Intro
PreSonus just dropped their newest StudioLive Series III mixers, and there are some very interesting things about them that could be very interesting to certain groups.
From what I can see, looking at specs, videos, and descriptions, these mixers very much take what the previous generations had going for them and try to simplify them even more, make them more accessible for more users. They’ve seen what Yamaha and Behringer are doing with the DM and Wing series mixers, and they’re responding in kind, sort of, in their own way.
Pretty much all the big audio manufacturers have been on a quest to streamline, simplify, and pack more features for a lower price for the prosumer market. Yamaha, Behringer, and Allen & Heath have all introduced new digital mixers in the last few years.
There is definitely a balance to strike between pro-level features that can be set up and activated, and a simple-to-use interface for everyone else who doesn’t need those pro features, and it seems all of these companies are trying to find that balance and offer something for the prosumer market with enough features to command the $2000-4000 price tag, while being easy enough for the casual audio engineer or house of worship team to handle.
So, are these StudioLive mixers worth it? Do they offer anything beyond their predecessors? Are they worth buying in lieu of other manufacturers?
On the Surface
From a very surface-level look at the new StudioLive mixers, they seem quite similar to previous generations of the StudioLive mixers. They’ve maintained their Fat channel system (some hate it, some are fine with it, I’m still deciding how I feel about it).
They each have a decent amount of IO on the back of the mixers themselves. With the SE 16, you get 16 mic preamps (half combi-jack and half regular XLR inputs. Ehy not just make them all combi-jacks?), 6 aux outs in addition to the main L/R outs, and some other sundry ins/outs. This ends up being enough for most bands trying to run their own sound, but it will definitely see its limitations beyond small setups. But for the price point ($2000), it seems like a good value for money.
The next lines up with the SE 24 and SE 36, both actually have 36 mic inputs on the back (half combi-jack again, wish they had just made them all combi-jack!), as well as the same amount of IO in every other aspect (at least physical IO). They’ve both got 12 aux outputs in addition to the main L/R channels. These lines would be great for houses of worship, smaller venues, sound companies doing mid-sized shows, especially if you were going to try to run everything off of just the mixer without expanding it with digital stage boxes or anything like that.
Beyond the ins and outs and ability to get the most bang for your buck on inputs and outputs, the actual layout looks fairly simple to use. I haven’t found a lot of tutorials yet (as they just released it), but looking at a side-by-side of the 32SX (the previous generation model) and the new 24 SE, they look almost exactly the same. The main difference is the color, at least externally. So, are they even going to need tutorials for the new boards? Probably not, they look identical in workflow.
Under the Hood
So, why get the new one instead of the older model (when the price drops), if they look and function the same way?
Well, they’ve done a lot of work on their software solutions. And software and firmware are big areas where live sound companies have typically struggled the most, and one of the things I have personally critiqued PreSonus for over the years.
They say that they’ve made all of their effects modules be built into the new model, instead of being an extra purchase or upgrade.
Thanks, I guess…
They’ve also made better use of the DSP onboard to be able to expand their effects to have more parameters. These are most certainly things that they should have included in the previous generation originally, and I think that they’ve recognized that, as they have made those same modules and expansions available to the previous models via a firmware upgrade.
But in this newer model, it seems that the biggest upgrades they’ve made to the system have been software integrations with external software.
The marketing they put out placed a huge emphasis on a new recording software that integrated directly with the mixer to be able to record with one touch, import all of the channel and scribble strip settings, and get everything recorded, as well as a very simple setup for virtual sound checks. And that software (PreSonus Capture) records in such a way that the file can be opened with StudioOne natively, no exporting or dealing with converting anything. Which is pretty slick.
In addition to using that software to record over USB, you can record via SD card (which is standard in many digital mixers now), as well as over the AVB Ethernet network. With their software, or over USB or SD card, you can run virtual soundchecks, although with their new software and the tight integration that the software has, it has made the virtual sound check look quite simple to set up and execute. Not only to start running a virtual soundcheck, but also to swap out virtual instruments for live ones if a band member is present and wants to start sound-checking with the backing tracks.
They’ve said that PreSonus Capture is free and integrates directly with the board natively, and each board comes with a license of StudioOne as well.
I would say that the PreSonus Capture integration is probably the most exciting part about the new boards. They also said that they did a new integration to be able to control the board remotely from anywhere using what they’re calling Metro, which is an internet protocol of some kind to control the board anywhere in the world over the internet.
