SoundGP Group re-invests into large format Allen & Heath Mixers

The SGP Group is a world-class turnkey Production Company, who are regularly engaged to tackle a wide range of high-level functions and events in Southern Africa. Under the leadership of Cristo Hattingh, their talented team have been responsible for a comprehensive spectrum of events such as the ABSA Golden Partner Awards, Spirit of Praise and RMB Starlight concerts. Their ability to design and implement a complete scalable show makes them a formidable pillar on the African events scene. Their team recently took delivery of an Allen & Heath dLive S5000, 2 x dLive C3500 , 2 x SQ5’s, 2 x Qu16’s and 2 x Qu32 Mixers and the accompanying CDM64U and DM64U MixRacks, which further extends their reach and potential in the market.

This acquisition reinforces their commitment to provide the best experience possible, proving once again that SGP Group have the potential and expertise to deliver from the smallest stages to the biggest festivals and experiences on the African continent.

The Allen & Heath dLive S5000 console features Dual 12″ Touchscreens with 28 Faders, 26 Assignable Softkeys and 6 Assignable Rotaries for ease of navigation. The dLive environment caters for 128 input channels with 64 outputs and the S class framework offers a fully customisable layout that allows users to build an interface that reflects their unique workflow and mixing style.  The surface uses a gigaACE link to the DM64 MixRack with a spare slot available. This MixRack houses 64 combo (mic/line) inputs with 32-line outputs, and is equipped with a redundant surface link, DX links and a redundant PSU.

To pair with the S5000, the SGP team also took delivery of 2 Allen & Heath C3500 consoles. These surfaces offer the same channel count as the S5000 with Dual 12″ Touchscreens, 24 Faders, 19 Assignable SoftKeys and 6 Assignable Rotaries to retain the same workflow. It also offers a fully customisable layout, with a single I/O Port (128channels, 96kHz), a bespoke ‘widget’ areas can also be set up on the touchscreens to keep track of scenes, meters, RTA, FX and other custom control which is a common feature between the S class & C class respectively. Partnered with the C3500s are the CDM64 MixRacks, offering 64 mic/line combo inputs, & 32-line outputs with 1 I/O port.

All the MixRacks were fitted with Allen & Heath’s new Rack Ultra FX2.0 cards. These cards combine Allen & Heath’s renowned FPGA technology with the power of ARM processing, to open up dLive to the next generation of onboard processing and effects.  These include a Vocal Processing suite with Studio Quality Pitch Correction, Shifting and Gridding, a Space Designer and Plate Reverb, a Saturation modeler, an Amp + Cab Distortion modeler and three intelligent musical Harmonisers to build harmonies from either defined musical intervals, a global key, a local key or even a MIDI input.

To accompany the dLives, the SGP team also added 2 x SQ5 mixers. These compact surfaces are powered by the same XCVI 96kHz FPGA engine in the dLive but with a maximum of 48 channels. These fantastic surfaces still deliver class-leading hi-res audio with an incredible <0.7ms latency roundtrip. The SQ5 itself has 16 local Onboard Preamps and 12 Line outputs with control via 17 faders and 6 layers. With a 7” high-resolution touchscreen, assignable SoftKeys and an integrated USB interface that allows for multitrack recording and playback, the SQ5 is the perfect compact mixer for Front of House, Monitor, or Broadcast mixing. To further strengthen their arsenal, Sound GP also took on 6 x Allen & Heath DX168 stage racks. These 96kHz plug-&-play expanders are 16-in & 8-out and are compatible with both the SQ’s and the dLives.

SGP group already own multiple pieces of Allen & Heath’s sensational ME Personal Monitor Systems which seamlessly integrates with all of the surfaces they now own including the QU mixers already in their inventory.

Cristo Hattingh shared the following comments, “SGP began the Allen & Heath journey with the introduction of the ME1 solution. Since 2016 they have been part of our solution to our clients. Later adding a few small QU consoles to the mix. Then being exposed to the D-Live integration options at RedPepper Studios, it became clear Allen & Heath is definitely the way to go for us. We needed a product that not only covered the current needs but also opened new options for streamlined solutions and forward-thinking in a growing market.”

We look forward to seeing SoundGP put on amazing events with these consoles. They join a growing community of Allen & Heath owners in the African continent. A special thanks for their continued commitment and dedication to the brand and the products.