Presonus StudioLive Review

We recently had the opportunity to install a Presonus StudioLive console and were pleasantly surprised at the capabilities of this digital board. We also had an opportunity to use the console to record some choir tracks and were very impressed with the results. With an easy to use layout and robust features, such as built-in dynamics and effects, this mixer is on par with others costing twice as much.

It has a small footprint with lots of features, which is why we highly recommend this digital mixer for churches that only require a few inputs, but need quality sound. The mixer feels more like an analog board with digital features.

The board was easy to set up and use right out of the box. Having never used this console, I had no trouble locating the controls I needed to get audio running quickly. The gain control is located at the top of each channel, much like you would expect on an analog board which is part of the reason this mixer feels so much like an analog console. Large assignment buttons next to the LED strips determine how the encoders located under the LED's will function. The encoders are channel specific and, since they are located just above the faders, adjusting aux and effects sends is quick and easy. Without an assignment, the encoders act as equalizer and dynamic controls for the selected channel or graphic equalizer bands for the main outputs, which is where the digital side gets a bit confusing.

The dynamics and equalizer section is clearly labeled and separated by light and dark colored sections. The encoders set parameters and buttons below the encoders turn the feature on or off and are well lit indicating that the feature is engaged. The equalizer is a three-band, semi-parametric with shelving options on the highs and lows and a "HI-Q" option for the mids. The equalizer sections can be turned on or off individually, though I'm not sure if that's really an advantage. My preference would be to turn the entire equalizer on or off, but that's just my opinion.

Below the equalizer and dynamics sections is the pan adjustment that includes a LED indicator, which I think is a nice feature. Next to the pan control are the phase shift and phantom power buttons. These buttons are easy to find and are well lit when activated, making it easy to quickly determine if phantom power is engaged. Moving to the right, the next set of buttons allow copying, saving, and loading channel strips to and from memory. Next to these buttons is a LED display that indicates which channel is selected, a nice feature.

Moving down the board towards the faders, two sets of buttons act as channel selection and mute/solo/firewire assignments which are dictated by a set of buttons located on the left side of the board. These buttons are somewhat self explanatory, except that the firewire assignment button is for a firewire return and does not need to be engaged for recording.

The faders on this console are 60mm faders which feel small if you are used to a larger analog board with 100mm faders. Otherwise, they work well with the layout and size of the mixer. On the left side of the faders are buttons that assign metering functionality to the LED section. The meter choices are input, output, gain reduction, and fader locator.

An information LCD screen is located at the top of the master section, followed by assignment and edit buttons and an encoder. As you would expect, this is where you will find system functions, scene memory, and effects and channel libraries. It's small and it's not a touch screen, but it is adequate for the purpose it serves. The system pages are very basic, compared to other digital consoles, offering adjustments for LCD contrast, pre/post assignments for aux sends, sample rate for firewire, MIDI setup, and console locking features. Press the FX button and you will be taken to the settings for the two onboard effects engines. I found these settings easy to navigate and was able to quickly find a reverb and delay that could be customized to my satisfaction. Scene memory is also easy to set up and use, though naming is a bit frustrating using the encoder wheel. Directly below the LCD section are the FX, talkback, solo, and phones/monitor send and assignment controls.

As I stated earlier, we had the opportunity to use this console as both a recording and a live mix board and were very pleased on both occasions. I connected the console to my MacBook Pro via the provided firewire cable and had no issues configuring either Garageband or SoundTrack Pro to record all 16 channels. I have to confess at this point that I did not use the supplied software, but I have no doubt that the quality is equally as good. Another nice recording feature is that the recorded tracks can be played back through the mixer with full channel control for mix-down.

If I had to find something that I did not like about this board, it would be tough, but not impossible. My biggest gripe would have to be with the LCD screen. It is too small to provide graphical information about any of the equalizer or dynamic features of the board. Yes, the LED's do provide level information, but I would consider this is an entry level console, aimed at inexperienced users and the ability to actually see the EQ curve would be a huge advantage.

All things considered, I really like this digital mixer. The ability to bridge two consoles together and simultaneously mix live and record 32 channels for under $4,000 is quite an accomplishment for Presonus. The clear audio and built-in processing capabilities make this mixer worthy of serious consideration!

Let me know what you think!