Gearhouse brings more Q338s into the mix

South Africa:

Bolstering its audio inventory, Gearhouse South Africa has invested in two DiGiCo Quantum 338 digital mixing consoles for its Cape Town branch to accommodate international technical riders. Supplied by DWR Distribution, the latest stock brings the group’s total Q338 inventory to four units.

“I’m absolutely excited about the new DiGiCos and our patience has been rewarded,” said Jonathan Mathese, audio and AV operations manager at Gearhouse South Africa’s Cape Town branch. “I was always pushing for DiGiCo because of its functionality and the importance of standardising across the Gearhouse South Africa branches. We needed that same standard in Cape Town.”

As it works across many major international touring productions, the company decided to purchase the desks for in-house support. The Q338 has been designed for demanding live sound applications, from touring acts to major festivals and theatre productions worldwide. According to the team, the desk’s workflow was a key attraction as well as its offline editor function.

Soon after delivery, the Cape Town team received training from DWR’s Kyle Robson on DiGiCo and Richard Smith on L-Acoustics, which was another recent investment by the company. “The DiGiCo product range is vast and constantly developing,” noted Mathese. “Having the training and support immediately after delivery was excellent. We now have an agreement with DWR that this will be an annual occurrence, which excites me a lot. Then we will produce a conveyor belt of techs, starting at entry level and with training, resulting in solid technicians. The after-sales support from DWR is excellent and having access to that level of knowledge and technical support adds significant value.”

He added that the desks will be leveraged for the Gearhouse Kentse Mpahlwa Academy. The programme offers 12-month annual learnership for unemployed youth in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, and grants successful candidates a National Certificate in Live Events Technical Production at NQF Level 4.

“I think it’s wonderful that Charl Smit, general manager of Gearhouse South Africa, jumped in and made the investment,” noted Robson. “Gearhouse South Africa took delivery of their first two consoles in 2024 for the Johannesburg branch and this latest addition is specifically to build up the quantity in Cape Town, where there has been strong demand. It was amazing spending time with the guys. I'm glad they enjoyed the training.”