For nearly half a century, Toto has built a distinguished legacy, captivating audiences with an enduring artistry and stage presence. Backed by equally renowned audio engineers, Toto’s stature in the music industry is mirrored by the expertise of their technical crew. Ken Freeman, the band’s Front of House engineer, was persuaded by a peer to transition to DiGiCo, a decision that began with the SD10 and evolved into the Quantum 338, culminating in the recent adoption of the Quantum 852 for Toto’s recent ‘Dogz of Oz’ tour.
“With my previous console,” Freeman recalls, “I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an open, beautiful sounding desk, I was able to lose the server. I use MainStage as my host software with Universal Audio and Liquidsonics for delays and reverbs. I have a scene for each song in MainStage, which I change via MIDI from the console.”
“I was so happy with my set-up I didn’t believe it could get any better,” Freeman says. “But the transfer was really easy; you simply convert and import the session file. There was a little bit of re-patching to do because of the different sized card slots, but the speed of this new console is unbelievable.”
Freeman has found the larger control surface invaluable, with streamlined fader access boosting his workflow. However, it was the Mustard processing that truly solidified his preference for the Quantum Series:
“Having the extra bank means I’ve always got track of my Groups, or effects, or aux sends right in front of me on the small faders!” he expands. “I like to mix centrally from the DCAs, so the inputs can sit either side of my main mixing fader bank. It gives me a visual representation, which I like. I use the Mustard processing and the Chilli [six-band, dynamic, multi-band compressor/expander] all the time. I love the compression and gate, the Mustard strips are across everything. If I had to go back to pre-Quantum, I’d be sad because I would have to lose all my Mustard processing!”
At the monitor position, Steve Kallos was a steadfast SD10 user. But when his go-to console was unavailable and the Quantum 338 stepped in, the transition proved unexpectedly rewarding. For Kallos, the Nodal Aux processing has been a game-changing feature, alongside practical benefits, such as the increased brightness and ergonomic layout of the screens on his Quantum 338:
“The display screens are really clear, and I like that the meters are on the screen, as well as the faders,” says Kallos. “One useful feature with the new v20 update is the addition of Mustard processing on each channel strip, the Mustard Source Expander (MSE) is particularly useful to me as it keeps stage noise on selected mics down to the very minimum.”
2025 is another busy year for Toto, with dates in Australia and New Zealand in the spring, plus concerts across the US in the summer already selling out. Freeman and Kallos attribute much of their current success to the DiGiCo consoles, which they agree deliver performance they have no intention of replacing, as they conclude:
“I guess I could say that- at this point- I can’t really picture going to a desk other than DiGiCo,” Freeman insists. “I’m locked into it. It’s always fun to try new stuff, but I love the tone of this desk. It’s open, it’s clear and everything I need is easily accessible. I’m extremely happy in every way.” “I feel more comfortable mixing on the Q338 than any other console,” Kallos adds. “I can honestly say that, overall, the Quantum 338 is the best digital console I’ve mixed on.”
See more about DiGiCo’s Quantum range on the DiGiCo website.
