Digital Console Innovations

Analog is dead…  That is something you would not have heard coming out of my mouth a year and a half ago, because waaay back then I don’t think it was true.  However, within that time frame a number of improvements to digital consoles have come out that have rendered analog all but obsolete.  Yes, I have analog consoles here at J&S, and for the most part they collect a lot of dust.  Occasionally we get into a bind with all of our digital mixers being gone and they hit the road accompanied by the moans and groans of the mixing engineer on that particular show, and every once in a blue moon (these instances are rapidly getting fewer and fewer) someone will special request an analog desk.  This rapidly dwindling bunch of engineers will tell you “analog just sounds better”!  I agree, it does sound better, and the 3 audio guys in the room for the concert/convention or whatever purpose you may be mixing for can all get together and bask in the warmth of those analog waves, because nobody else in the room will be able to tell the difference.  Here’s the thing Digital consoles not only offer more substance in a much smaller FOH footprint and truck pack, they have become a bridge between the live audio and recording industries.  “So what?” you ask. “After all don’t we do live productions not studio work?”

Imagine this.  You’re getting ready for the opening session of a several hundred thousand dollar show.  There is an opening entertainment number involving singing jugglers and lots of spandex, the CEO will then welcome everyone, a keynote presenter is up next, and a six-person panel discussion follows him.  The room will then break for a half hour for people to get their drink on, and come back to a live party band playing their favorites.  That is a lot of information, and your job is to not only managing the chaos, but also to make everything sound good. 

Enter virtual sound check.  Not only can today’s digital consoles record each channel to a separate track, but with the push of a button or two you can play back the tracks you just recorded, over the PA through the exact channels that were used to make the initial recording.  This means that the 5-minute rehearsal where each of the 6 panel participants said three words before ripping off their mic and running to the next breakout session, was just recorded onto your computer.  Now you can play back each voice separately from one another to your hearts content! You can dial them in on the channel they will using during the show as if they were on stage speaking live, until their mics are EQ’d, compressed, gated, auto mixed (pick one, or pick ‘em all, it’s digital!) perfectly and conveniently.  It’s the same with the band. Have them play a song or two, and as they go back to their day jobs, you can annoy the lighting guy with your endless playback and… more importantly, create a perfect mix.  

Here’s the rub.  Some companies are putting these pieces together better than others.  Surprisingly enough, how well they work does not necessarily have to do with how big your piggy bank is.  Here are some quick talking points on two of the consoles that really stood out from the pack this year.

Avid Venue Profile

Avid makes Pro Tools, which has been an industry standard recording program for years.  They are the ones who pioneered the virtual sound check idea, and thus far, have managed to stay ahead of the curve.  The Venue

series ranges from the large and versatile D-Show to the much more affordable but limited SC48.  Here are several things Avid seems to be doing better then most others right now:

1.  A very intuitive work surface.  Especially for those who started in the analog world (which is still the majority).  The consoles workflow is based on analog principles, and thus, is much easier to wrap your brain around.

2.   Very user-friendly multi track recording interface.  Since Avid owns Pro Tools, they designed the Venue consoles around that recording platform, (which comes free with the console).  Meaning the console and computer used for recording will sync together easily and relatively seamlessly.  Because their recording platform is so solid the virtual sound check feature is second to none.

3.  They have the most comprehensive plug-in package available on the market.  Avid has essentially welcomed an open market for companies to create their own effects, compressors, gates, and whatever else your audiophillic (not a word I know, but it should be) heart may desire, to load on the console and use rampantly.  Many of these plug-ins are designed around very expensive pieces of rack gear at a fraction of the price.  

