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Allen and Heath GLD-112 Digital Mixer
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Yamaha QL5 Digital Mixing Console
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Digico SD9 Live Digital Console with Stealth Digital Processing
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Soundcraft Si Performer Digital Live Sound Console with DMX
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PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 Performance and Recording Digital Mixer
Not so long ago, the fancy functionality associated with digital audio mixing was reserved for the churches with the deepest pockets. But as is the case with most things tech, prices have come down as advancements have, well, advanced. These days, modest-sized houses of worship have access to rich feature sets that are, one could argue, more important to facilities that have limited human resources when it comes to professional-grade audio, and that rely heavily on volunteers that come with a mixed bag of technical know-how. For under $10,000 (U.S.) (and in some cases, well under that figure), churches now have the ability to execute high-end audio production during services, while streamlining the rehearsal process to boot.
“What digital consoles in this price range bring to this market are the things that originally endeared large churches to the more expensive digital consoles, which is the capability of resetting the entire console at the press of a switch, or engaging a snapshot to change settings between songs, or loading a different show file that allows them to change over from a traditional service to a contemporary service very quickly––within seconds,” says Tom Der, U.S. sales manager at Soundcraft-Harman Pro North America with headquarters in Northridge, Calif. The result: an increasing number of houses of worship are doing things that were historically reserved for mega-churches, such as recording services (either in stereo or multi-track), digital in-ear monitor mix support, and streamlined cabling via Cat 5 or fiber optic cabling.
Allen and Heath GLD-112 Digital Mixer
Allen and Heath provides a number of moderately priced solutions to churches, namely models in the iLive Series, the GLD Series, and the Qu Series. For Michael Palmer, vice president at Allen and Heath USA, the driving force behind these products is workflow. “Any time we're designing new products, we try to make them very simple to operate,” he says. “Most houses of worship these days don't have the budget for a full-time paid staff member, or maybe they have one, and the audio services are done by a number of volunteers. What we really try to do is give everyone very high quality audio reproduction and all of the fancy features that they would expect from a digital console, but put it into a package that's very simple to understand, works similarly to an analog console, and has a really simplified workflow.”
Palmer notes that all Allen and Heath consoles feature user log in, so operators can restrict or give access to different functions based on the user's password. He also notes that the consoles are software-upgradeable: “It's something that's going to be future-proof––you're not going to grow out of it anytime soon,” he says. The software package is consistent from model to model, decreasing the learning curve as churches add more consoles.
Digico SD9 Live Digital Console with Stealth Digital Processing
While Digico's flagship SD7 console is often found in larger houses of worship, the product range also includes the SD11 and SD9 consoles in a competitive price range. James Gordon, managing director at the company, explains that all Digico consoles can be fitted with an optical system, allowing them to share the I/O infrastructure and network audio around a facility. “This often reduces the cost of an installation, and allows all the audio aspects of the church to work together,” he notes. “As churches grow, this also allows them to expand their systems, as we can run 512 channels of audio over the network at 96 kHz with multiple consoles sharing the resource.”
PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 Performance and Recording Digital Mixer
The StudioLive Series by PreSonus consists of four models ranging from just under $1,000 (U.S.) to $4,000 (U.S.); three of which can be cascaded (or combined to work as a single, larger console) as the channel count requirements increase (in this case, the cascading feature allows for expansion from a 32-channel mixer to another 32-channel mixer, making for a total of 64 channels). “What we're trying to do is make your purchase grow with you,” explains Wesley Elliana Smith, product manager at PreSonus. “Right now you may be on an analog system, but one day you might want to do Dante or AVB to do networking. We really feel, for the church market especially, that audio networking is the future because it simplifies cabling, it really lowers the expense of wiring, and it makes things a lot easier.”
Smith also highlights the series' integrated recording software that enables operators to automatically record services for a number of different purposes, be it archiving, or even simplifying rehearsals. “If you have recorded a service, you can click a button and it loads up all of your pre-recorded services, and volunteers can practice, or they can dial up mixes, or if you have new musicians who need to learn the tracks, they can come in with a praise leader and not have to have the entire band there to learn the songs.” In early September, PreSonus announced the StudioLive RM Series––rackmount mixers that are controllable via touchscreen, software, and tablets.
Roland M-480 Live Mixing System
With a list price of $7,995 (U.S.), Roland's M-480 48-channel V-Mixer console is, as Marketing Communications Manager Rob Read notes, feature-rich, but easy for volunteers to operate. Equipped with a large library of default effect presets for both instruments and vocals, audio engineers “can quickly get good sound out of the console without too much trouble,” he says. The system offers the option of a number of digital snakes that will transport up to 40 channels bi-directionally over a single Cat 5/6e cable. Multi-channel recording and personal monitoring mixing capabilities are also included, and the operator can control all systems from the console. “Simply by connecting a USB flash key in the M-480, you can record a CD audio stereo mix of the service,” he adds.
Also in this category is Roland's M-200i 32-channel digital mixing console ($2,995 U.S.). The mixer offers complete mobile iPad control, with 17 motorized faders, eight auxes, four matrixes, and eight DCAs. “The M-200i also offers the expandability of the V-Mixing System using one Ethernet port to connect digital snakes, personal mixers, and multi-channel recording,” Read notes. Once again, the sound engineer may control all systems from the console.
Soundcraft Si Performer Digital Live Sound Console with DMX
Soundcraft addresses this market with two series: the Si Expression (at around $3,500 U.S.) and Si Performer (approximately $6,000 U.S.), each comprised of three models. Der notes that both series' strength lies in their simplicity of operation. “They're not very menu-driven consoles; they're very tactile in their operation,” he says. Control is very similar to that of an analog console––you can still reach for knobs, hit switches, and move faders. “You gain a certain amount of speed due to muscle memory and the fact that you don't have to scroll through the screen to access [settings].
Yamaha QL5 Digital Mixing Console
At Yamaha Commercial Audio Systems, Systems Application Engineer Kevin Kimmel points to the company's CL and QL Series consoles which, first and foremost, he says, “sound really, really good.” He notes that the built-in Dan Dugan auto mixer on the QL is especially practical in church applications. “It doesn't have to be a high channel count of open mics for it to be a beneficial tool,” he says. “It's something that, by itself, can be an expensive outboard piece of gear. For churches that didn't have the budget for it, it would have been something that was out of reach for them and now it's included in an affordable console.” Consoles in the QL series start at $8,500 (U.S.), and both CL and QL Series models feature onboard audio networking via Dante.
Just as the iPhone revolutionized both business and play, so, too, has the iPad, and audio engineers who have embraced mixing remotely admit that it has changed their lives––especially when, due to space restrictions, the mixing console may not be located in an optimum position. “In the under $10,000 range, we've found that there is a much greater emphasis on iPad control or some sort of remote control capability,” Der says, highlighting Soundcraft's own ViSi app. (Virtually all the manufacturers mentioned in this article offer some type of remote control.)
Sidebar: Six More Mixers for Less Dough
With all this functionality already available, what's in store for moderately priced digital consoles? Der believes they will continue to incorporate more “stuff.” “I think the future at all levels of digital consoles is you will see more things move into the console so that it becomes pretty much the central point of control and audio processing,” he says. “Then downstream, there will be a powered loudspeaker that's connected to the console via some sort of digital protocol––either audio over IP, or a MADI-type connection.”
