One thing we like here at PreSonus is truth in advertising, and I think that’s part of why we like Jam in the Van. I don’t really have to tell you much more than that, right?  I mean, the endeavor is called Jam in the Van. You know what you’re getting.

As such, you’ve figured out that it involves musicians playing in a van (and WHAT A VAN!) and given the context of this blog, you’ve probably deduced that a StudioLive mixer is involved. But it gets better.

Their recent vid features none other than Louisiana local Anders Osborne  jamming a song about summer in New Orleans, performed during summer, in New Orleans, in a van. What more could you possibly want?

Catch more of Anders’ performances over at the NOLA Live Music Blog.

Leo over at Frog Leap Studios has been a PreSonus advocate for some time now, and he’s been producing these acoustic covers of mainstream hits for probably even longer. His songs (and videos!) offer consistently high production quality, performance chops, and good humor, and they’re all produced on a StudioLive 16.4.2. Here’s Leo taking on the Jackson 5ive hit, “Blame it on the Boogie.”

What I’m supposed to blame The Boogie for isn’t exactly clear, but I have to confess that I have a hard time staying mad at it.  Thanks Leo, for infecting us with your funky fever.

I like this trend, but I can’t explain it—we’ve got the boys in marketing looking into it. Somehow the StudioLive 16.0.2 has become a hit with the self-proclalimed “geek” community, as this is the 2nd video we’ve found this week that features nerds enthusiastically trumpeting its virtues. Love it!

We got some kind praise from what may strike some as an unlikely source: the bespectacled, thumb-callused ne’er-do-wells over at GeekGamer.TV, who I imagine Rodney Orpheus may be in cahoots with. The StudioLive 16.0.2 was chosen as the Pick of the Week in their recent video! They give a bit of a feature breakdown that very plainly illustrates how intuitive the board is to use for analog loyalists, while taking advantage of the flexible power of digital audio.

I gotta ask: what is a Geek Gamer, exactly? Isn’t that kind of like a Guitar Playing Guitarist?  Or a Vehicular Motorist?

Today we find GeekInvaders celebrating the StudioLive 16.0.2’s feature set and pack-in accoutrements. If you’re into Styrofoam, stickers, registration cards, manuals, and packing material, this is the video for you!

Big thanks to the crew over at GeekInvaders for this. You’re so nice to us!

[ZOMG, we just got a great e-mail from The folks at PAR, letting us know that we were nominated so GET OVER THERE AND VOTE, #TeamPreSonus!]

Congratulations! PreSonus’ Studio One 2 and StudioLive 16.0.2 have been nominated for 2012 PAR Excellence Awards in the Digital Audio Workstations and Small Live Controllers/Mixers/Worksurfaces (Under $2,500) categories, respectively. August 2012 marks the PAR Excellence Awards’ re-introduction as a reader-voted program, presented by the Editors and Contributors of Pro Audio Review (PAR) magazine. 

Online voting on the list of nominees by PAR print and digital readers (subscribers only) will be open from the mail date of the August issue through Friday, November 16, 2012. PAR Excellence winners will be announced in the December issue of Pro Audio Review and simultaneously online at prosoundnetwork.com, PAR’s shared website with sister publication, Pro Sound News.

Nominations for the 2012 PAR Excellence Awards were developed through the brain trust of PAR Editors and Contributors. Nominations were based on the “I want to own this” principle; gear selected should have a proven field track record, performed well via PAR’s “real world” review process, or — in the case of recently released products — have shown particular promise through demonstrations, beta-testing and among early adopters.

[This kind e-mail and stylish video came to us from Anthony.]

Hi Ryan,

Thought you guys might be interested in this video.

We shot this live in the studio, and the band was having some trouble using the in-house headphone mixer for all four artists since they all sing, so the band set up their StudioLive and mixed not only their own headphone sends, but also the film crew’s cans as well! This was all done from their iPads and iPhones.

I sent this particular song because it’s got some of the best shots of the remote running from the drummer’s iPad 😉 They’re really brilliant!

Facebook

So, you have to understand that a guy in my position (a Social Media Manager in the audio electronics realm) sees a LOT of performance videos. Musicos of all walks put their videos in front of me, from bedroom 4-trackers to established producers and all ‘tween.

Once in a while, there’s a real standout, and today’s is Arne & Friends, performing live, where they used nothing but their StudioLive 24.4.2 to mix and record their show… and it sounds tremendous!

Of course, top-class musicianship helps, too. Arne and Friends had this to say about the clip in a polite e-mail I recently received from him.

My name is Arne van der Heijden from The Netherlands.

In April 2010 I was recognized as the #1 keyboard player in NL in the largest Dutch band competition, with a total of 1600 participants.

Some of the best Dutch musicians are in my band called “Arne & Friends.” In October 2010 I have received what is likely the first PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2 mixer availble in The Netherlands, and since that day I’ve taken it on tour with my band and it works great!

I got rid of my old-skool harddisk recorder and instead of dealing with 24 analog cables from FOH to the recorder, I now make recordings via one single FireWire cable via the StudioLive 24.4.2 and the bundled Capture software.

