Review: PreSonus StudioLive 24 by Matt Kees

As seen on page 18 of Worship Musician Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 2 - reproduced with permission.

There are many churches are making the jump to digital consoles these days. Why is this? Better sound? Save-able settings? More bells & whistles? Affordable? I'd say 'yes' to all of these, in most cases, except maybe the 'affordable' question... until now.

The PreSonus StudioLive 24 channel console is a great option for the small to medium-sized church, doing worship services with a standard sized band (drums, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keys/piano, handful of vocalists...). It's a great option because it offers 24 XLR inputs with Class A mic pre-amps, a FAT channel for each input (more info below), 10 aux sends, 2 built in FX channels, 4 sub groups, and more... all for less than $4k at most dealers, many listing for $3,300. Why is this such a great deal... well, for me, there are three reasons. 1) The Fat channel 2) Multi-track recording 3) remote control via iPad (or laptop).

Speaking of medium sized churches, my church in Tacoma is considering the move to a digital console. I have had the good fortune to take this PreSonus 24 on a test drive to see if it will meet our needs. The most important factors right now are cost and quality... and can we risk losing a 40 channel analog console to a 24 channel? After spending some time weighing the pros and cons, the benefits from the smaller PreSonus console outweigh the additional 16 channels that we'll lose. We'll make up for the convenience of multiple channels by installing a patch bay for simple switching. And if we really wanted to, in a few years when the economy is back on it's feet, we can purchase a 2nd SL24 and daisy chain it to the first one via firewire for 48 inputs.

So what is it about the PreSonus that sold us?

First of all... let me just say that the mic pres for this console sound amazing. Very clean and clear. It was the first thing my pastor and my worship leader said they noticed right away... that the quality of the sound was clearer than it had been before.

As mentioned above, the Fat Channel is what makes this SL24 so amazing, in my opinion. What is the FAT channel? It's the meat of the console... it contains a phase reverse button, high pass filter, a gate/downward expander, compressor, limiter, and 4 band parametric EQ. The phase reverse and high-pass filter can be applied to each and every channel. But the dynamics processing (compressor, gate/downward expander, and limiter) and the fully parametric EQ can be applied to every channel, aux, subgroup, FX bus, and the main bus. Anywhere you see a Select button on the mixer, you can apply the Fat Channel. The Fat Channel also is where you assign channels to buses and do panning. And the mixer has enough DSP in it that you can apply every processor in the mixer to every possible channel and bus, simultaneously, and you will never come close to using up the processing power. This is great! In our previous scenario with our analog console, we only had compression for 6 channels, so we'd have to pick and choose which ones would get it. We simply could not afford to purchase a compressor for all 40 channels, let alone 24. Now, every single input can have compression, and limiting, and a gate/expander. And the 4 band fully parametric EQ is much more functional than our previous EQ on the analog console where only the hi-mids and lo-mids had sweepable frequencies. Having this flexibility on each input, as well as each auxiliary, sub and mains is a tremendous benefit to live mixing.

In addition, the SL24 has eight 31 band EQ's (or 4 stereo pairs) that are assignable to the mains, an aux output, or subgroup output. This is great for tuning your room for the mains, and floor wedges for the stage.

I also like the 10 aux outputs. These can be run in 5 stereo pairs for in-ears, which makes for a great option for that small touring band who needs a simple way to have the same monitor mix at each venue... just plug into the house PA and go with your same in-ear mix from the night before. Or you can send a mono aux send to a powered monitor wedge, and use one of the built in 31 band EQ's.

All of the Fat Channel settings, EQ settings, and Aux settings can be saved internally. So different worship teams can have different 'scenes' that can be recalled with the touch of a couple buttons. The only downside here is that the input gain is not programmable, but more on that later.

What a treat to have all of these dynamic effects, EQ's and FX all built in to the console. Fewer items in your rack, fewer cable runs, fewer units drawing power... cleaner, simpler, better.

The number 2 reason this unit was an easy sell is the ability to multitrack record using the 'Capture' software provided by PreSonus when you purchase this console. This rig works so well with a computer hooked up via firewire. You can send the 24 channels you are mixing live straight to Capture and record it live. Then go back after the service, edit and mix the recording with PreSonus' StudioOne software (included). What a great and simple tool. Use it to record the whole band, or just the message. This will make multi-track recording your worship team easy! Use these recordings to go back and critique performance, or start working on your next CD project to share with your congregation!

And now, one of the slickest features of this console. You can now control it remotely with an iPad. Why is this cool? It will allow you to mix from anywhere in the venue, it will allow you to go up on the stage and change the monitor mix as you listen to it... this is extremely cool. In fact, you can run up to 10 iPads at the same time, giving the option for your worship leader, drummer or whomever, to change their own monitor mix, if they so desire. So, how does this work? PreSonus includes software with every console called Virtual StudioLive. This enables you to hook up a computer directly to the console via FireWire (the same way you'd connect to record). This enables you to control the console through the computerÉ so when you change a setting on the computer, it changes on the mixer, and vice versa. Then, to make it work remotely, you simply set up a wireless network between your Mac/PC and your iPad, enabling you to use SL Remote to control the Virtual StudioLive on the computer, which in turn, controls the mixer. So you need to hook up the mixing console to a computer in order to use this remote feature. Speaking of which, using the StudioLive with a computer is a great way to get the most out of the console, anyway, especially with volunteers behind the console on a Sunday morning. Using the computer to access saved settings is much easier than using the LCD screen on the console itself. You can put scenes that are saved in advance in the software, and simply drag and drop the appropriate scene into the Virtual StudioLive on the computer. Then all the volunteer has to do is worry about changing fader levels. A great option for so many churches.

There are only a couple issues I can see with this unit. One is that the gain trims are not programmable, as mentioned earlier. This is because they are analog preamps (which sound greatÐI'd rather have a great sounding preamp over a programmable trim, anyway). The only time this will be an issue is when you are swapping out inputs on a particular channel, and it's a different instrument or vocalist. Not an impossible issue to overcome, just something to be aware of as you are using saved settings. These are all issues that should be taken care of during sound check anyway. The other drawback is that the faders are not automated. But if they were, this console would be a LOT more expensive. That's the tradeoff. However, there is a 'fader' locate LED that shows you where your faders were set when saved. So, you can locate the correct location for each fader when recalling a scene, you just won't get the cool and convenient fader movement.

PreSonus hit the nail on the head with this console. A great entry point for many churches looking to utilize digital technology, a great small console for the touring artist needing a great FOH and monitor mix at any venue, plus so many extra bells and whistles that make this a no-brainer. You'll find this unit at dealers for the low price of $3300.

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