Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is home to a rich jambalaya of jazz, blues, rock, zydeco, metal, and folk music, as well as a purveyor of pro-audio products, PreSonus, that has been making affordable professional audio products for studio and stage for more than 20 years. In 2009, the company turned a lot of heads with the release of the StudioLive series of digital mixers. For the first time, musicians and engineers could get a well-equipped digital mixer at a fraction of the cost of most other brands.
The StudioLive 16.0.2 USB is a compact yet powerful digital mixer with an 18 x 16 USB interface for direct recording with Mac- or Windows-based DAW software. Highlights include pro-quality Burr-Brown converters on every input and output, which provide 118 dB of dynamic range with accuracy and low distortion. The unit’s compact frame can easily be transported and features 16 inputs, including eight mono mic/line balanced inputs and four stereo line input channels, all fitted with 60mm precision faders. The mixer features 12 Class-A XMAX mic preamplifiers for maximum gain, a low noise floor, and detailed audio quality.
At the heart of the StudioLive 16.0.2 USB is the DSP driven Fat Channel processor, which boasts that all functions are available, all the time. Each channel includes a compressor, limiter, expander, and three-band semi-parametric EQ, a high pass filter, and phase reverse for the channel mic preamps, as well as a library of professionally crafted presets and the ability to save and selectively recall processor settings. A stereo, 31-band graphic EQ is offered on the main bus, while a 32-bit digital effects processor is equipped with customizable reverb and delay presets. There are two dedicated effects buses and four auxiliary buses (pre- and post-fader assignable) for flexible signal routing.
The mixer's flexible remote-control features and its compact design allow for a variety of portable applications. The built-in MIDI I/O ports allow you to control the mixer bi-directionally with other MIDI equipment. Add a MIDI foot pedal or DAW to recall scenes using MIDI program changes, control the main output volume and effects level, mute effects between songs, switch from lots of reverb to a little bit of delay, and change the mix for a solo. It’s a great way to make your performances more exciting and varied, even if you don’t have a separate soundperson.
The mixer is bundled with PreSonus Studio One Artist recording software, Capture, UC Surface, and QMix software. UC Surface enables full-duplex remote control with an iPad, iPhone, or laptop, making it an ideal solution for use on stage, in live sound reinforcement applications and remote recording, and more. The Studio Magic Plug-in Suite is also included, which adds a wealth of fresh sound and effects to Studio One with plug-ins from Eventide, Lexicon, SPL, MAAG, Brainworx, and more.
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