The Kooks Take DiGiCo Quantum Consoles On European Tour

Indie rock band The Kooks are preparing to hit the road for a major European tour starting in February 2026, running through the summer festival season with a DiGiCo Quantum audio setup at the heart of their live production.

Front of house engineer Russ Miller and monitor engineer Ralph Smart will both be using DiGiCo Quantum 326 consoles supplied by Liverpool-based rental company Adlib. Miller joined the band's touring crew in 2021, with Smart following in May 2022.

Miller said the band had already committed to a DiGiCo workflow before he joined, and the team decided to retain that consistency rather than change consoles.

"The Kooks is the first band I've worked with where the console has been a permanent fixture. We inherited the gig in 2021 from another pair of engineers who Ralph and I knew, they were pretty entrenched in the DiGiCo ecosystem," Miller recalled. "The decision was made to not change anything just for the sake of it and keep that consistency. We were very happy with the SD12 96s that were being used, but then the Quantum range came out and the SD12s were harder to get hold of, so we swapped. We started with the Quantum 225, then went up to the Quantum 326 to benefit from the larger console surface."

Miller said the band's involvement in sound decisions is central to the production approach.

"I've been mixing a for a while now, but when you first start off as an engineer, there can be a tendency to think, I'm the audio engineer, I have the technical knowledge," he says. "The fact is, there's a reason, aside from brilliant songs, that those musicians are up there on stage and that is, they've got really good ears. They know exactly how they want their songs to sound and can hear the most subtle changes. So, we make sure that we've got consistency at both ends of the multicore, that's really important."

He added that familiarity with the console surface is just as important as sonic performance.

"Mixing is a dance, it's a performance; you're performing almost as much as the band. Having the same console under your fingertips all the time means you can learn that dance," he expanded. "I would wager that no matter what console somebody uses, they will try and make everything the same on every console, not just sonically, but the actual physicality of it. People in studios do the same thing, maybe their kick drum always comes up on Fader 19, or the vocal is always on 20, etc."

At monitors, Smart says the Quantum 326's processing power and expanded matrix have transformed his workflow and ensured consistency across international touring.

"Having a setup we know we can replicate across all territories via local suppliers has been crucial for consistency. Last year, we made the leap to Quantum and I haven’t looked back," he said. "The additional matrices and macros on the Q326 have given me some really useful routing options with all my tech-mixes that were not possible when we were on the SD Range. I have been utilising the Mustard Source Expander, which has been great, especially in the bigger venues, it's a really useful tool. I've also had great results experimenting with the tube emulations and the Mustard compressors on the console."

The Quantum systems are supplied by Adlib, which has provided DiGiCo equipment and crew support for the tour.

"Adlib have a kindness that clearly comes from the top down. Everyone who works there has it, it's like a house attitude. I love working with them for that reason, and the gear is always top notch, too," Miller concluded. "David Grimes was the systems tech on the tour, he's amazing and Emma, who was our stage tech, is incredible, plus our PA techs Sam and Jamie, they're all really knowledgeable and great engineers as well. It's great to have extra sets of experienced ears on tour."

Smart also praised the support network behind the tour.

"Support has been great for this tour," Smart agreed. "Dave Jones and all the guys at Adlib have been amazing; the kit was prepped perfectly with excellent crew. DiGiCo support has always been second to none. We had a festival a couple of years ago that we would have had to cancel after our console took a bath during a stage evacuation in Europe. As we were discussing pulling the show, a DiGiCo rep appeared and gave us a brand new Q338, gig saved! They always come through for us."

digico.biz