• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

My TechDecisions

  • Best of Tech Decisions
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Mobility
    • Unified Communications
    • IT Infrastructure
    • Network Security
    • Physical Security
    • Facility
    • Compliance
  • RFP Resources
  • Resources
  • Podcasts
  • Project of the Week
  • About Us
    SEARCH
Audio

DiGiCo SD12 Consoles Used for America’s Got Talent Production

A pair of DiGiCo SD12 consoles supplied by ATK Audiotek helped America’s Got Talent contestants get through the show’s audition and elimination rounds.

July 30, 2018 TechDecisions Staff Leave a Comment

For more than a decade, America’s Got Talent has been proving the popular show’s title assertion year after year: America can sing, it can dance and it can do cool stuff—all while launching the careers of previously unknown or unheralded people.

The NBC program, which has averaged 11 million viewers each season and been nominated for People’s Choice, Teen Choice and Kids’ Choice Awards every year since 2011—including winning the 2017 Kids’ Choice Award for Favorite Reality Show—puts a lot of emphasis on great sound.

To stay at the cutting edge of broadcast audio, the show added two DiGiCo SD12 consoles, at the front of house and for monitors.

The latest in DiGiCo’s SD-Series of consoles, which recently became even more powerful with the introduction of Stealth Core2 Software across the series, the SD12 consoles raised the bar even further.

The SD-12 is a multi-application digital console with features including dual 15-inch touchscreens and built-in recording interfaces in a compact form factor.

That, says Jeff Peterson, project manager on America’s Got Talent for ATK Audiotek, the show’s primary AV vendor, was the initial reason the SD12 was selected.

“The audition and elimination round shows are smaller—maybe 50 inputs each—but they’re important for setting the stage for the big live shows,” he explains of the two SD12 consoles, which shared a single SD-Rack during the preliminary performance shows.

“The SD12 was the perfect choice for these events. Its small size means it can work in virtually any size venue, but we’re not sacrificing anything in the way of sound quality or operational performance,” says Peterson.

AGT’s Got SD12 Consoles

Recordings of the auditions and elimination rounds of the show took place sequentially at the Pasadena Civic Center and the Universal Pictures lot in Los Angeles, respectively.

Jason Batuyong, who mixed monitors for the show, says the two SD12 desks were the perfect size for these preliminary venues.

“The form factor was absolutely key for that,” he says. “We knew we weren’t going to need a lot of channels for these events. But what we did appreciate was the SD-Series’ performance and features, which were a huge step up from what we’ve used in the past on the show.”

Batuyong says he also likes the fact that when the show moved to the finals, which are broadcast live, they were able to transition seamlessly from the SD12 work surface to the DiGiCo SD10 consoles.

ATK Audiotek also supplied these desks for those shows, and Peterson notes that the channel count to rose to 112 for the larger production requirements of the finals.

“It’s like having a smaller version of what we’ve been used to on other shows and what we use for the finals,” he says. “I especially like the fact that we’re able to access all of the Stealth Core2 processing capabilities on the consoles. All of the functionality we’re used to in the rest of the SD line is right there, but in a much smaller footprint.”

Mike Parker, the front-of-house mixer for AGT, says that he particularly appreciated the SD12’s dual 15-inch touchscreens.

“It made the user work surface very accommodating and gave us a level of visual feedback similar to the larger SD5 and SD7 with the multiple screens,” he says.

If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our digital newsletters!

Tagged With: Acoustics, Hardware, Production, Products

Related Content:

  • Yealink banner WH64 Hybrid Wirless Headset Yealink Introduces WH64 Hybrid DECT & Bluetooth Wireless…
  • ADI SnapOne logos Snap One, ADI Expands Conferencing Solutions with Yealink…
  • Duke Kunshan University Deploys 116 Sennheiser TCC 2 Ceiling Array Microphones 1 Duke Kunshan University Selects Sennheiser for Audio Upgrade
  • Nureva as HETMA sponsor poster. Nureva Backs HETMA as Annual Platinum Sponsor

Free downloadable guide you may like:

  • Practical Design Guide for Office SpacesPractical Design Guide for Office Spaces

    Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-face time with co-workers. When designing the office spaces — and meeting spaces in particular — enabling that connection between co-workers is crucial. But introducing the right collaboration technology in meeting spaces can […]

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Downloads

Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces
Practical Design Guide for Office Spaces

Recent Gartner research shows that workers prefer to return to the office for in-person meetings for relevant milestones, as well as for face-to-fa...

New Camera Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow
New Camera System Can Transform Your Live Production Workflow

Sony's HXC-FZ90 studio camera system combines flexibility and exceptional image quality with entry-level pricing.

Creating Great User Experience and Ultimate Flexibility with Clickshare

Working and collaborating in any office environment today should be meaningful, as workers today go to office for very specific reasons. When desig...

View All Downloads

Would you like your latest project featured on TechDecisions as Project of the Week?

Apply Today!

More from Our Sister Publications

Get the latest news about AV integrators and Security installers from our sister publications:

Commercial IntegratorSecurity Sales

AV-iQ

Footer

TechDecisions

  • Home
  • Welcome to TechDecisions
  • Contact Us
  • Comment Guidelines
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linkedin

Free Technology Guides

FREE Downloadable resources from TechDecisions provide timely insight into the issues that IT, A/V, and Security end-users, managers, and decision makers are facing in commercial, corporate, education, institutional, and other vertical markets

View all Guides
TD Project of the Week

Get your latest project featured on TechDecisions Project of the Week. Submit your work once and it will be eligible for all upcoming weeks.

Enter Today!
Emerald Logo
ABOUTCAREERSAUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERSYour Privacy ChoicesTERMS OF USEPRIVACY POLICY

© 2025 Emerald X, LLC. All rights reserved.