Formed in 2002, OneRepublic have enjoyed huge international success, with over 18 billion streams on Spotify alone. Their current tour, Escape to Europe, will continue until the end of this year before expanding to the rest of the world in 2026.
Accompanying the band are Justin Ripley at the front of house (FOH) position and Chris Marinaccio on monitors. Both engineers are using Quantum 338 consoles, supplied by Spectrum Sound in Nashville.
Ripley has been with the band for many years and, as he explains, the scale and variety of the touring schedule will keep him coming back to DiGiCo, whatever the venue.
For OneRepublic, the decision to use DiGiCo is based on being able to source them reliably anywhere. The neutral sound of the console, and the fact that the components hold up very well on the road, are why I’ve used them all this time. This band will push the limits of the gear we take with us because of how much we travel, he adds.
Travelling so extensively, with multiple rigs on the road, means that Ripley is constantly developing and evolving his show file. As he continues, the technicality of swapping files between consoles is not something he worries about, but being up to date is.
“I like to use the most recent file available because I’ve always brought my latest musical ideas to every show I’ve ever done. It’s nice to have some benchmark ideas available to me at all times”, he adds. “As I get older, I find myself using fewer ‘toys’, tweaking the sound less and less, so my DiGiCo footprint focuses on routing and basic sound sculpting. The sound of DiGiCo consoles will always keep them in demand”.
Monitor engineer Marinaccio has been with the band for almost a year. In that time, he has toured across Asia, the Middle East, the USA and now Europe. As he explains, there really is no band that tours quite like OneRepublic, with a total of six Quantum 338 consoles always on the road, also supplied by Spectrum Sound. No day is ever a “typical” day, but having the power of DiGiCo in his rig helps everything run smoothly, whatever the challenge.
We have three full audio rigs and a fly rig rotating around the globe. With the band jumping between continents, it can get intense, but it’s been incredible. The crew is ultra-professional, and I’m lucky to be working alongside two of the best audio minds in the business: Justin Ripley and Production Manager, Dave McMullin. The DiGiCo Quantum 338 consoles are one of the most robust audio packages I’ve ever worked with. We’re also using a shared SD Rack, two SD-MiNis and an Orange Box. Typically, we start by unloading the truck in the morning, I set up my control package, place the floor wedges, check the Opto-Loop, confirm MADI with the video department and do a line check before the show. It’s hard to say, because almost nothing is typical with this band. One day we’re sending gear up a mountain in Austria, and the next we’re prepping for a major festival in Abu Dhabi!, he says.
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When the work is so varied, having a familiar workflow and a reliably customisable surface is key. As Marinaccio continues, the features that are quickly and easily accessible on the Quantum 338 surface make it the ideal companion, wherever they may be.
“The flexibility of the Quantum 338 allows it to adapt to both monitors and FOH”, he explains. “On the monitor side, the customisable layout is crucial: quick access to Auxes and inputs makes for a fast and intuitive workflow. The input and output count is also an important factor. On this tour we’re dealing with around 105 input channels and 34 Auxes, and the Q338 handles it all comfortably. The Aux function on the Control Groups is very useful for quick changes on an instrument group for one person. Relative Groups are another useful feature for overall changes across multiple snapshots, and Aux Nodes are amazing for that musician who needs an instrument processed differently. Even simple things like fades between snapshots can turn a jarring transition into something that works”.
On such an intense, globe-spanning tour, knowing that the equipment you use every day will perform flawlessly, no matter how far it has travelled overnight, is a major advantage. For a tour as expansive as Escape to Europe, this becomes even more important. Engineers may use the consoles in very different ways, but as both Ripley and Marinaccio conclude, the ability to be exactly what they each need is what keeps them on the rider.
“There’s a lot of muscle memory built up on this platform now because the layout is simple and straightforward”, notes Ripley. “I only recently started using Mustard EQ and now that I have, there’s no going back”.
“On tour, I use DiGiCo exclusively. No other company offers a desk that matches its combination of power, flexibility and global availability”, Marinaccio concludes. “I keep choosing DiGiCo for its strong on-the-ground support and because the workflow makes sense to me. In my opinion, DiGiCo makes the best live sound consoles out there and, for a tour on the scale of OneRepublic, DiGiCo is the right tool for the job”.
