Long Beach Terrace Theater Steps Up To DiGiCo Quantum Desks

New Quantum3³⁸ and Quantum2²⁵ consoles join the technical specification lineup at Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s largest theater space

 

 

Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center’s Terrace Theater is said to hold a special place in the hearts of comedians and comedy enthusiasts as the location where Richard Pryor: Live in Concert, the first full-length movie to exclusively feature stand-up comedy, was filmed in 1979. Following an upgrade during 2024, performers and audiences alike are now benefiting from the presence of a new pair of DiGiCo audio mixing consoles – a Quantum3³⁸ and Quantum2²⁵, both supplied by Huntington Beach-based dealer Apex Audio – at the venerable 3,000-seat venue, which opened in 1962.

Mike Glines, the center’s head audio tech, sums up the decision to purchase two DiGiCo Quantum consoles for the venue in just a few words: “To start, the sound, then the workflow. And I just thought it was the easiest digital board I’ve ever had to learn.”

 

 

Glines knows whereof he speaks. He has a long history with digital audio, participating in the decision to switch from tape to DAW as the recording medium of choice at Capitol Studios in Hollywood while on staff at the facility. He has also used a wide variety of digital mixing consoles, both in the studio and on the road with a host of artists, including a long globetrotting stint with Gary Numan. Glines put that hard-earned expertise to work when he designed his versatile new DiGiCo system for the Long Beach Terrace Theater.

The custom installation is designed to accommodate any requirement, enabling visiting productions to use both DiGiCo consoles or simply integrate either the Quantum3³⁸ or a Quantum2²⁵. For instance, a touring band might have a front-of-house console but need a monitor desk, or vice versa, Glines points out. “So it’s a huge step up not only in fidelity, but also in flexibility,” he reports. “I got Optocore for that reason, to interface with touring systems. We also got two SD-Racks and an SD-MiNi Rack that I use to feed my amps via AES. I love the fact that DiGiCo boards have DMI cards in the back, which you can swap in and out. I also got a Dante card, two input cards and two output cards, so I’ve got everything I need without even having to hook up a rack.”

 

 

The two new Quantum consoles are fully mobile, Glines continues. The Terrace Theater has first call on the consoles, he stresses, but they can alternatively be used at other locations within the center’s campus, such as the 13,000-plus-seat Long Beach Arena, Pacific Ballroom, or smaller Beverly O’Neill Theater. “Or you could take them outside for an event – wherever there is a need. I do the Long Beach Symphony Pops! series in the Arena, so I’ve used the DiGiCos for that.”

Glines has heard some people say that it’s difficult to learn how to operate a DiGiCo console, but nothing could be further from the truth, in his opinion. “The only different setup step with a DiGiCo is that you have to assign some faders to your surface. But if you know audio at all, it’s really easy: inputs at the top, outputs at the bottom, and everything else in the middle. You can just turn it on, plug a mic in and get sound out of it. Touch the screen and you see aux sends, EQ and compressors right in front of you. And with DiGiCo boards you can do everything imaginable, from live sound to recording to broadcast to theater.”

 

 

For over four decades, David Wilcox, artistic director of the Long Beach Ballet, has staged a spectacular production of The Nutcracker with the Long Beach Ballet Orchestra at the Terrace Theater. The most recent string of performances of the holiday classic, Long Beach Ballet’s 42nd annual production, was Gline’s first since the new DiGiCo Quantum3³⁸ has been available at FOH. “It’s my favorite show so far, because I really got to use the DiGiCo so much,” he says.

Wilcox has always expected at least a stereo mix of the orchestra’s rehearsals, he continues, but in past years the recordings have been less than ideal. “They just didn’t sound great because I was cranking the PA with this delicate orchestra, so I was getting some bleed into the microphones. But this time, I was able to record 48 tracks straight to my laptop through the printer cable, which blew my mind. The DiGiCo Quantum Series has UB MADI built in, so I could just take a printer cable out to my old FireWire drive. I was blown away by how easy it was.”

Over the years, some of the country’s top comedians have visited the Terrace Theater to perform at the venue. Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Tucker, Kathy Griffin, Bill Burr and Long Beach native Gabriel Iglesias have all played the room, which has also hosted speaking engagements by former President George W. Bush, journalist Bob Woodward, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai. As for music, the Long Beach Symphony calls the Terrace Theater home, and the venue has attracted a string of singers over the years, from Tony Bennett to Brian Wilson.

Upcoming events at the Terrace Theater include Cuban-American trumpeter Arturo Sandoval with the Long Beach Symphony, Chinese classical dance and music company Shen Yun, comedians Aziz Ansari and George Lopez, and a performance of The Sleeping Beauty by The State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine with orchestra.

For more information on the Terrace Theater, visit www.longbeachcc.com. Apex Audio can likewise be found online at www.apexaudio.com.