I remember meeting PreSonus Founder/Engineer Jim Odom at a tradeshow around 1995, when his company was a new player on the scene. I had already used one of PreSonus' eight-channel compressors, and was impressed with the sound quality, value and real-world practicality of the products Odom was designing. I went on to use and own several other PreSonus products, including mic preamps, digitally controlled graphic EQs and computer recording interfaces. In each case, PreSonus stayed true to its commitment to offer excellent sound quality and value.
PreSonus has set its sites on bigger and bigger game over the years, even applying its quality-meets-value approach to the "pure" digital market of late. Odom's little company is not so little anymore-the introduction of a pair of small-format digital mixers and a digital audio workstation (DAW) software package now has them competing with the likes of Yamaha, Tascam, Mackie, Roland, Apple, Avid and a whole host of other heavyweights.
So it was with eager anticipation that I first powered up PreSonus' flagship StudioLive 24.4.2 digital mixer ($3,995 list). As its name implies, the StudioLive 24.4.2 offers 24 mic/line analog inputs with XMAX mic preamps and insert points, four subgroups and stereo output. The mixer also offers 10 aux busses, two digital effects units, eight channels of 31-band graphic EQ, 100mm faders, talkback input, scene store/recall, S/PDIF digital output, and direct analog outputs on DB-25 connectors.
Every input and output on the StudioLive is given royal treatment with the mixer's Fat Channel processing section. Processing includes a phase switch, high-pass filter, noise gate, compressor, four-band EQ, and limiter. The Fat Channel doesn't just offer stripped-down controls; every processing section offers all the standard parameters you'd expect. Nice extras include switchable soft knee compression, fixed or manual attack/release times, fully parametric EQ with shelving high and low bands, and switchable noise gate/expander modes. The noise gate/expander section offers a sweepable key filter that you can listen to on the solo bus. You can also copy Fat Channel settings between mixer channels, which is a very handy feature.
One of the mixer's best features is its 32x26 Firewire interface, which makes the StudioLive the most powerful live recording system available at this price point. Attach a Mac or PC computer, install the included Capture application, and you're ready to record. StudioLive gives you control over whether individual channels go to the Firewire interface before or after Fat Channel processing, so you can record with or without EQ and dynamics. For mix down through the StudioLive, individual channels can be set to process the return from the Firewire interface instead of the analog input. Because the Firewire interface is always working bi-directionally, you can also use the Fat Channels as outboard processing for your DAW.
In Use
Some digital mixers scare new users, and rightfully so-they're scary. With mile-deep control menus and buttons everywhere, their learning curves can be steep. StudioLive's interface is refreshingly simple in comparison. Most parameter changes happen in the middle of the board, using the same set of knobs and buttons for any selected input or output. Selecting an input or output channel brings up the corresponding Fat Channel parameters. Press "Mix" on an aux send, and send levels are mapped one-to-one to the channel control knobs. In graphic EQ mode, the middle knobs control individual bands. The only LCD menu appears on the right-hand side of the mixer, where you can control the built-in effects, scene store/recall and a handful of other parameters.
Setting up a mix with the StudioLive is simple: solo an input channel and adjust its trim. Make Fat Channel adjustments to filtering, EQ or dynamics if desired. Select an aux output's "Mix" button and increase the channel's control knob to the desired level. Do the same for the built-in effects send level if desired. If you want to route the input to a subgroup instead of the main output, select the subgroup at the bottom of the Fat Channel control area. To link adjacent odd-even channels in stereo (inputs or subgroups), click the "Link" button. Only the mixer's handling of cue/solo modes may give a new user some moments of confusion.
Once the bits are flowing, the StudioLive backs up its features with excellent sound quality. There's no weak link that I could hear: from preamps to converters to internal algorithms the mixer delivers pristine, smooth, detailed audio. Stated audio specs are flawless, with direct analog outputs delivering 40 kHz bandwidth and all other processing limited only by sample rate.
StudioLive feels sturdy and well-built, and PreSonus stands behind the Chinese-made mixer with a one-year warranty. Controls are responsive, and the mixer quickly makes you feel at home using it. In short, mixing on the StudioLive is a pleasant experience.
The quality of built-in effects is fine, but their variety and controllable parameters are quite limited. Reverbs and delays are all you get, with up to six editable parameters available for delays and just three (or fewer) for reverbs. Thankfully, the effects pass through a Fat Channel for some additional tone-shaping control. I would expect PreSonus to expand the range of on-board effects and parameters in the future.
Digital, Not Automated
If you've read this far and are wondering how a mixer with a street price of just over $3,000 can have such a decked-out feature set, we're on the same page. A big part of the answer came when I realized that the StudioLive's faders are not motorized. This omission saves money in manufacturing, and actually turned out to be less of a liability than I initially expected it to be.
Put simply, the StudioLive is designed to be a digital mixer-not an automated mixer. The mixer offers scene recall, but no way to externally trigger that recall. Nor does it have a MIDI input for real-time automated control. When you recall a scene, a "locate" mode makes it relatively painless to return the faders to their saved locations. Restore analog knobs to their rightful places (log sheets provided), and you're good to go. At this price point, the StudioLive will likely be replacing analog mixers in applications where true automation is not really necessary.
It's worth noting that remote control of most parameters is possible with the included Virtual StudioLive software running on an attached computer. iPad owners can even remotely control their StudioLive with a screen sharing application on a PC or Mac computer. Speaking of software, PreSonus really pulls out the stops for StudioLive by including the virtual mixer emulator, the simple-yet-solid Capture recording application, and Studio One Artist DAW. Add it all up, and the mixing, recording and processing power of the StudioLive package is hard to top.
That said, StudioLive won't do everything. It won't do high sample rate recording, won't do automation, won't output a test tone or pink noise, and it won't pad a too-hot mic or line input. Unlike some of its competition that allows "anything to anywhere" patching, StudioLive offers no internal routing matrix. It won't put EQ before compression.
In the majority of applications, these items won't be deal-breakers. If your house of worship requires a capable, well-conceived digital mixer that benefits from a great software bundle and unmatched live recording capabilities, the StudioLive 24.4.2 may be the right mixer for you.
