Digidesign Venue D-Show System Digital Mixer
In February 2005, Digidesign began shipping the Venue Live Digital Mixer. Before that, Digi, as they are affectionately called by many, had introduced the ICON line of studio consoles at NAB 2004. A brief history of Digidesign: first came Pro Tools in 1991. By 1994, Pro Tools III with its 132-MHz Power Mac 9500 (remember those?) started its way as the dominant force in the audio post-production world. Pro Tools 24 with 24-bit sampling came in 1997, followed by Pro Tools HD in 2002, all contributing to the success of Digidesign’s production and post-production product line. So it was not a great surprise that Digi would enter the live sound arena with a product founded on much user experience.
Yes, it’s a lot more than software with a controller.
When I first learned about Venue, I visualized a rack of boxes with a controller added on top. Well, that just ain’t so. The Venue Live Sound Environment is a purpose- built, stand-alone system, designed from the ground up as a live sound mixer, and a very roadworthy one at that. The inaugural Venue System comes with the D-Show main console, the D-Show sidecar expander attached to the main unit, the FOH “local” rack including the DSP or mix engine as well as the local I/O connections, and the D-Show stage rack.
The Venue System is so feature-rich that we can only give a “one-minute tour” here. A truly comprehensive explanation is best done with a hands-on demo that will allow the user to experience the features as well as determine whether the layout and operation is intuitive to their personal mixing style and habits. So let’s take a cursory look now.
The D-Show main console has eight abbreviated channel strips on the left with moving faders that can be switched in four banks to represent up to 32 channels. These same faders are also used to control the effects returns and the built-in 1/3-octave graphic equalizers. There are also two sets of assignable rotary knobs in each channel strip that are multi-function and can change parameters such as preamp gain, pan, compression, and gate settings and aux send levels. The center section of the control surface has an “Assignable Channel Section” or full channel strip laid out with rotary encoders and displays that show all parameters available for a given input or output channel including 16 of 24 aux sends. This center section also includes the “ACS” fader that can be freely assigned to such functions as the selected channel or a reverb return level or any other parameter you might want to keep in front of you. To the right, the output section has eight assignable motorized master faders as well as eight additional rotary encoders that can represent output matrices, aux sends, or the eight subgroups. That section includes the output metering section, monitoring functions as well as a motorized master fader.
The sidecar console has 16 abbreviated channel strips with moving faders and encoders and can be attached to the main console to form a unified assembly with 24 visible channels in each of four bankable layers. The FOH Rack comes loaded with two DSP cards with five cards maximum and includes the “local” or FOH I/O for interfacing the Venue with either analog or digital external playback, record, and effects devices. This FOH interface comes standard with eight analog inputs and eight outputs, and two channels of AES input and two outputs, as well as an additional two analog inputs and outputs for record and playback.
The D-Show Stage Rack comes preloaded with 48 remote controllable mic/line input preamp channels and eight outputs, all in the analog domain, with additional analog output cards only costing $1,195 each. For its digital snake, Venue uses standard 75-ohm coax between the FOH rack and the stage rack, good for at least 500 feet with full redundancy supplied by another 75-ohm coax with noiseless changeover in case of any cable failure— very simple and low cost.
Up to three additional sidecar sections can be added to the main console for a total of 56 visible channels as well as an additional I/O card ($1,495) for the FOH rack I/O giving a total of 16 analog I/O and 10 AES I/O locally. Each stage rack can be loaded with up to 48 inputs and outputs and an additional stage rack can be added for a total of 96 inputs for an additional $14,995. Venue also offers digital input and output cards—each offering eight inputs or outputs in both AES and ADAT standards. This is a major piece of hardware nicely packaged into a very reliable system with dual redundant power supplies included. So far, so good. But what makes this stand out from the rest of the crowd?
What makes the Venue really unique?
