Category Archives: Mixing Systems
StudioLive Shines and Floats at Seattle’s Seafair
[This just in from Sean Walker, Seattle audio engineer and boating enthusiast. He recently took his friends, and his StudioLive 16.4.2, for a spin out on Lake Washington during the city’s annual Seafair festival. Oh, and he also brought his band, and remotely mixed the band’s performance on the water while mixing via StudioLive Remote on his iPad. From a floating trampoline. Seriously. Pics follow.]
It’s August in Seattle, and that means two things: less rain than normal and our annual Seafair celebration! Seafair is a week-long celebration culminating on the first Sunday in August with the H1 Unlimited Hydroplane races and an air show over the race course on lake Washington! The race course is surrounded by a log boom on the outside perimeter to keep pleasure crafts from getting run over by a 200 MPH hydro. Now, being the festive sort, we often fill the log boom with boats and party like it’s Mardi Gras! This year, however, we outdid ourselves with the help of our friends at PreSonus, Audix, Sennheiser and QSC. This year, our client and I loaded a Yacht with a 6 Kilowatt generator, a PreSonus Studiolive 16.4.2, four QSC KW181 subs, four KW122 tops, and some K12s for monitors, and invited our friends in the fantastic cover band, The Herding Cats to THROW DOWN ON TOP OF THE YACHT!
Naturally, this presented a unique set of challenges. There were to be identical bow and stern PA rigs (you don’t want any survivors… I mean, anyone to miss the show), monitors for the band, and a wireless transmission to another yacht. So, we set up the speakers, ran power and signal, then ran a snake to the top of the vessel where the band would play as I mixed from inside the cabin. Thankfully for me, this was not my StudioLive’s first rodeo. Rather than the old guess-and-check method I’m used to when there is no proper FOH position, I got to relax on the floating trampoline behind the Yacht and mix the show, via StudioLive Remote on my iPad, iced tea in hand! If that isn’t a win, I don’t know what is! Also, the StudioLive’s ability to link Auxiliary sends to stereo made the wireless transmission to the other yacht a breeze!
The Microphones were all Sennheiser and Audix, except for an RE20 on the kick. Vocals all ran wirelessly. An E965 for Jon, who is the drummer/lead singer. E835’s were deployed for Mike and Rick’s backing vocals. Mike’s Fender Twin amp was miked with an E609 in the standard “Yeah, that’s just right” spot where the dust cap meets the cone. A DI was used for Rick’s bass to keep things “simple.” Since Jon thinks he’s some kind of Bonham, and drenches his drums with pitchers of water for an AWESOME spectacle during the bands Led Zeppelin melody, durable is the name of the game here. Snare and toms were Audix F-series with a Sennheiser E901 plate in the kick and an RE20 for kick out.
The day went off without a hitch and the band sounded fantastic! Most importantly, we had fun and that’s what this game is all about!
A HUGE thank you to Presonus, Sennheiser, Audix and QSC for making fantastic gear in both function and sound. We could not have pulled this off nearly as easily without their help!
The Herding Cats are Jon Bolton, Mike Mattingly and Rick Lovrovich. If you find yourself in the Seattle area, you owe it to yourself to catch them in action!
Sean Walker is a Freelance Audio Engineer in the Seattle area.
PreSonus LIVE airs today: StudioLive 16.0.2 Overview
FREE LIVE WEBCAST!
PreSonus LIVE Airs Today! 2 p.m. CST / 3 p.m. EST / Noon PST / 19:00 GMT
http://www.presonus.com/videos/presonuslive
Join PreSonus Technology Evangelist Justin Spence as he takes you on a guided tour of the StudioLive 16.0.2!
The 16.0.2 packs a lot of mixing power into a very portable package. Tune in to learn some of its innermost secrets.
Tremendous Giveaway in August 2013 from American Musical Supply!
The kind folks at American Musical Supply just announced their incredible PreSonus giveaway, including a whopper of a $5,129 prize package that includes:
- PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2 Digital Mixer
- 2x – PreSonus Eris E8 Powered Studio Monitor
- Raxxess SS36 Studio Monitor Speaker Stands – 36 Inch, Pair
- SM Pro Audio Active Speaker Starter Pack
It’s easy to enter, just click here and fill out their form! This is an incredible chance to get a whole lotta stuff with minimal effort, which is always a popular proposition.
