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THE NEW M200i FROM ROLAND EXEMPLIFIES TWO TRENDS: A HIGH LEVEL OF INTEGRATED iPAD CONTROL ALONG WITH A PROPRIETARY REAC AUDIO NETWORK, HERE CONNECTING TO THE EXTERNAL STAGE BOX.
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DIGICO’S SD7 COUPLES THE ENORMOUS PROCESSING POWER OF FPGA DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO A USER INTERFACE WITH LARGE TOUCHSCREENS.
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THE NO. 1 TREND MAY BE HARD TO SEE ON THIS YAMAHA CL5, BUT LOOK FOR THE RJ45 JACKS LABELED “DANTE.”
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THE NEW STUDIOLIVE 32-4-2 FROM PRESONUS PRESENTS AN ANALOG-LIKE USER INTERFACE (ONE FADER PER CHANNEL), BUT COUPLES IT WITH POWERFUL OUTBOARD COMPUTER SOFTWARE.
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FOR SMALLER CHURCHES WHERE THE SOUND AND LIGHTING OPERATORS ARE ONE AND THE SAME, THE SOUNDCRAFT SI PERFORMER FOLLOWS SUIT BY INTEGRATING DMX CONTROL.
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MACKIE’S BREAKTHROUGH DL1608 HAS ANALOG KNOBS FOR INPUT GAIN AND HEADPHONE VOLUME. FOR ALL ELSE, AN iPAD “UUUI” IS MANDATORY.
Today's audio mixing console market abounds with attractive options for any church looking to upgrade worship technology. But, is now the time to take the plunge and make a purchase? Or would you be better off hanging in there with somewhat antiquated yet serviceable technology, waiting for an even better opportunity further down the road?
To help with that decision, we're going to step back, take the long view, and ask some key questions. What are the dominant trends that are driving mixing console design? How are those trends shaping current product offerings as well as those waiting just over the horizon?
In search of helpful perspective, we'll look at nine trends in mixing console design. The list is ranked from most to least important, in this writer's estimation, for the broad, general church market. However, trends that matter most for your church may be different. For example, if you want to upgrade your lighting and audio console, Trend Seven may move to the fore. And if yours is a smaller church with a tight budget cap, Trend Nine may take the top spot.
So here are snapshots of the “mixing megatrends,” with commentary solicited from major console manufacturers.
TREND 1 NETWORK TAKEOVER
The contest for the top spot wasn’t even close.
Unquestionably, the most significant trend in mixing console design is the transition from point-to-point audio connectivity—whether analog or digital—to fully networked systems. The fat analog snake is giving way to the skinny network cable.
“Digital audio networks add enormous flexibility,” notes Kevin Kimmel, systems application engineer at Yamaha in New York. “One example is the ability to easily record and playback multichannel audio to and from a computer by connecting an Ethernet cable to a computer, as can be done over a Dante network with our CL Series consoles and a computer running Nuendo Live.”
The only factor slowing the network trend is the lack of agreement and standardization on exactly which audio network to use. Some makers utilize their own proprietary networks, [and] some utilize a third-party solution (Audinate’s Dante is increasingly dominant) while a few are opting for the recently finalized, open-source Ethernet AVB standard. With regard to the latter, and an eye to a wide-open marketplace for future peripherals, Avid has made AVB the audio backbone of its new S3L system.
Other makers (Roland and Behringer notably) prefer to use their own propriety networks, while PreSonus keeps options open by offering both Dante and AVB networking cards. The range of networking options has a carryover effect into our next trend …
TREND 2 SIMPLICITY THRU SYSTEMIZATION
The increasing complexity of AV production for worship presents a challenge for equipment manufacturers, particularly when operation by volunteers demands reliability and relative simplicity. Everything needs to function seamlessly, with a minimum of user configuration. Manufacturers are responding by engineering comprehensive systems, with the mixing console and the center, that also offer multichannel recording/playback and personal monitoring.
“In the church market, the total system solution is very important,” says John Broadhead, vice president of technology and communication at Roland Systems Group in Los Angeles. “Churches want to have all the parts work together, to be controlled from one central location, and have the ability to upgrade individual components easily as the church grows.” This trend continues in the company’s V-Mixing systems, which tie the various functions together with a proprietary REAC network.
The fat analog snake is giving way to the skinny network cable.
Behringer has followed suit with its X32 mixers and associated peripherals, again linked by a proprietary network. “The entire X32 family of mixers, along with the S16 digital snake, P16 Powerplay personal monitoring system, and iQ Series active loudspeakers address the need for versatility in a networked environment,” states Christian Stahl, communications director for the Music Group in Deutschland, Behringer’s parent company.
