Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Lisa Lane-Collins

Lisa Lane-Collins

Sophomore
Dec 9, 2012
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16
Adelaide, Australia
A council I work for is seriously considering upgrading to a digital mixing console, particularly because they would like to be able to make trouble free multitrack recordings of performances.

For live mixing, I'd tend towards the Allan and Heath QU16, X32 seems fine but maybe out of their budget, Studiolive has been considered because someone found one secondhand (for $1200, some $100 less than new, seriously cash converters?!) I've used all three, and I'd take a studiolive over an analogue desk with no outboard...I'm confident the studiolive has the same functionality as the other two but the other two have far superior layouts. I don't think I've ever mixed through speakers good enough to hear the difference in sound between them. So my question is, is the studiolive really as bad as everyone says it is?

And then a second question, if the end objective is really nice sounding live recordings (and from my perspective, as the person who takes the multitracks home and mixes them, it most definitely Is), is one of these three desks clearly the better choice for recording? For a frame of reference, I am currently recording through a pair of presonus firestudios, so I suppose switching from presonus preamps to presonus preamps would really be neither here nor there, not possible to downgrade, but no objections to upgrading.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Are you talking about the legacy studiolive or the newer AI-models?

At that kind of money I'd probably opt out on the legacy models and focus on the AI if I wanted to go with the studiolive.

If I were looking for a new dgital mixer today I'd most likley consider a digital mixer with motorized faders and conventinal workflow. While I own a sl24.4.2 I don't find the workflow of the studiolive to be to my liking, compared to how other digital mixers operate in general.

It was a great concept at the time but I find that time and technology have caught up with them...
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

I'd avoid the older Studiolive consoles for recording, as Firewire is becoming harder and harder to find on laptops these days. The newer AI series adds Thunderbolt, which is supported on modern Apple hardware, but still hard to find on non-Apple machines.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

The studio live was merely the first digital console to hit the prosumer market. Other than that, it has very little reason to exist in the professional world. It sounds worse than all the other options at the price point, its scene system is useless, and the control software, though a vast improvement over the onboard ui, can only function with a console connected to it - so no offline editing. I honestly despise the thing, even though it's the first digital console I got to use and have used it regularly. I know it works for some people, but I certainly don't know why you would choose it over other options nowadays.

The wrong piece of gear at the right price is still the wrong piece of gear.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Lisa,

I own two of the original StudioLives and use them weekly. They are not perfect, but I can't really complain about them either. Both of mine have been back to Presonus for service which is a concern, but otherwise they do their jobs well. I routinely record to a Mac laptop via firewire. On Friday I was mixing a folk trio at a weekly concert series and had what I thought was a really good mix going, until the rain came at least.

The big strength of the SLs is the ease of use. I've introduced band engineers to them on several occasions and within a few minutes they are off and running. A few minor pointers along the way, but otherwise the mixer seems to be pretty intuitive for most techs. You can't say the same about the 01v96 or SL-9.

People seem to hate the SLs because of what they are not, rather than what they are. They are capable compact mixers that do their job well. If the feature set fits your needs, go ahead and use them. If you need something more capable, get something else.

The AI series are a good step forward with better effects and wireless control.

Regards,
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

I would suggest investigating the availability of repair service, especially if buying a used board. You probably can't just pop over to the factory for repairs.

JR
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

I've still got a couple Studio Live's in use. When they first came out, they were awesome for their price point. However, they have been greatly surpassed by other options, and their limitations become quite glaring. The quality of the build of the units, especially the faders, is pretty lacking. The concept that the Studio Live is easy to use and understand is only due to the fact that it doesn't do much to begin with. The X32 or Soundcraft layout is FAR easier to use and understand than figuring out the screening on the Presonus boards. Yes, the Presonus looks more like an analog board, if you're deathly afraid of digital, but once you get past that, it's quite cumbersome by comparison. You still need to select a channel to make adjustments, and with everything lined up in rows, it's much more difficult to find what you need. At first I thought the Presonus would be easier, but as I've had to teach people to use it, the newer boards have been easier for people to grasp. The catch is getting into the nitty gritty of configuration, but the one mixing doesn't need to worry about that at all. Lock out configuration and don't worry about that.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

John Roberts said:
I would suggest investigating the availability of repair service, especially if buying a used board. You probably can't just pop over to the factory for repairs.
Click to expand...

Are there manufacturers for whom you can just pop over to the factory for repairs? We run a pretty big business here in North America and we don't even do repairs, there aren't enough by several orders of magnitude to justify keeping someone on staff who could do them.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

I like my Legacy SL24.4.2 just got a notice to update the warranty for another year. (Bought in 2011, extra warranty is $139/year) I don't use it as much anymore since I picked up an RM32AI. Never had any problems with my StudioLive. The warranty where I bought it from is transferable, so I'll extend it for another year, as a gift to the new user when I sell it this year.

I'll be buying a CS18AI control surface for the RM32AI which will make the SL24.4.2 redundant. I also have a 16.0.2 which I'll keep as a backup for the RM.

No complaints though. Easy to use software, makes decent multitrack recordings. It's been a good fit for myself. Everyone has their preferences.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Bennett Prescott said:
Are there manufacturers for whom you can just pop over to the factory for repairs? We run a pretty big business here in North America and we don't even do repairs, there aren't enough by several orders of magnitude to justify keeping someone on staff who could do them.
Click to expand...

Last I heard Presonus had an American factory, while most companies today manufacture sub-assemblies, up to complete products offshore. My speculation is that getting repair parts and service for a Presonus console would be far easier in the US (even Boston) than in Adelaide.

But I don't know for a fact, which is why I suggest checking that out. In fact a good idea to check on for any brand digital console, but what would I know. I have been out of the trenches for a while.

JR
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

A full size X32 is super cheap now. The SL is just a PITA for a number of reasons. I have a bunch of shows this summer on someone else's system with the SL and it's tough.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

John Roberts said:
Last I heard Presonus had an American factory, while most companies today manufacture sub-assemblies, up to complete products offshore. My speculation is that getting repair parts and service for a Presonus console would be far easier in the US (even Boston) than in Adelaide.

But I don't know for a fact, which is why I suggest checking that out. In fact a good idea to check on for any brand digital console, but what would I know. I have been out of the trenches for a while.

JR
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention that their support is useless. Not because I had issues with them on the phone, but because you are supposed to have your registration information, the console serial number, and several other pieces of information on hand before you are allowed to call them. As someone who is just a user of the board (not an owner), that pisses me off. I can at least call Behringer and Yamaha for support if I need it. With PreSonus, it's a different story.

They just aren't on par with what I call pro level. But if you don't need pro level support, I do like the long mono delay effect.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

They're not THAT bad to work on, but they're built so light that they WILL NOT hold up under use.
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Bennett Prescott said:
Are there manufacturers for whom you can just pop over to the factory for repairs?
Click to expand...

It's not the factory but you can pop over to Shure's headquarters for a repair. A repair usually consists of giving you a brand new unit and throwing the borken one on the 'to be scorched from the Earth' pile. And once a month you can stop by for an AES meeting too, if that's your style.

That said, Shure gear probably breaks more often than B&C. But it's kinda like apples and oranges.

(Well, I just had the thought of what it would be like to load an old Shure column speaker with B&C drivers. Woah.)
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

I don't think we (in the US) appreciate the struggle that getting service can be for customers in distant markets for small company products.

Again I have no specifics to offer but just suggest checking this out before buying.

JR
 
Re: Presonus StudioLive versus the world.

Maybe the Behringer XR18 would be a good choice? To me they sound better than Presonus and USB out to Reaper works great
 
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