Scott Szeryk’s “Celtic Rainbow,” Live at the Aeolian Hall
[This just in from Scott Szeryk!]
We multi-tracked the entire show via the Studio Live 24.4.2 into Capture. Great care was taken on ensure that the instrument sources all sounded top notch (drums, bass, guitar, keys) and appropriate mics and DIs were used to capture the sounds of the instruments.
Drum mics were as follows:
- AKG D112—kick
- Shure SM 57s—snare top and bottom
- Shure KSM 32’s—toms
- Shure KSM 137—hi-hat and ride
- AKG 414s—overheads
For post-production (mixing and mastering) we used Studio One, and things were kept pretty simple as the performances and sounds were good at the source. I’m not a “fix it in the mix” type of engineer, so the sounds have to be great to begin with. Also we didn’t use any drum samples whatsoever. The drums sounded great and basic EQing (cut some of the boxey mids) and slight compression (just a hint, 2:1 with slow attack to keep the bass response) were used on the drums, and that’s it. Guitars were plugged straight into the Fractal AXE FX2, bass and keys ran DI. The XMAX preamps on the StudioLive are so good that it helped the mix come together pretty quick!
Churches Praise PreSonus StudioLive
The StudioLive family of digital mixers have become a sonic solution for houses of worship around the globe. We recently compiled this great series of testimonials from live sound engineers who rely on the StudioLive for their events. Thanks much to everyone who had a hand in this!
For more on the StudioLive solution, click here.
Enter to Win a StudioLive 32.4.2AI in the “Why StudioLive” Video Contest!
Our recent “Why I Switched to Studio One” video contest was such a smashing success that we decided to kick it up a notch.
So, here’s your contest. Prime directive? Extrapolate! The whole human race deserves to know why you chose the StudioLive mixer out of the billions and billions of mixers available in our little blue corner of the galaxy. The best video, as chosen by PreSonus galactic overlords, will receive the flagship mixer of our next generation, the StudioLive 32.4.2AI—a $3,999 value.
So, again, we want videos. Billions and billions of videos! This contest shares much in common with the last contest, but with the following upgrades:
- No online voting this time. PreSonus will choose the winning video. Last time we got a lot of fraudulent votes that we traced to an IP address in a pirate sector of Zeta Centauri.
- The second-place winner will receive a pair of Sceptre S8 monitors, a $1,999 value.
- Non-English submissions are welcome, but must include English subtitles to qualify for entry.
- Please keep your videos around 1:30, 2:00 maximum. Videos even one picosecond over 2:00 will not be considered for entry.
Here’s the rest of the guidelines.
Create a video detailing why you chose the StudioLive mixer over the universe of mixers available.
- Be specific about why you chose the StudioLive. Discuss your favorite most-used features.
- Be mindful of the YouTube generation’s attention span. Keep it around 1:30.
- Upload the video to YouTube, and make sure it’s set to be publicly viewable.
- Submit your link at Facebook.com/PreSonus, using the VIDEO CONTEST application viewable under our cover photo. All fields are required. Submit by October 1, 2013 to qualify.
- That’s it! You’re entered!
Here’s what we’re NOT in search of:
- Nudity, profanity, violence, or any content that YouTube would remove your video over.
- Videos that are too long. Keep it around 1:30, please.
- “I like Studio One, AND NOW HERE’S MY BAND CHECK US OUT WE’LL BE PLAYING AT THE HOQIUAM SENIOR CENTER ON SATURDAY.” Stay on-topic.
- If you use music in the video, it must be your own. No cover songs.
- Film school projects/Oscar Contenders. You don’t need a Director of Photography, Hair & Makeup department, or Final Cut Pro to win. But it might help.
The grand prize winner will receive a StudioLive 32.4.2AI, and a free upgrade to Studio One Professional 2.5. If you’re already running Studio One Pro 2.5, we can connect you with the PreSonus product of your choice as long as it’s under $300 in value.
The second place winner will receive a pair of Sceptre S8 monitors.
All video content submitted becomes the property of PreSonus Audio Electronics. Winner will be announced on or around October 2, 2013
Full lawyer-appeasing legalese can be found here.