With the StudioLive 24.4.2, we always have an integrated multitrack recording solution with us. Combined with our camcorders and the Internet we now can show the whole world what we are doing.

Everybody is completely stunned by the capabilities and quality of sound from the preamps of your mixer! I work at 48 KHz to match with our HDV camcorders, and during soundcheck I take enough time beforehand to adjust the input/gain levels to optimum levels—we get satisfying results. We combine the audio from Capture with photo or video and post the end result online.

This month, our band was booked for the 4th year in a row on a jazz festival in a town called Wijk bij Duurstede, it’s in the middle of The Netherlands.

The organization now knows that we always do the show with the PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2! We use it as FOH and monitor mixer and multitrack recorder.

Due to the personal scene settings that I’ve made for the Studiolive, our soundcheck is done in about 10 minutes. I can control the stage while the FOH engineer concentrates on the main system simultaneously! We even recalled the graphic EQ settings from last year before since we had the same monitors and P.A. this time.

With the help of my iPad, I can quickly make a monitor mix. The band members are now familiar with making their own mix with their iPhone or iPad, and they like doing it! It looks funny when four men with instruments are messing with their iPhones for 1 minute and are then ready for a 3 hour show!

Now, i’ve placed a mix from that gig online, actually it’s a video from me & my band playin’ live! I’ve mentioned your wonderful mixer and company in the credits at the end of the show. Hopefully you enjoy, everybody please feel free to link & share on your own website, forum, social media & newspaper.

Enjoy! and hopefully on a good day we are able to visit your town in the USA!

I’ve also made a photo collage, which I keep up-to-date, about me working with the PreSonus StudioLive 24.4.2 console on several gigs / applications in The Netherlands.

With best regards,
Arne van der Heijden (NL)

United States, June, 2012…  Summer camp is a ritual for kids and teens all across the U.S., and LifeWay Christian Resources is a familiar name for many of them. LifeWay hosts a wide range of multi-day summer camps at colleges and retreat centers throughout the nation, from recreation and Bible study for younger kids to workshops and mission-based camps for teens and young adults. As Josh Webb, LifeWay’s resident engineer and tech guru, explains, live music is a big part of the experience.

“There’s a lot of activities during the day, from team building to community service,” says Webb. “Then, in the evenings, there’s music. It’s usually a four- to six-piece band: full drum kit, bass, guitars, keyboards, and of course, vocals.”

For Webb, who coordinates sound and lighting for most of the camps, that means an ongoing routine that keeps him busy through the summer. “We’ll typically rent a facility for a few weeks during the summer, set up audio, lighting, and all that stuff; then we’ll load up the truck and move to another location,” he says.

Needless to say, it’s a big job keeping track of so many locations and crews, and LifeWay recently streamlined the process with the purchase of more than 30 StudioLive™ 24.4.2 digital consoles.

“Previously we had a whole bunch of different analog consoles,” says Webb. “We’d truck in our analog consoles, racks of gear, and cabling, and put it all together. Replacing them all with StudioLive consoles has been great on so many levels.”

click for hi-res image

The StudioLive’s fully integrated effects have really changed the equation, Webb reports.

“The PreSonus console is pretty much the heart of the audio system for us. We’ve literally got three or four warehouse palettes of compressors, limiters, and other outboard gear that we just don’t need anymore because everything’s built into the desk. It’s really lightened the load for the travel teams and has made setup and teardown a breeze.”

The StudioLive’s ease of use is another major asset. “It’s basically set up like an analog console, even though everything’s digital under the hood,” says Webb. “So the learning curve is almost nonexistent. They don’t have to run through pages and pages of menus – everything is accessible via the Fat Channel.”

Webb says they’ve only just begun to tap into the potential of the StudioLive’s capabilities. “We’ve got MacBooks^® or iMacs^® with every console, so we can do live recording via Capture™,” he says. “We’re using some of the tracks for a virtual sound check, especially in places where we’ve got multiple performances in the same place. It’s great for training people as well: We can have our newer engineers play back a multitrack recording and experiment with different dynamics and effects without the pressure and risk of doing it during a live show.”

“Eventually we’ll be implementing iPad^® control and QMix™ for the monitor mix,” he adds. “This first year, we’re just starting with iPad control for a few teams, just to get our feet wet. Basically, we’re telling our more tech-savvy people that if they already have an iPad, they can go ahead and check out the remote-mixing capability. The information will trickle down to the rest of the teams throughout the summer.”

With so many different crews to coordinate, having everyone on the same console is more than just a convenience, he adds. “It’s a great thing for me, in particular, since I’m the guy who has to troubleshoot the setups. The consistency of knowing that every setup is now using a StudioLive console makes my life that much easier.” Webb is presently putting together a knowledgebase, to enable the entire team of engineers to share notes and get the most out of the StudioLive.

“In the past, we’ve been relatively old school as far as the audio is concerned,” Webb concludes. “But we’ve always tried to push ourselves forward and find ways to do things better, faster, and more efficiently. And the StudioLive consoles have been a huge step forward.”