Not so long ago, consoles with 32 channels and 16 auxiliaries could cover the requirements of almost any band and most festivals, but today, bigger shows often require 100 channels and 50 mixes or more. At the same time, the genre of large-format consoles continues to grow and evolve.
The recently introduced Yamaha RIVAGE PM10 and Avid VENUE | S6L, both highly anticipated, have now been released and are seeing steadily increasing action in a range of applications. Further, Allen & Heath unveiled the dLive Series, and it too is making already waves in touring and larger fixed install markets.
Most recently, Soundcraft just expanded the Vi Series further with the new Vi2000. Meanwhile, DiGiCo has announced Stealth Core2, an upgrade to its existing Stealth Digital Processing, which delivers more processing from the audio core of all SD consoles, adding processing channels, functionality and more. The kicker is that it can be fitted to existing models.
Size and weight are obvious digital advantages. Even the biggest digital control surfaces weigh 100 to 200 pounds less then their analog predecessors and take up less space. Models vary in terms of onboard I/O, while most models work with stage boxes and racks that deliver a tremendous amount of connectivity while accommodating a growing stable of option cards that expand routing, networking and processing capabilities even further.
Control groups are even larger on the biggest desks. Engineers used to worry they wouldn’t have enough faders on digital consoles to manage high channel count shows, but the new digital workflow allows mixing from DCAs, “spilling” contributing channels to the next fader bank where they can be tweaked. New designs improve workflow with custom fader layers, but control group “spill” onto adjacent fader banks is the ultimate custom layer.
“In-the-box” mixing, where mix processing is performed entirely within a console, means engineers can save shows and open them on identical or similar consoles. They can email a file to the next gig’s console vendor, “cc-ing” themselves a copy as backup. And remote control of consoles from tablets has become a standard feature.
MADI has enabled manufacturers to provide multi-track I/O for recording and playback to laptop-based DAWs, supporting affordable virtual sound check. This simple innovation allows engineers to easily check a previous show, test sound systems with a previous performance, practice mixing or tweak a show file, teach others to mix, and afterwards, easily mix a show down for distribution, all using the same console.
Another advent is simple 2-track recording and playback using USB “thumb drives,” allowing engineers to walk away from a console with a board mix they can easily listen to and then e-mail to others if they like. It also provides simple and foolproof playback of walk-in and intro music with no moving parts.
Enjoy our Real World Gear Tour of today’s large-format digital consoles.
