DALY CITY, CA – Digidesign's Mix Rack option for its VENUE live sound systems made its U.S. debut last month as a part of the Adore Worship Tour. When combined with a D-Show Profile system, Mix Rack is designed to offer a compact and affordable entry into the Venue family that is ideal for small- to mid-sized venues, houses of worship, corporate A/V applications and regional tours.
FOH Engineer Jayme Braun, whose live credits include Switchfoot, Israel and New Breed, Bryan White, and American Idol winners The Clark Brothers, selected a D-Show Profile Mix Rack system for the tour, which played college theaters from Arizona to Louisiana. A veteran of numerous live Pro Tools recordings, Braun had nothing but praise for the Mix Rack.
“It’s just been a dream come true,” he remarks. “I’ve used VENUE since it first came out, and I’ve always been a fan of its sound and its functionality. Adding the Mix Rack makes it hands down the most efficient and portable rig I’ve ever worked with. Just take two lids off, plug in two cables, and you’re ready to go. I would love to take this with me wherever I go.”
Mix Rack combines all stage, local audio I/O, and DSP into a single, compact 11-space rack enclosure, offering an affordable alternative to Venue systems that use the more expansive and separate FOH Rack and Stage Rack systems. Mix Rack offers much of the same functionality of the dual VENUE I/O and processing components with a smaller footprint and easy portability.
“I’ve worked on lots of digital consoles,” says Braun, “and the Venue system is more intuitive than anything I’ve ever used. And being able to choose from the full range of Pro Tools plug-ins, it’s really like being a kid in a candy store.”
Braun also loves the compactness of the tour’s D-Show Profile console. “I’m a big fan of Venue in all its forms,” he says. “I love the ability to run so many high-end plug-ins, I love the user interface, and I love the tight integration with Pro Tools. I also really like the smaller footprint of the Profile console. I can have all my channels at my fingertips with just a press of the banking buttons. And for a lot of the smaller tours we do, the Profile is really ideal. You only need two guys to load and unload it, so between that and the Mix Rack, it makes loading in and setting up so much easier.”
While it’s fully compatible with both the D-Show and D-Show Profile consoles, Mix Rack is currently only available as part of the D-Show Profile Mix Rack System, which includes a D-Show Profile console, Mix Rack, VenuePack 3.0 software bundle, iLok USB Smart Key (pre-authorized with all factory-installed and VenuePack 3.0 plug-ins), video monitor mounting bracket (monitor not included), trackball mounting bracket (trackball not included), FOH Link cable, and all necessary software (including D-Show 2.7 software).
About VENUE
Digidesign’s VENUE live sound environment is revolutionizing the art and profession of live sound mixing with studio-quality sound, TDM plug-in effects processing, and direct connectivity to industry-standard Pro Tools recording and playback systems. For more information about the VENUE line of products, visit www.digidesign.com/venue.
