I wanted to take a moment to update my SD7 review. I just got done doing a rather large hometown show for one of the bands I've been working with this year and I had the opportunity to bring out an SD7 for the event. This is the first time I had been on the 7 since Digico released the Mach 2 software for the console.
Since the last time I used the SD7, the FX engine has been completed. Now you have 48 Stereo FX slots with a complete FX package - all the programs you'd expect in any processor. FX can be placed on outputs as is traditional, but you can also place an FX unit on a channel's direct output. I used this to add a slight chorus to an acoustic guitar without having to add/change an aux send to do so.
The graphic EQ section has been expanded to include 32 GEQs that can be inserted anywhere. You also have the ability to gang GEQs together. Unlike traditional pairing which allows you to have two units with the exact same settings, ganging allows you to make relative changes across multiple EQs. If the original states of the various GEQs are flat, then this feature will act like traditional pairing. If they're different, ganging will allow you to use one handle to change multiple EQs by the same amount.
They've gotten a bit more advanced on channel layout. Digico consoles have always had a very flexible channel structure, but on the SD7 it goes further - you can put any input or output anywhere on the console. If you're bussing drums to a group to be compressed, you can put the group output right next to your drum inputs. The group settings show up in the channel strip and the fader adjusts the output level.
All inputs and outputs now feature Digi Tube preamp tube emulation with knobs that adjust drive and bias. A little picture of a tube shows up in the channel's meter strip when this is activated. I wish I had gotten into this feature a bit more, but only having one show with the console, I was concentrating on a few other things.
I got a bit deeper into snapshots on this show than I had in the past. The Digico snapshot system allows you to scope down to individual controls on individual channels. I had snapshots changing aux send levels to FX for certain songs, another couple changing the type of effect on that aux send, and another just changing reverb times. You can even have snapshots make changes relative to a starting point. I used a couple of these to clamp down compressors for our two acoustic songs relative to where those compressors were sitting throughout the show.
Everything else remains just as amazing with this desk: it lights up like a carnival, the LCD screen meter bridge is one of the coolest in the industry, it has a solid feel, and of course sounds amazing. What amazes me even more, is after coming off tour with the SD8, I feel even more strongly about how good that particular console sounds when compared to the 7. The SD8 really is just an SD7 without all the bells and whistles (and a lesser input and output count, of course). When you consider all the features and quality you get on the SD8 and then look at the price, it is my opinion that the SD8 is one of the best consoles in its marketplace.
Finally a thank you to Chicago's Tantra Sound for providing a rockin' Alpha rig for this event - it helped make this show a blast to mix!
[edited: spelling and grammar updates]
