PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 Digital Mixer Review

The cleanest, most intuitive digital console I've ever used!

As a live sound engineer, I have to admit that I am one of those guys who has fought the transition from analog to digital with a vengeance. I love the digital world, don't get me wrong, but not in the live arena. And I'm sure it is for all the same reasons that every other sound guy fights it:

1. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
2. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
3. Too many menus/buttons to get what you want
4. Too many.........well you get the idea.

But along comes PreSonus with the determination to change the minds of us analog dinosaurs. And guess what? This old fossil has given in!

I recently brought the StudioLive 16.4.2 on board to add to our rental inventory and sound system packages. I figured I would give it a try and offer it to folks who wanted a digital console in their system. I even thought I may use it to run sound in a pinch if I had to. Well, I'm here to say that I don't know if I ever want to use anything else! This board is absolutely amazing for more reasons than I have time to explain. But I will give it a shot.

Great reasons to love these boards!

Intuitive-Intuitive-Intuitive

Upon opening the box, I was impressed at what a sharp looking console it is. I set it up and immediately began working through some functions ( without looking at the manual of course; what can I say, I'm a typical sound guy!) I was able to navigate very easily around the board because it reminded me so much of an analog mixer. After about 5 minutes I worked my way up to the Aux Sends section. This was where I was stumped for a bit and forced to look at the manual. I know, I know, I can admit it! But in less than a minute, and I'm not kidding when I say that, I figured out the Aux Sends and pretty much everything else that this board could do.

I think it is fair to say that 90% or more of this board's function lies on the surface, meaning that you don't need to access menus to do anything. Everything is there at the push of a button and I mean everything! You would swear that this is an analog board. I was blown away at how easy it is to navigate around and access any function you want, unlike so many other digital consoles out there where so much is hidden away in menus and sub-functions. Just this intuitiveness was enough to sell me, but it keeps getting better.

Functionality-Functionality-Functionality

When you look at this board, you are almost immediately drawn to this striking blue section in the middle PreSonus calls the FAT channel section. It is the heart and soul of their StudioLive mixers. This is where you will spend a great deal of time working and with a smile I might add. When I mentioned earlier that I had to look in the manual, this FAT channel was the solution to my problem, and man what a solution!

In a nutshell, this section provides you will all of your EQ, and dynamics processing. There are 16 different pots to adjust HPF, Gate, Compression, Limiting, and EQ for each of the 16 channels. That in itself is cool but what else it provides is really cool. Those rotary knobs convert to send knobs for each of the 16 channels when you push the SELECT button on any of the AUX channels. I thought this was fantastic. These knobs are also used for the 32 channel EQ for the mains. Again, very cool. PreSonus certainly made great use out of this FAT channel section.

I also like the bussing on this board and how the FAT channel can be assigned to every output including the aux sends, the group outs and the mains. You know how much gear you would have to use to get the same results, right?

And the FX are incredibly easy to use and route. This is really the only place where you need to use the menu (except for the 32 channel eq for the mains). In terms of capability, you are mostly limited by your imagination.

Expandable-Expandable-Expandable

Another function I love about these StudioLive boards is that they can be linked to expand your channel capability. You simply connect multiple units together with a firewire cable and assign master and slave status and off you go! The FAT channel functions are operational on each board and the outputs are operational on the master. Very simple and very cool!

I absolutely love these boards and highly recommend them to anyone wanting digital capabilities with the functionality of analog. PreSonus really hit a home run with these consoles in this price point. A StudioLive 16.4.2 (or StudioLOVE as I like to call it) can be purchased for under $2000 and considering what this board offers, that is a steal!

Do yourself a favor and check out these boards. You will fall in love with them as I did! You can see these boards at: http://www.goodsoundstudio.com. And remember, if it can't be heard - it can't be Good!