This is the first of a two-part review. Next month: A closer look at some of the things you can do with the software bundle that comes with this product. Far from a throw-in, the software is really an integral part of what this product is all about. -ed.
One of the quirks about this business is that the older and supposedly more knowledgeable you get, the faster the transition is from cool, new "toy" to necessary "tool!"
Many of you have heard about the PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2. The tendency with a mixer in this price range is to use the refrain, "But what do you expect for around three grand?" and to use it in some kind of negative connotation. You would be very wrong, indeed.
The Gear
This is a high-tech tool with a low-tech price. I pulled the desk out and set it up in the living room with a powered speaker and some headphones. It is a sexy little thing with a pretty straightforward, rear connection panel. The lighted buttons are easy to operate and the faders have an easy touch. Overall it compares very well with the analog, small-dollar versions of industry favorites – not what one would expect for a few thousand dollars. Even the packaging is pretty cool.
My education on this new-fangled contraption started with slapping a Shure 58 mic into channel one and selecting it. The Gain/Trim knob is at the top for all 24 channels – no layer hunting on this console. This puts channel one on the Fat Channel – and yes there is an easily readable display for the "Selected Channel;" a separate, old school, LED display. When you select a channel, all 24 of the Fat Channel LED meters are active for that channel, showing you the parameters for (L to R) the HP filter, Gate, Compressor, Limiter and EQ. Plus the Pan display is active for the selected channel.
It will take you about two minutes to go through the Fat Channel section from Phase, Hi-Pass, Gate, Comp, EQ, Limiter, Pan, and Output Assign. Once you have done the quick overview, spend a little time on each of these processors/filters; especially the EQ. My opinion; having a variable Hi-Pass on each channel alone is worth the price of admission.
Are you ready for the best part? Most of the Fat Channel processing not only can be used on the input channels, but also on the busses – Left/Right, Subgroups, Aux Sends, Internal FX Sends, External FX Returns and even more stuff when you make use of the FireWire Sends. This handy-dandy unit is very powerful, and at 51 lbs., I simply carried it out to the FOH mix position at the last gig, a festival, under my arm. No other racks or gear, just drag a pig-bag with the fan end of the snake and AC and one can be up and running in no time.
Back to my learning curve – there honestly wasn't much of one, and the toughest concept to grasp was the multi-function Mix buttons on each of the Auxes. Press it once and you have access to 24 encoders, one for each channel, that become the Aux-send level control for that channel for that particular mix. Again, no layer hunting! Press this Mix button again and the first seven encoders become the Aux-send level controls for: the main FireWire return, Analog Tape In, Aux Input A, Aux Input B, the outputs of FXA and FXB and the Talkback Mic. Therein lies another deficiency with my review, as I saw no reason to go "outside the box" for anything.
The dynamics are really cool and simple to use and I am a big fan of the downward expander anyway. Be careful; you quickly get so comfortable with all the pretty lights that developing a bad habit of mixing with your eyes might become a distinct possibility.
Not only is the Gate super simple, the Compressor is just as fun and as addicting. It has an Auto mode button that sets the attack to 10 ms and the release to 150 ms, leaving the Threshold, Ratio and Makeup Gain for you to adjust normally. I didn't use this feature, but probably could/should have at the festival with seven death-metal bands.
If you spend the majority of your career on low-end mixers like me, you are going to fall in love the StudioLive's EQ section. Tons of control, tons of sweetening, it took me out of my game, which is ordinarily to simply reinforce what's coming off stage. I found myself trying to polish those turds, because with this much power you think you can.
Other stuff: It has four subgroups, 10 analog aux outputs – you can link pairs and put up five stereo IEM mixes – and two internal FX busses. The internal FX I found usable, but not as lush or deep as I might have liked. You can go deeper in and change various parameters, so I will attribute this issue to the operator's skill level.
Another excellent feature is the four stereo, 31-band, 1/3 octave graphic EQs. These GEQs can be configured as dual mono; they don't have to be stereo. So you could have GEQs on each of your Aux Sends, for instance, with separate parameter settings for each channel. They would be assigned in odd/even pairs (so for instance you can put a dual-mono GEQ on Aux 1/2, and the GEQ for each channel could have different settings). When you adjust one of the encoders which acts as your EQ fader in EQ mode, the StudioLive then oversamples that new curve, using 128 bands to find coefficients which it subtracts from the curve you put in to produce a flat response: 0dB. Coefficents for each additional boost/cut then use the same optimization process – this "recursive" process. I think this is a fancy way of saying the frequency and bandwidth are not truly fixed, but will more accurately reflect the curve you have represented. This "curve fitting" may be a little odd at first, but you will quickly be able to achieve better results and thus better sound. Isn't that the ultimate goal?
The Gigs
I am in Las Vegas and two of the band-style gigs for this review were outside. One event was on a cloudy day and the other out in the blazing hot sun. As you may have guessed, the lighted knobs and the smallish screen tended to disappear as the sun sank to horizon and invaded my little pop-up tent. I know I am reaching for something to bitch about, but remember, for most of you and especially me, the StudioLive offers a whole lot of features that will cover a majority of your gigs.
This console was used on a couple of talking-head gigs – an all-day, poolside event with a lot of acoustic guitars, violins, an auto-harp, regular band gear, etc., and a festival for 20,000 kids with it on one of four stages with seven local, screamo-style bands. In each case it performed flawlessly. You will need to add a BNC light, get the dust cover and spring for a third-party flight case complete with doghouse for corporate stuff needing that buttoned-down look.
Rumor is that a new frame size may be in the offing. It is possible to chain two StudioLive 24.4.2s for 48-channel mixing – but then you do not have recording or computer control because chaining two 24.4.2s, which also cascades the subs and auxes, maxes out the FireWire capabilities. (This is different from the StudioLive 16.4.2, where you can chain two units and still have computer control and recording.) However, you can chain FireStudio-series interfaces with a SL 24.4.2 for more recording inputs, and then you do have computer control and recording.
Learn how to use this board. Yeah, I know it doesn't have an optional second PSU, but what do you expect for such a product that is going for a street price of around $3,300? Given this price point with 24 channels, great sound and dynamics, good internal FX and a ton of bells and whistles, PreSonus will grab a large share of the small pro mixer market.
