Capture, Studio One and Virtual StudioLive
Each of the three mixers in the current StudioLive family – the original 16.4.2, the flagship 24.4.2 and the new compact 16.0.2 – share the ability to be a full FireWire-enabled digital audio recording interface. All three come with Virtual StudioLive control software, Capture for basic digital recording and Studio One for the more advanced work. The included software makes StudioLive consoles veritable Swiss Army knives. This review covers some highlights of each and how they can be implemented in a live setting.
PreSonus is known for FireWire computer recording interfaces. The 1RU FireStudio Project has eight microphone pre-amps, while the 1/3RU FireStudio Mobile has 2 mic-pres and six TRS line-ins. StudioLive mixers are also computer interfaces. We could write a book on FireWire, but the bottom line is that, for Mac users, it's a no-brainer, however for PC peeps, only certain combinations of hardware and software work (http://www.PreSonus.com/media/pdf/hardware_compatibility.pdf). Built-in FireWire with good chipsets and drivers aren't common on Windows machines, and older products are actually sometimes better.
Two of the original 16.4.2 mixers can be daisy-chained together with FireWire to make a 32-channel system and still be able to record. When a third 16.4.2 is added for 48 channels, they lose the ability to record. Similarly, two 24.4.2 consoles can be chained together, but then can't record. The 16.0.2 can't chain with other StudioLive mixers, but it can with other FW devices and with a computer. All SL mixers can be FW-chained with any FireStudio-series interface for extra recording-only inputs (such as room ambience mics) as long as the 52-channel limit isn't exceeded (counting returns, up to 104 total audio streams).
The Software Components
The Universal Control software is the same for all of PreSonus' FireStudio devices. This allows all of the devices in the family to be able to appear as one device to your recording software. But that isn't the most exciting part for road warriors. Virtual Studio-Live is exactly as its name implies: a mixer on your computer screen that you control and manipulate in tandem with the real thing (except for the analog mic-pres and the digital Aux output masters). VSL also doesn't control the solo bus, monitor bus, tape inputs, aux inputs, and talkback – anything in Master Control.
At the top of VSL are several view selection buttons (depending upon your choice of StudioLive). You have overview, which provides small windows of what's happening throughout your whole mixer in real time. This is nice to keep an eye on everything at once. Not really enough to start blowing my kilt up either, until you add in another capability of VSL: Drag and drop of whole scenes, 31-band GEQs and entire channel presets. For example, using the GEQs on your main outputs, if there are several venues that you work often, you can save a preset for each room.
Now for the Scene changes. The venue is one you've already configured, and there are three different bands performing. If you've dealt with them, before there might be a scene saved on the board itself or in your computer. Simply drag and drop from either the board (which can be accessed through your computer) or from a scene saved to the computer itself. That'll save you some time in sound-check (especially if someone is late as usual).
The Channel tab on the top of the screen opens another view. Using VSL, selecting a channel on the desk or in software opens an enlarged view of the individual Fat Channel. I find that makes it easier to perform fine adjustments and actually see how those relate to the rest of the processing chain. If you've ever wondered what your EQ curve for that acoustic guitar or lead singer's mic really looks like… you can see it with VSL. You can also edit directly in the graphic display – just grab the EQ or compression curve and tweak. In the overview, you can double click and see a zoomed view of the dynamics processors and EQ.
Last but not least are the 31-band stereo output graphic equalizers; four pairs on the 24.4.2, but one pair on the mains of both 16s – (though a pending 16.4.2 update will provide an update to add GEQs to all six auxiliary sends).
The StudioLive Remote iPad App
The biggest problem in our live sound world is that we're often in a poor position to properly hear the mix. With SL Remote you now have a wireless connection to the computer running VSL and its StudioLive console. With SL Remote, the operator can roam venue and stage to listen and adjust mains or monitors without even touching the mixer itself. Nearly everything in VSL is emulated and controllable from SL Remote in a very clean and easily-understandable way. Connection is not complicated, and PreSonus provides good troubleshooting to get you connected if there are any problems. At this time, the Remote app does not officially support SL 16.0.2, but it will support it in an update expected soon.
