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[Jamin Lynch]

I'm potentially in the market for a new console and am curious about what you feel are the shortcomings of different sub $10,000 digital consoles that you own or have used for at least 10 gigs.

The issue might be a missing feature, or a feature who's implementation doesn't match your workflow,...

Time to bash what you own.  What annoys you?

My least favorite issues about my 01v96 V2:

1) Not enough I/O in stock frame, requiring a rack
2) Can't record more than 16 channels direct to computer using available cards (16 ch firewire). I use 24 channels of ADAT that requires another rack (HD24)
3) No vendor iPad solution.  I use Stereoscope, but it's a far cry from the newer iPad apps.
4) Not enough busses
5) No scribble strips.  I like to program each event or act at a festival to best use the console features.  'Just like analog' isn't a positive feature for me, I enjoy having unrestricted routing capabilities and 'assign anything to any fader'.  Having to use tape, I believe I program the board differently than I would otherwise, particularly trying to find a common denominator layout for festivals which ends up screwy because of that one band that needs 8 vocal mics...

I've added a few more after more thought:
6) non recallable preamps, very handy for multi-band events.
7) no reasonably-priced digital snake solution

I have a couple of Si Compacts and an Si Performer. There's really nothing I dislike. Only a couple of things that would make them better though:

They are a bit hard to see in direct sunlight, but I think most digital boards have that problem
I wish they had some 1/4" outputs
XLR light connector rather than BNC
Dedicated talk back rather than using a channel

[Matt Tudor]

I'm potentially in the market for a new console and am curious about what you feel are the shortcomings of different sub $10,000 digital consoles that you own or have used for at least 10 gigs.

The issue might be a missing feature, or a feature who's implementation doesn't match your workflow,...

Time to bash what you own.  What annoys you?

My least favorite issues about my 01v96 V2:

1) Not enough I/O in stock frame, requiring a rack
2) Can't record more than 16 channels direct to computer using available cards (16 ch firewire). I use 24 channels of ADAT that requires another rack (HD24)
3) No vendor iPad solution.  I use Stereoscope, but it's a far cry from the newer iPad apps.
4) Not enough busses
5) No scribble strips.  I like to program each event or act at a festival to best use the console features.  'Just like analog' isn't a positive feature for me, I enjoy having unrestricted routing capabilities and 'assign anything to any fader'.  Having to use tape, I believe I program the board differently than I would otherwise, particularly trying to find a common denominator layout for festivals which ends up screwy because of that one band that needs 8 vocal mics...

I've added a few more after more thought:
6) non recallable preamps, very handy for multi-band events.
7) no reasonably-priced digital snake solution

Another LS9-32 list:
no quarter inch inputs. At least one pair so I could do playback without needing a DI box.
The whole grey on grey in the patching menu is real hard for me to read.
Multiple horizontal rows of input jacks. Once you have 1 thru 8 plugged in it's a pain in a** to check or change 9 thru 16, especially if the board is in a doghouse case.
Using arrow keys to navigate the screen is clunky. I've wondered how hard it would be to write an update for the console that lets a guy plug a mouse into the USB port....

[David Parker]

Using arrow keys to navigate the screen is clunky. I've wondered how hard it would be to write an update for the console that lets a guy plug a mouse into the USB port....

now that's a pregnant idea!

[Scott Helmke]

LS9 is the one I've used the most.

1. The volume knobs for the stereo inputs are pretty much useless, because of the two-stage velocity thing. It's either way too slow or way too fast. So those always go to the custom fader layer.
2. The screen contrast setting is never exactly right for all the different displays, though there is a shortcut to change the contrast - hold down the Home key and spin the data dial.
3. Selecting different channels from the home screen on Studio Manager doesn't show channel names, just numbers.

No complaints about the sound quality, though.

[Samuel Rees]

LS9 is the one I've used the most.

1. The volume knobs for the stereo inputs are pretty much useless, because of the two-stage velocity thing. It's either way too slow or way too fast. So those always go to the custom fader layer.
2. The screen contrast setting is never exactly right for all the different displays, though there is a shortcut to change the contrast - hold down the Home key and spin the data dial.
3. Selecting different channels from the home screen on Studio Manager doesn't show channel names, just numbers.

No complaints about the sound quality, though.

Wow. Never known about that shortcut. Done hundreds of shows on LS9 haha... Definitely going to use that.

[Adam Cooke]

It's hard to complain about digital boards when there is so much power available these days for such a low price, but since you asked...


I love my Soundcraft Expression, and it's a fantastic value for the price, but there are a few things that I would love to see added in an update:
1. The current version of the ipad app cannot access the mute groups, channel gains, or fx parameters.
2. The ipad app channels are wider than I'd like (8 per screen) and the ipad fader layout is not user configurable like the console's fader layers are, so it requires lots of scrolling to get to needed channels (i.e. scrolling past all 54 mono channels to get to the fx and stereo inputs).
3. I/O patching options are a bit limited - there are only four 1/4" inputs, and the board will not allow using a spare xlr input as a return for an analog insert, so you lose 1/4" stereo inputs if you need to use analog inserts. Also, there are only two stereo faders allowed. If you want to return a pair of XLRs for stereo playback, they have to be on linked mono faders, rather than a single stereo fader.
4. It has a very full featured gate, with key filtering and depth control, but I really wish it could be switched to expander, which I prefer for many applications.


The original PreSonus StudioLive was a workable inexpensive digital option a few years ago, but has been surpassed by other newer consoles, and the new AI versions still have these same annoyances :
1. It doesn't have moving faders or recallable gains (and this will never be fixed by a software update).
2. Cannot isolate individual channels from scene recall
3. Only reverb and delay fx, no other fx algorithms.
4. Cannot assign aux mixes to L/R, to act as additional mix subgroups


I hope that's helpful!!

[Scott Bolt]

X32 Rack...

Wish it had combo jacks on the inputs.  That is really all I can think of

[Corey Scogin]

Another gripe I have about the X32 series is the super bright red LED's next to the input XLR ports that indicate 48V is enabled.  100% of the things I plug in via XLR will not break if 48V is present, yet I can see those LED's all the way from the other end of the room.  I think I'll be taking a Sharpie to those when I get a chance.

[Samuel Rees]

Another gripe I have about the X32 series is the super bright red LED's next to the input XLR ports that indicate 48V is enabled.  100% of the things I plug in via XLR will not break if 48V is present, yet I can see those LED's all the way from the other end of the room.  I think I'll be taking a Sharpie to those when I get a chance.

Soundcraft Si has the same thing. Pretty bright.

[John Chiara]

Another gripe I have about the X32 series is the super bright red LED's next to the input XLR ports that indicate 48V is enabled.  100% of the things I plug in via XLR will not break if 48V is present, yet I can see those LED's all the way from the other end of the room.  I think I'll be taking a Sharpie to those when I get a chance.

One reason I got a doghouse. They make it hard for me to see the inputs.

[ProSoundWeb Community]