To start with, there are 24 assignable graphic EQs, controllable either by the big built-in track ball or the center section faders. Church plays? You also get 999 snapshots—great for cues along with the more than 1,000 individual channel presets added in the latest 2.5 version of the D-Show software. Not enough? A low-cost $1,195 optional FWx card allows for easy 18 channel record and playback into Pro Tools LE directly off the Venue via Firewire. Need more tracks? No problem. Get 64 tracks live using the optional $2,495 HDx card interfaced to the $10,995 Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel package. You also get 16 tracks of simultaneous playback from your previous recordings so you can supply the music or effects for your plays as well as those air-guitar contests for the Junior High Youth group. Need all 96 channels recorded? Add two HDx cards for $3,995 and the $13,995 Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel package and you will be able to record, edit, and master a complete live album in Pro Tools as well as playback 32 tracks simultaneously. Just add good musicians, an experienced engineer, good reference monitors, good acoustics, and mix. Simple enough?
Now, for the pièce de résistance. Up to 100 TDM plug-ins can be loaded into four “virtual racks” and then patched into the Venue with up to four plug-ins per input and output. Not sure what TDM plug-ins are? They are software processing modules or virtual outboard effects units that can do almost anything audio from pitch shifting, noise removal, and guitar modeling to advanced reverb and dynamics to very high-quality mastering. Numerous third-party companies in addition to Digidesign have developed TDM plug ins for Venue and Pro Tools. The rotary encoders on the DShow console control the various plugins and allow for speedy parameter changes. Inserting each plug-in is simply done by using the assignable buttons in each channel. Just think of racks of up to 100 pieces of effects and outboard gear having the ability to be patched at will, as well as having all the parameters available instantaneously and adjustable through your console. It is the availability of these Pro Toolscompatible plug-ins that really give the Venue a unique advantage, unavailable anywhere else.
Did I forget anything? Ah, yes—the Venue Personal Q system. The optional $1,495 PQ rack module allows for any combination of auxes, groups, LR/Mono, and eight pre-determined user inputs to be mixed individually by eight different PQ mixer stations. All assignments and levels are completely snapshotable, and bi-directional control allows artists or engineers to adjust all levels or even solo inputs.
Also not to be forgotten amongst Venue’s important features is the optional $195 ECx Ethernet remote control card. ECx allows complete remote control of your Venue with a wireless laptop or tablet anywhere in your worship facility. That allows you to re-EQ on the fly, to adjust levels for different zones in your space, such as the balcony or under-balcony, to change the monitor levels while on-stage, and even to do a one-man sound check if needed. Very cool indeed!
Another hit on the way—in late 2006, Digidesign introduced the D-Show Pro- file for small- to mid-sized applications. The Profile provides the same functionality in a compact 24-channel frame. The D-Show Profile utilizes the same software as the larger D-Show and is fully compatible with all Venue hardware. Base price for the Profile control surface only is $17,995; a system will run you about $54,985.
As I stated earlier, only a one-on-one demo can do Venue and other mixers in this class true justice. There are simply too many details to note in a short time, and again, the intangible that is personal to each user—how do you like this mixer in terms of your personal workflow? I had my personal demo provided at the factory by CJ Alvarado who has worked in church audio for groups such as the Katinas. I might note here that the Venue team includes seasoned audio veterans such as Lee Stein (ex-Sennheiser) and engineers such as Robert Scovill and Dave Skaff as well as a dedicated house of worship support person, Kent Margraves.
With its unique abilities, small footprint, easy snake cabling, powerful recording, and outstanding audio processing capabilities and audio quality, the Digidesign Venue at $69,995 is a digital mixer that should be considered for your church audio upgrade, new building project, and remote-site campuses. It is one of few mixers that really stands apart in the digital console races. The experienced FOH engineer should have little problem adapting to the work surface and layout. Volunteer audio operators and engineers who have never run a digital board before should find the layout simple and intuitive since it is laid out in a very “analog” style. My standard test is whether or not I can operate a board without any training, and I can say that in the case of the Venue, it was quite easy to grasp an understanding of the control surface and operation. Did we mention quality? I took a look at the analog preamp circuitry and components as well as the analog output boards and DSP cards—most impressive in terms of high-quality components, analog and converter ICs, and even the attention paid to field-serviceable components such as connectors. Even 24/7 support is available. In summary, take a good look at this board. It is fast becoming an industry standard, and for good reason.