It's amazing how much you can really do with a mix when you hear what your audience is hearing. When you get back to the board you can match everything back up by simply pressing the locate button and moving its faders to match their in SL Remote positions. Everything else is done within the board. This is where motorized faders would be nice, but I know I couldn't afford even the 16.0.2 if it had them. The fader Locate feature is a nice compromise that keeps this board in the hands of the everyday sound guy or the band on a budget.
PreSonus Capture
Anyone who's been doing this a while has been asked more than once to record the show, which used to require a split snake, a person and a computer to run the recording software, plus a set of interfaces to be able to get enough tracks into the computer – a royal pain and expense, often beyond the capabilities of weekend warriors without cutting into their workflow and budget. PreSonus came up with the hands-down easiest piece of software for tracking. It does exactly what its name implies. It captures tracks for future mixing and mastering. It works only with SL consoles (or a pair of 16.4.2). It's wickedly simple to operate. Plug in. Turn on. Double click. Arm. Record.
Another cool feature that I use often in the military chapels I deal with is the virtual sound check capability. The band can record in Capture, put down their instruments, come stand by the console and hear what they just played through FOH with Fat Channel settings in place exactly as they are for the actual song. They hear the mix I've set up by simply arming the FireWire returns on the board and clicking play and can comment on it so I can give them what the song calls for, not just my interpretation of it, or a compromise that sounds better than either. Once we have it where we like it, we can then save the setting in VSL for that song. Not bad for a basic recording program.
The main extra that's cool is that you can drop markers and then export the regions between markers as individual multi-track folders. So you can drop a marker at the start and end of each song, then export them all with one command at the end. These markers also serve as location markers so you can quickly get to each song – great if the band wants to hear how they did and have no patience for waiting while you queue the songs!
Studio One
Now, I'm not studio oriented. All my mix-down and mastering has been on Sony 7506 headphones, and I'm maybe a step above a novice when it comes to recording studios. However, there are things you can do in a live setting with Studio One and a Studio-Live that you can't do with the console alone. A perfect example is the fact that I can't think of a single mixer in this price range that comes with a decent chorus effect. With Studio One Artist, you can use any of its included effects, using the mixer's continuous bi-directional FW send/receive to use DAW plugins as insert effects. These include amp modeling, stereo panning, channel strip, expander, flanger, multi-tap and tempo-synchronized delay, tape-delay emulation, limiter, multi-band compressor, 5-band PEQ with low cut and high cut, and room reverb to name just a few. This works because StudioLive's latency is low enough to use DAW plugins in real time for live shows, so it's not limited to Studio One, it works with any DAW: Pro Tools 9, Logic, Sonar, whatever.
Studio One Artist is also easy to learn and use because you don't use a lot of menus. Everything is drag-and-drop, including loading and saving audio and MIDI files, effects, and virtual instruments. Studio One Artist has no track or plugin limitations, unlike other entry-level DAWs. It's optimized for modern multi-core processors and operating systems so it's fast and efficient. It has all of the extensive Song editing tools of the Pro version, with no compromises. (written by the people who created Nuendo and much of Cubase – ed.)
Spending the extra $199 to upgrade Studio One to the Pro version allows use of any native, Audio Units or VST plugins with your live mix, including Waves, which emulates the best gear on the planet. The great thing about using Studio One in conjunction with your live mix is that you can still record with it. If you got really crazy, you could mix the entire show from it through the FireWire returns on the StudioLive.
I can't say enough for my experiences with PreSonus and their products. I've immersed myself in the Louisiana Voodoo and dined of the magical Jambalaya (recipe in the back of every PreSonus manual). This combination of hardware, software, and ingenuity has turned a simple country boy into a business owner of a regional sound company. The flexibility and capabilities are as endless as your imagination. Cost savings from the dynamics, EQs and software that come with the mixer are worth as much as the desk itself. And not only am I a successful engineer, apparently now I'm a writer too! All thanks to the capabilities of the StudioLive package. May the PreSonus Voodoo be with you.
Jon Taylor (Monolithent) is a frequent participant on PreSonus' StudioLive forums and principal of Monolith Soundworks in New Jersey.
