South Africa’s Sound Stylists becomes country’s first rental company to invest in DiGiCo Quantum 225

South Africa – Kevin Glover, owner of South African rental company, Sound Stylists, noticed a trend amongst buyers: everyone wanted to get their hands on DiGiCo’s Quantum mixing consoles, so when DiGiCo distributor, DWR Distribution, told him the DiGiCo Quantum 225 was available, the timing was perfect for Glover to do the same. ‘When Kyle Robson from DWR said he had 225s coming in, I asked him to put one aside for me,” says Kevin. “With the live industry worldwide experiencing a shortage in the supply of gear, it made sense to make the investment.”

The timing was certainly right. Business has been good for Sound Stylists, the company has enough work to not overextend itself, but Glover has always kept ahead making sure his equipment stays relevant. “We had many SD consoles, but I noticed that everyone was going the Quantum route,” Glover explains. “We were fortunate to sell our former consoles to new owners who will get good use out of them, which allowed us to upgrade to the Quantum series.”

While Sound Stylists have their fair share of international gigs, DiGiCo’s dominance on technical riders was not Kevin’s main concern. He has excellent client retention and meeting their needs was one of his main motivations. “We try to look after our clients, do the best we can for them and keep them happy,” he says. “It’s not that we don’t appreciate and get hyped up when we get new gear. If I get to work on the Quantum 225 it will be fun, but we must be practical, and its primary role will be to get the job done well.” He smiles and adds, “The beauty from our young operators’ point of view will be that they get to work on the latest and greatest, so, hopefully, it’s a win-win both ways.”

The DMI-Dante card is the feature on the Quantum 225 which aligned with Kevin’s future business plan. “The way we are moving forward with our audio control line of products is focused around Dante,” he notes. “This is the reason for purchasing additional Dante DMI cards, allowing us to tie into a Dante network with other products we own, while still offering the normal DiGiCo racks and MADI solutions.”

The DMI-Dante card provides 64 input and 64 output channels at both 48KHz and 96KHz. It is provided with primary and secondary Gigabit Ethercon ports for connection to the Dante network as well as an Ethernet control port.

Technical manager at Sound Stylists, Carel du Plessis, has been with the company for the past six years and is comfortable with switching over to the new DiGiCo Quantum 225 digital mixer that offers 72 input channels, 36 buses, an LR/LCR master buss and a 12-in/12-out processing matrix. “The thought process is the same on all the DiGiCo consoles, so it’s just a matter of prepping and making the gig happen,” says Carel.

Kyle Robson from DWR has worked at Sound Stylists many years ago and has fond memories. “When Kevin got the DiGiCo D5 Live back in 2007, we were the first in the country to use DiGiCo consoles, it’s incredibly special to see the brand still grow in Sound Stylists,” he concludes. “Sound Stylists have invested in every DiGiCo series from D, SD, S and now the Quantum Series. Thank you to Kevin for his ongoing support.”

8th June 2023