NAMM 2012 brought many new innovative products that bridge gaps in the digital console market. Line 6 released its StageScape M20d, a small format digital mixer that approaches mixing audio in an entirely new way. It resembles nothing of a typical digital mixer. With no faders and no dedicated meters it instead utilizes a color touch screen with a virtual stage. When a mic cable is plugged in, the auto sensing inputs allow you to choose what that input is. If a vocal is selected, a picture of a vocalist shows up on the virtual stage. Gone are the traditional controls for equalizers and compressors, instead Line 6 has redefined how the user shapes the sound with its “Tweak Pad” control. It really resembles a small tablet computer more than a console. And using an iPad the StageScape user can mix wirelessly and track 20 seconds of the performance on the internal hard drive for a virtual sound check. This is an amazing amount of power in a small package. If they continue to scale this product to larger formats, it could prove to be a real game changer across the industry.
iPad integration has been a growing feature across the entire digital market. Yamaha gave its LS9 and M7 a breath of fresh air when it announced the StageMix iPad app that integrates control over WiFi in 2010. Many churches have the sound booth in the corner of the room, up in the balcony, or in other places that are less than ideal to mix from. Having the ability to walk around the room and tweak a mix is a lifesaver for many churches. Because of these types of features I always travel with my iPad and a wireless router, and this type of iPad integration is quickly becoming a standard for the digital console market.
Mackie was showing its DL1608 at this past Winter NAMM. A 16-channel digital console that really is just an interface and dock for an iPad running the to-be-released “Master Fader” app. It allows for full control of EQ, dynamics and built-in effects. These are features Mackie has never had in a small format mixer before.
Another great example of creative iPad integration is in the Presonus StudioLive Remote app that works with its StudioLive mixers. This allows a sound engineer the luxury of wireless operation, but in this case the sound engineer isn't the only one who gets in on the fun. Presonus also has the Qmix software for iPhone and iPad that allows for 10 iPad/iPhone connections. This allows each band member to have control over their monitor mix via their own iPhone/iPad. No monitor console or additional personal monitor system is needed.
It's fascinating to see the convergence of these different technologies in these exciting new products. Even more so—that the target is the small-format console. These are not simply shiny new bells and whistles to try to sell new products. This is the future of digital mixing. Up until now there has been a huge gap between the usability of an analog and digital console. When there is a copper snake from stage to an analog mixer there are simply less variables to troubleshoot when a problem arises. There is less to have to train volunteers on, and because of that, Sunday responsibilities can be spread out to a larger volunteer base. Now I'm not trying to bring up the old debate of “analog vs. digital,” that has been put to rest and digital is here to stay. I mix on digital consoles almost every week and I love it. Most of the large-format digital console manufacturers have been able to carve out unique features and areas of focus to help set them apart from their counterparts.
Yamaha has proven to have some of the most solid and road-worthy consoles with the PM5-D and M7. Avid revolutionized the industry when it provided its plug-in integration and virtual sound check in the Venue product line. Digico makes great-sounding consoles with tube preamp options and flexible routing. Midas has managed to pack all of its amazing sound into its Pro Series of digital consoles. Soundcraft has made an easy-to-use and great sounding product in its Vi series, and the recent upgrades to their Si Compact series are quite impressive. Then you have products like Allen and Heath's iLive and Roland's M300 that put the benefits of digital in a more manageable price point for those on a budget.
Now, any of the products I just mentioned are of great value in their own right. However, they are all sophisticated and complicated pieces of equipment. The digital console has introduced all types of new concepts into the world of an audio engineer: digital patching, A/D conversion, I/O options, word clock, sample rate, snapshots, and scenes. These are all relatively new concepts to the audio world. The time and skills needed to operate and manage any of these consoles is more than your typical church volunteer can handle. As such, the learning curve can be a bit slow. Oftentimes I will walk into a church that has a large-format digital console and discover that the engineer knows how to use it for typical Sunday morning operation, but when I request anything outside of those parameters, they are a bit lost. When it comes to re-patching, assigning new DCAs or adding additional monitor outputs, it can be a challenge because this is not workflow utilized from week to week.
What is exciting about seeing these new technologies and capabilities integrated into affordable, small-format digital consoles is that it is the start of the next generation of audio engineering. In the next five years, the young volunteers at your church will no longer start out learning how to mix on that small analog console you have in the youth room. They'll be mixing the youth group on an iPad that is integrated with a digital console. They'll be learning about five-band EQ, dynamics, and effects early on. For those of us who cut our teeth in the analog world, we've had to learn new terminology and concepts when running digital. In some cases this meant unlearning old habits and techniques that no longer apply. The next generation will grow exponentially because these new features and approaches to audio are given to them right from the start. In the same way Apple demystified computers years ago with straightforward and intuitive products, audio manufacturers are starting to do the same with digital mixing. It really is an exciting time in the audio industry—and the church has more resources then ever before. I can't wait to see what's around the corner.