The 32.4.2AI is light years ahead of previous StudioLive consoles, offering:
- Double the amount of onboard internal effects buses and graphic EQs
- Six mute groups
- User-assignable Quick Scene buttons.
- A Wi-Fi LAN adapter–no computer required for wireless connectivity!
- 64 times the processing power and 10,000 times the amount of RAM of the StudioLive 24.4.2.
#TeamPreSonus Spotlight: Paul Peters!
Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?
Royal Teeth on the StudioLive Complete Solution
Louisiana’s own Royal Teeth recently had an incredible trip on the road this summer, and they brought their StudioLive with them… as well as some video cameras, iPhones, and positive attitudes.
Upon choosing the StudioLive, Royal Teeth didn’t just end up hauling a mixer around. The StudioLive provided Royal Teeth with a complete solution for all of their touring needs, including:
• Live mixing of their shows
• Multi-track recording of shows along the entire tour, via Capture 2
• Mixing and publication of live show recordings via Studio One 2.5
• Room analysis and tuning using StudioLive’s integrated Smaart Wizards
• Onstage personal monitoring via QMix
• Remote iPad mixing via StudioLive Remote
• Fan acquisition via Nimbit’s FanCheck.In.
ALL of these technologies are included with the StudioLive mixers. For more on the StudioLive series, visit:
https://www.presonus.com/products/StudioLive-24.4.2
Here’s a whole slew of six videos featuring Royal Teeth’s experience on the road with their StudioLive, its Smaart integration, QMix, and Nimbit. Big thanks to Royal Teeth for their support of the PreSonus brand; glad to have you kind folks on board!
#TeamPreSonus Spotlight: Brian Busch!
[We decided it best to give some recognition to our more vocal advocates—and what better way than via a blog series?]
Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?
I’m Brian Busch—Owner and Lead Engineer for Diamond Entertainment.
How were you introduced to PreSonus?
I started reading reviews and keeping an eye on PreSonus after the release of the StudioLive 16.4.2. It was pointed out to me by Roger Blevins, the lead singer for Mingo Fishtrap. He has long been a fan of PreSonus preamps, which he uses in his studio. With his recommendation and after some research of my own, once the StudioLive 24.4.2 was released I snapped one up and have been using it ever since.
I own a StudioLive 24.4.2 mixing console attached to a Mac Mini that has Capture and Studio One. We record our shows. Mingo Fishtrap is about to go on tour, and we will be using Capture to record the tour for a live album later to be produced later in the year. I also use an iPad to remotely mix most of my shows with StudioLive Remote. Even when I am not mixing with the iPad, it is an awesome tool for EQing monitors. The Smaart Measurement Technology is great for finding crazy frequencies that show up in the middle of a show.
In a word – flexibility. In my business, being able to adapt to whatever situation is thrown at you is paramount. I constantly have to set my mixer up on the stage, or side stage, for instance, because the show we are playing is for a wedding, I can remotely mix without ruining any the pictures of the bride’s special day.
When on tour, we will mix the show through the StudioLive 24.4.2 and just send a left/right to the front of house. This helps us out because we never know what situation we are showing up to. It could be a club with an old 16-channel board (we need 22, minimum) or a festival with some unfamiliar digital console. However, using this board and my iPad, I can stand right out in the sweet spot of the audience and mix the show from there. Festival stages love this because we only tie up two channels on their snake.
I also like the solid punchy sound of the preamps. No other mixer I use delivers more. This is true especially for drums. I can make just about any drum kit sound like a million bucks with those preamps.
Where can our readers learn more about you online?
Right here:
https://www.facebook.com/
#TeamPreSonus Spotlight: Steve Savanyu! Hedgehogs, Presidents, and Popes… Oh, my.
[We decided it best to give some recognition to our more vocal advocates—and what better way than via a blog series.]
Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?
Steve Savanyu. Hudson Ohio, I am the educational services director at Audio-Technica and teach at Kent State University. I teach microphone and wireless workshops at universities around the country and have taught at all of the PreSounSphere events… In my spare time I operate Buford T. Hedgehog Productions, a local production company that does live sound, studio recording , live remote recording, video production and lights just for giggles. I also participate in really big events such as Presidential Debates, Papal visits, and Inaugurations….
How were you introduced to PreSonus?
