ENGLAND — For 25 years, Manchester’s School of Sound Recording (SSR) has delivered technical training and education for the music and A/V industries. It has a comprehensive set of courses on offer, the shortest being only an hour, the longest a three year BSc in Sound Engineering. The school has a number of the industry’s leading companies playing an active role in its development and recently saw DiGiCo join those ranks by opening the DiGiCo Room, equipped with a DS-00 console.
As well as the official launch of the DiGiCo room, the company also took the opportunity to showcase its latest console, the SD8, at two open days held in conjunction with UK live audio provider Wigwam. Four SD8s, hooked up to a multi-track package using RME’s MADIcard and MADIface, were set up along with D5s running V3 and V4 software and an SD7 previewing its future software release. The DiGiCo team was on hand throughout for demos and questions.
“I’ve been to SSR several times,” says DiGiCo Managing Director James Gordon. “It’s refreshing to see the energy and enthusiasm that’s there. We wanted to put something back into that, hence the reason we decided to get involved in setting up the DiGiCo Room. There’s a real shortage of young talent in the industry and it’s great to see so many good students coming out of here.”
Wigwam originally got involved two years ago when Charlie Jones, one of its engineers, died. The company wanted to do something of lasting value to remember him by. “Charlie was a great engineer and was just starting to teach young people and pass on his skills to future generations,” recalls Spratt. “The Charlie Jones Scholarship at SSR helps to carry this on. The help of manufacturers is essential for the school.”
“We are very honored and privileged that DiGiCo agreed to be a creative partner with us,” adds Wendy Breakell, director of SSR. “Our links with the industry are very important. It’s through them that we ensure what we do here is what is needed in the real world. This state-of-the-art console means we can ensure the training we provide will take place on industry standard equipment in SSR facilities — and that’s something our students really appreciate.”
“Being involved with SSR is a win/win situation,” concludes Spratt. “We have already employed two members of staff from SSR and we have three students in the warehouse at the moment. The caliber of people coming out of the school is excellent and the DiGiCo room is a great addition to the facility.”
Other participants at the open day were Medialease, Bob Kelly and VDC, which helped with cabling and RME recording solutions.
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