The Venues have taken the place of the Yamaha PM5D as the preferred digital touring console, and for good reason.  The Profile, which is their middle of the road console, can be customized to accommodate 48 or 96 inputs and outputs, and the internal processing can be scaled from just-get-you-by, to give-you-enough-computing-power-to-run-a-small-country.   If you refer to the picture above, the processing is contained in the rack unit just below the console, which means that the console surface is simply for control (think keyboard and mouse controlling the actual computer contained in a tower enclosure).  That rack space-computing unit is where the mix engines are housed. (“mix engine” is how Avid refers to their processors).  The Profile comes stock with 3 mix engines, which is enough computing power for most mixing applications, but can be fitted with 5, which is just shy of making this thing sprout wings and fly.  The rack on the left is called the stage rack, and is typically stationed in A2 or monitor world.  It contains all of the pre-amps, and is connected to the console via BNC cables, which can reach up to 500 feet before needing a signal boost.  Each Stage Rack contains 48 in/outs and you can put up to 2 Stage Racks on each console, each on their own BNC run, which beats carrying around hundreds of pounds of copper.  There is also a Front of House Rack not pictured here which will allow you to plug in your computer, 360, talkback mic etc. at the FOH mix position.

All of these features come with a price tag of course, which (hope you’re sitting down) ranges from around $35,000 to $50,000 depending on how crazy you want to get.  If you want to dig a little deeper into the Profile and other consoles in the Avid Venue family, you can check them out here www.avid.com/US/categories/Live-Sound-Production

PreSonus StudioLive

Surprisingly enough,  I have found two of the most innovative offerings, are from companies that started exclusively in the recording realm.  The StudioLive is a good example of this.  The first great feature of this console is the price, 24 inputs and 16 outs for $3300.  The flexibility of more expensive mixers is not there, and there are no motorized faders.  All of this is done, however, in order to keep the price manageable.  Here are some of the highlights of this soundboard:

1.  There is complete, real-time, software control of the mixer, since the faders are not motorized you simply push a button to turn them off and mix virtually to your heart’s content.  

2.  There is an iPad app for StudioLive that connects wirelessly to the console via the connected computer, and makes it infinitely more usable.

3. The multi-track recording interface is easy to use with a variety of recording programs.  There is a virtual sound check feature with this console as well, and (I was told by an end user not a sales guy) it works really well.

The layout is easy.  If you take a look at the picture to the left you will see that it plugs in like an analog console, there is no option to re-patch one input to another, or assign aux 3 to aux 7 like you can on many other digital consoles, which can be limiting, but makes set up and programming much quicker.  Another small down side is that the only way for a computer to connect is via one of two firewire 400 ports, which of course means that you cannot connect a wireless router and walk around to tune the room with computer in hand.  The way they give the mixer wireless capabilities is through the iPad app mentioned above, which connects to the console through the computer that is hardwired into the firewire ports, in effect turning your computer into a wireless router.  All things considered the StudioLive sounds good, has a lot of functionality with the built in EQ, Effects and recording capabilities, and for the price that is a winning combination.  To check out the StudioLive in more detail go to: www.presonus.com/products/Mixers

There are more manufacturers who are doing “digital right” at varying price points.  No doubt that the longer the industry is immersed in digital, the better it’s going to sound, and the cheaper it will get.  Simply for the sake of time and space these are 2 console makers that are doing things well in their own markets.  Others to check out though are the Midas Pro Series (1 through 10), the Digico SD Consoles, and Yamaha with their new CL line and nifty Dugan and Dante options.

Until next time,

Live long. Mix well.

Nathan Clark

National Director of Audio

J&S Audio Visual

Show Services

Originally wanting to get into a recording career, Nathan started working in live sound directly out of high school in order to gain a better understanding of audio.  Employed in the field part time while working on a college degree in economics, live audio quickly became his passion.  Deciding this was the career path he wanted to follow Nathan initially hired on full time with Dallas Stage Right, then in 2004 struck out on his own as a freelancer.  Nathan came on board with J&S Audio Visual as the director of the audio department in 2007, and is excited about new technologies on the horizon, and looking forward to tackling the opportunities they present with the rest of the audio team.