Through a friendship with Rick Naqvi, at a church sound seminar where I was teaching a microphone class. I assisted with a live recording at the event where we used 3 FirePods aggregated together on my Mac laptop. It was a fun experience and we learned a lot. Ask Rick about hot patching into a non-transformer isolated 48-channel stage snake splitter. It made a big noise on a really expensive NEXO line array…. Oops.
What PreSonus software/hardware do you use and for what purpose?
Where shall I begin? I currently own 5 StudioLive 16.4.2’s, one StudioLive 24.4.2, and 1 StudioLive 16.0.2 which I use primarily for live gigs. I also have been known to carry the 16.0.2 out as the front end for remote tracking sessions using Capture. (I have recorded the orchestral score for two Kent State Student films this way). My original location rig is a FireStudio with 2 Digimax Pres to give me 24 inputs. (I multitracked a basketball game with it for an Audio Technica project. We were showing how different mics and positions affected game sound for broadcast.) In the studio I have a Central Station with remote for speaker management, and a FaderPort which I use as a controller for the audio part of my video edit rig. I picked up an AudioBox 44VSL for location video work (tied into a MacBook Pro laptop). I run a legacy Pro Tools rig in the studio with a DIGI-003 interface (back when ProTools required Digi hardware) with DigiMax D8 mic pre. The band I work with uses two of the 16.4.2s and performs about four nights a week on average (in different locations). The ease of operation on the StudioLive console and the ability to save scenes makes it a snap for the band to use.
On the software side, I use Capture to record almost every live event we do. The low overhead of capture allows me to use some pretty basic computers to record up to 32 tracks via two linked StudioLive 16.4.2s. In the studio, I have been using Studio One Professional 2.5 as my main edit software. I like it, as it’s intuitive and has low computer processing overhead so it runs great on a laptop. As an experiment, I mixed a seven-song EP of a band I work with on a flight from LA to New York! I was burning out the CD as the flight attendant was saying power down your electronic devices for landing. Of course my Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones made accurate monitoring possible in the plane’s less-than-fancy mixdown environment.
I have dabbled with iPad control on my larger rig, but not implemented it completely due to the expense of buying seven iPads, computers and routers. I am looking forward to the StudioLive 32.4.2AI with its built-in networking. I can beta test… 🙂
What’s so great about PreSonus, anyhow?
First and foremost is the people! I have called Justin and Rick on weekends and evenings with questions and they always get back to me promptly. I have participated in both PreSonuSphere events and like the camaraderie of the entire PreSonus Family.
Second, is the products just work and sound good. They are intuitive to learn making it easy for me to train a band’s engineer on using a digital board. We like the fact the processing is built-in to the StudioLive consoles. The presets sound great, and make it easy to get a mix up even if you have never done sound for the band before. True story: Early on we did a gig for a band who was unfamiliar with the power of a digital console. It was an outdoor event so I had the 16.4.2 out front with the snake and a power cable for FOH stuff. Their diva lead singer, who knew everything about sound and told me so, was being a pain in the butt. He walked out to FOH, looked at the “smallish” console and said “dude where is your effects/EQ rack?” I hesitated for a moment and looked him in the eye and said: “Dang, I knew we forgot something…” The look on his face was priceless…
And third of course, is the jambalaya…
Where can our readers learn more about you online?
First and foremost, check out the Audio-Technica.com website. A-T makes great studio and live mics that pair up well with PreSonus hardware. Our new AT5040 with its revolutionary capsule design and “pure, simple signal path” would pair up well with the ADL 700 Channel Strip (hint hint, I have the mic…) Our Artist Series and Artist Elite live sound mics are second to none.
As for me, check out my website www.bufordthedgehog.com and visit me on Facebook. I try to post a FOH picture of every gig I do either on my page or the PreSonus user group page. I am on LinkedIn but don’t do the Twitter thing.
You can see some of my video work on the A-T YouTube channel as well as other audio companies’ YouTube channels. I have several published articles about doing audio for video and I am the audio expert on the FilmSkills online training series produced by Jason Tomuric.
I attend all of the major trade shows: NAMM, INFOCOMM, NAB, etc. and do microphone and sound workshops at universities, church conferences (with my good friend Doug Gould) and trade shows. You can’t miss my distinctive look…. just ask for the blonde guy!