to expand...

Group Technology in Melbourne had one. They did some demos and some brief one on one training (overview level) during Intergrate. http://integrate-expo.com/Great little console, quick and easy to use but expensive. It didn’t do the dynamic channel strip EQ like the other Digicos L but I believe the critical bits are there to ensure that wonderful Digico sound quality.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Re: DiGiCo S21?

There were several S21's at AES in NYC this week. I spend didn't too much time playing with it, but it seems like a nice desk. Very simplified physical UI in terms of buttons on the desk itself. The GUI seems fairly well thought out and quick to get around.

I would also highly recommend looking at Allen & Heath's new dLive console. It's basically a GLD on steroids which makes it's very fast and flexible to use. They've also switched to FPGA processing making for insanely low latency and high channel count capability.

Jeff
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Jeffrey Knorr said:
There were several S21's at AES in NYC this week. I spend didn't too much time playing with it, but it seems like a nice desk. Very simplified physical UI in terms of buttons on the desk itself. The GUI seems fairly well thought out and quick to get around.

I would also highly recommend looking at Allen & Heath's new dLive console. It's basically a GLD on steroids which makes it's very fast and flexible to use. They've also switched to FPGA processing making for insanely low latency and high channel count capability.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff,

I have to agree, the dlive is definitely worth checking out. It’s however quite a bit more expensive than the S21, and much more powerful, in fact more powerful than an SD10 or Midas XL8!

It has that drag and drop channel strip set up function like the GLD, but it has 160 mix channels plus 64 outputs with full processing including GEQs, 16 EFX all the time, O.58 ms latency and a network capable of handling more than 800 inputs and 800 outputs. Unlike the GLD the processing is in the rack like the iLive. It’s a very serious desk.

I did my first mix on one last week, it sounds great and the UI is just fantastic.
 
Last edited:
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Got an up-close-and-personal tour @ AES NYC. I've long been a DiGiCo fan, and the S21 doesn't disappoint.

The controls and build quality are first-rate, and it plays well with others in the DiGiCo ecosystem. DiGiCo has a culture of responsive and frequent and free software updates, so the S21 surface may well remain a viable platform for many years.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Jim McKeveny said:
Got an up-close-and-personal tour @ AES NYC. I've long been a DiGiCo fan, and the S21 doesn't disappoint.

The controls and build quality are first-rate, and it plays well with others in the DiGiCo ecosystem. DiGiCo has a culture of responsive and frequent and free software updates, so the S21 surface may well remain a viable platform for many years.
Click to expand...

Does it lock up spontaneously? I'd hate to see that "charm" vanish... /cynicism
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Jim McKeveny said:
I haven't had the pleasure of seeing a DiGiCo (or any digital desk) "lock up", but in 30+ years I have seen a few engineers do just that.
Click to expand...

SD7 on the Irish Female tour.... locked up (surface unresponsive to manual control, requiring re-boot) while the show mixerperson and I were standing there talking about it. Maybe it's just shy and self conscious... Another on a private event I can't mention (NDA), same thing but during the show...

Recently witnessed a MADI rack and surface refuse to play nice with each other (owned by the same company and always paired up together) resulting in the act being moved to an opener's Pro 6 during the set change.

It's routine to see spare DigiCo MADI racks and surfaces waiting on the dock or in a vom. Not so much with others.

They're sweet consoles, Jim, don't get me wrong... but I've witnessed more cranky DigiCo mixers than any other brand. I'm glad your experience has been much better.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Tim McCulloch said:
SD7 on the Irish Female tour.... locked up (surface unresponsive to manual control, requiring re-boot) while the show mixerperson and I were standing there talking about it. Maybe it's just shy and self conscious... Another on a private event I can't mention (NDA), same thing but during the show...

Recently witnessed a MADI rack and surface refuse to play nice with each other (owned by the same company and always paired up together) resulting in the act being moved to an opener's Pro 6 during the set change.

It's routine to see spare DigiCo MADI racks and surfaces waiting on the dock or in a vom. Not so much with others.

They're sweet consoles, Jim, don't get me wrong... but I've witnessed more cranky DigiCo mixers than any other brand. I'm glad your experience has been much better.
Click to expand...

They're all big computers. All of them fail, and I mean all of them. That being said, Digico has been my first choice and primary console for almost 10 years. I have toured with The D1, D5, SD7, SD10, and SD8 along with having used all the other models at some point in time. I have never lost a show on one. This is not to say that it doesn't happen, but obviously YMMV. I just get "Digico defensive" from the days of me touring with a D5 and everyone being a Digico basher at every stop on the tour. For several years that desk was rock solid for me and was sonically light years ahead of anything else digital of its era. Maybe with the consoles I tour with I'm more vigilant about proper hardware and software maintenance? Maybe I have the magic touch? It's all open for interpretation... I've used just about every "big" desk out there. Digico remains at the top of my list.

Back to the original topic, though, I'm definitely interested in seeing what the S21 is all about.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Greg Bellotte said:
My S21 was delivered today...what can i answer? Should know it well by tomorrow...
Click to expand...


Does the touch screen feel jittery or lag behind a millisecond or so?

When using the iPad app, I've never felt more disconnected with the console due to lag. Using the touchscreen EQ on the iPad app is kind of a drag.

Since the S21 eq seems similar, I'm curious if it's butter smooth or finicky.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Most of the time it is very responsive. But occasionally there is a pause and then everything catches up...like it is either underpowered or processing something else in the background.

More worrisome is the failure to include some really basic stuff...

There is no provision for a set of monitor speakers...only a volume control for the headphone jack-which you can't get to if you mount this in a desk. You can route the solo busses to a physical output, but the only way to adjust level is with a fader.

You cannot route the groups to the master buss, or even other groups...

There is no oscillator...

Some of this is to be address in a "future" update, but i can't believe they released this without these basic functions.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

Greg Bellotte said:
Most of the time it is very responsive. But occasionally there is a pause and then everything catches up...like it is either underpowered or processing something else in the background.

More worrisome is the failure to include some really basic stuff...

There is no provision for a set of monitor speakers...only a volume control for the headphone jack-which you can't get to if you mount this in a desk. You can route the solo busses to a physical output, but the only way to adjust level is with a fader.

You cannot route the groups to the master buss, or even other groups...

There is no oscillator...

Some of this is to be address in a "future" update, but i can't believe they released this without these basic functions.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have a problem assigning a fader for the cue bus level as long as I can choose the master fader for this. I'm finding the group routing and oscillator situation hard to believe. Are you sure that is correct. On SD series desks, oscillator settings are under the system menu, and it can only be assigned in the channel patch drop down menu (internal>>misc>>oscillator). It is a little funky, but I only ever use the oscillator to check and calibrate outputs...or to send through the talkback to mess with the monitor guy while he's checking wedges.
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

confirmed all issues with support, waiting on software updates but no ETA...

the master fader appears to only be able to control the master buss.
 
DiGiCo S21?

I checked out a S21 yesterday, it does have an oscillator (white and pink noise, sine waves), you can see it in "internal" in the channel patch. If you want a quick access to your Solo fader maybe you can add it to your Spill Set?
 
Re: DiGiCo S21?

well what do you know...there is an osc after all. thanks for pointing that out. funny the support guy just said-"yeah we know"... and i took his word for it.
 
Top Bottom