I could see in some instances that this could be useful, being able to control the mixer from anywhere in the world, but I also imagine that these instances are quite rare, and I think this feature will go unused in most cases.
Another interesting software solution is their user permissioning system. It’s fairly common for houses of worship and other groups that rely on volunteers or inexperienced mixers to do some of the work of mixing, and having a system where your lead audio engineer can set up profiles with certain features locked can be quite useful. For many people, compression, reverb, gates, DCAs, and sub-groups can all be intimidating and can really get you turned around if you’re trying to mix while learning on the job. So being able to set up basic parameters or presets for these volunteers and then lock them in that user profile could be a nice way to give them access to parts of the system while they learn and slowly unlock access so that they don’t unintentionally ruin a concert or mix.
Is it Good Enough to Buy?
In short, it looks like a good software upgrade from previous generations. It offers some cool integrations, some software improvements, and it shows that PreSonus as a company is thinking long-term with this line of StudioLive mixers and trying to change perceptions in the live audio world (there isn’t a lot of love for PreSonus in the live sound community from what I’ve seen).
But, if you already own a previous generation StudioLive mixer (S, SC, SX), I’m not sure this mixer is enough of an upgrade to warrant swapping out the old board for the new one. If you’re new to PreSonus boards and already a user of their software, I could see this as a tempting option.
But, with options like the new Behringer Wing, it’s still a tough sell for me. If I were going to pick up a new mixer and wanted to buy into an ecosystem, I’m not sure that PreSonus would be my first choice. They have similar things in their lineup (rack mixers, digital stage boxes, consoles of different sizes, etc.) as other manufacturers, but I still think you get more value for your money out of something like a Behringer Wing (more effects, more IO, busses, input meters on each channel, a bigger ecosystem with their P24 IEM system, etc.). So, for a similar price point, you can get more system elsewhere; what you end up missing out on are the software integrations that PreSonus has built in. Those can be quite powerful in the right circumstances, but for my pocketbook, I was kind of hoping that they would offer more than software integrations and a small hardware upgrade (I’m not really sure that it’s much of an upgrade, honestly).
To be fair, software is something that Behringer has struggled with (they still do). Their software is the worst. And maybe going PreSonus will give you a better software experience, but in this price bracket ($2000-3500) for live mixers in this segment, they’re really fighting for features/dollar that are on the mixer itself. And I’m not sure PreSonus is really competing for those dollars in the same way that others are. It’s not just Behringer; Allen & Heath is also putting out some competitive offerings in that price range that offer quite a lot for not much money (comparatively).
For me, when it comes to software integrations with hardware, it really has to be an amazing integration that is not only easy to use but also works consistently without fail. Software is very frequently the first thing for hardware companies to drop support for. So, if you’re buying a piece of hardware with the expectation that the software integrations are an integral part of the experience, that software better work well and be supported for the lifetime of the hardware. If not, you might as well have just bought the previous model at a discount.
But how are you supposed to know if the software is going to be supported and improved long-term? You can’t.
Behringer burned a lot of folks with their rack-mount mixers when the company just stopped updating the apps that were critical for those mixers to function, and then the apps wouldn’t work with new OS versions. It got so bad that a third-party mixing app called Mixing Station was developed, and Behringer lists that as an officially supported software to control their digital mixers on their website, which is kind of crazy. All of that to say, that this industry is rife with hardware companies developing software only to realize that they either can’t or won’t keep up with updating that software. Behringer is not alone in this. PreSonus’ Qmix app on the Apple Store just got some new updates this year (in preparation for this new mixer), but before that, updates were spaced out by increments of years, and many of these apps that integrate with digital mixers have very poor ratings (from almost every company).
So, are the PreSonus boards worth buying? I would say, if you want a solution that interfaces with PreSonus’ other software solutions, then this could be a great mixer (you’ll just have to hope that those integrations continue to work). But otherwise, I don’t know if this offers enough to get me bought into the PreSonus ecosystem, and from what I can tell, there are no options for Dante or other Ethernet solutions beyond AVB. AVB does have some other manufacturers using it as a protocol, but not nearly as many as Dante, so you end up a little locked into the PreSonus ecosystem.
So, for just the hardware, I don’t find it all that compelling compared to others in the price range. But for anyone already on PreSonus software or upgrading from a previous PreSonus mixer this could be a compelling way to streamline processes and simplify your workflow, and then cross your fingers and hope and pray that the software gets the attention it needs to be worth it.