For PreSonus, the systemization trend encompasses a broad range of software solutions that extend to advanced system tuning and web integration. San Francisco-based Public Relations Manager Steve Oppenheimer comments: “Our Virtual Studio Live-AI software incorporates Rational Acoustics’ Smaart Measurement technology, including three wizards that make it easy to view the frequency response trace of the venue, calculate delay timing, and verify output connectivity. The Studio Live console software packages are also Web-aware in a number of ways. For example, you can export a sermon or complete service directly out of Studio One to the church website or to the free Nimbit store that we provide. All of this software is fully integrated in the mixers and comes at no extra charge.”
TREND 3 INTERFACING INNOVATIONS
The design of analog consoles was limited to a great degree by the structure of the internal circuits, which in turn dictated the familiar in-line channel strip and separate master section. Digital consoles allow much more latitude, which means console designers have more options for making the user interface more user friendly—albeit at the risk of being unfamiliar to veteran analog users.
“With the advent of digital, designers have become much more experimental in their approach, offering new tools and procedures for traditional tasks that are more intuitive and efficient,” says Graeme Taylor, vice president of Music Group’s Professional Division, Midas, United Kingdom. “We see this as particularly important for market segments that perhaps see a greater number of less-experienced operators.”
A quick comparison of console control surfaces reveals how much latitude console designers now enjoy. Some designs opt for very large touchscreens (Digico), some have programmable color coding of controls and fader strips (Soundcraft), some sport multi-angled control surfaces (Allen & Heath), while others (Midas) strive for continuity of architecture across all frame sizes. All have their relative advantages, but, alas, compared to their analog cousins, moving from one platform to another will require mental adjustments.
TREND 4 iPADS EVERYWHERE
Despite the variety of interface philosophies, nearly all makers have one interface add-on in common: the iPad. It has become the ubiquitous universal user interface—the UUUI (“you-ee”) if I may coin an acronym. A few models have hardwired docks for the iPad, but most connect exclusively via built-in WiFi access points, thus bypassing any potential problems with changing sizes or connectors.
Mackie offers both options in its breakthrough DL Series, with nearly 100% iPad-only control. By leveraging the cost efficiencies of Apple’s mass production, the features-per-dollar ratio is remarkable. Of course you can’t feel on-screen faders, and if your iPad turns up missing—trouble. Roland approached the trend more cautiously with its M2001, using the iPad for deep settings and configuration but retaining the basic tactile control surface. For most other makers, all functions remain on the primary control surface with the iPad function as a handy out-in-the-pews remote.
TREND 5 PROCESSING POTENCY###/SUBHEAD
It's a simple formula: more processing power means more input/output channels and more effects with higher audio resolution and lower signal latencies. Major manufacturers are leveraging the newest technology to offer all of the above.
“At Digico we've moved away from traditional DSP to Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology,” says the company's David Webster in the United Kingdom. “This has allowed us to develop products like the SD7, which offers 256 processing channels and 128 busses running at 96 kHz with full processing on every path, including multi-band dynamics.”
Up until about a decade ago, nearly all mixing consoles were one-piece affairs. Now most come in pieces.
Avid claims to leverage this trend as well, according to the company's Sheldon Radford, director of product management for live systems in San Francisco. “Our new S3L system uses the HDX processing engine, which allows plug-ins to be fully integrated into the onboard mixing environment without any external computers or plug-in servers,” he says.
TREND 6 MAKE MINE MODULAR
Up until about a decade ago, nearly all mixing consoles were one-piece affairs. Now most come in pieces. All but the low-budget digital boards at least offer separate pre-amp stage boxes as an option. Lately, the trend has gone a step further, separating the work surface, monitor/control touch screens, FOH processing boxes and stage boxes, allowing each component to be selected and eventually upgraded separately. Mixing consoles are trending toward modular mixing systems.
The aforementioned Avid S3L is one example, which the company points out extends the level of modularity present in earlier high-end systems to a lower price point. An even more dramatic example is the Tactus system, a system conceived as a partnership between Peavey and Waves and previewed at the last InfoComm show. It uses Peavey-developed hardware (stage and FOH I/O and local DSP) along with third-party computers running Waves' new eMotion LV1 software mixer and connected to off-the-shelf touchscreens of any size desired. By leveraging the dramatically lower cost of computer power and screens, these modular systems can offer more channels and processing power at lower cost. But as “some assembly is required,” [and] they may not work well for a portable church.
TREND 7 LIGHTING INTEGRATION
With production video and lighting integrated into worship in ever-smaller churches, manufacturers are responding by integrating video and lighting functions with audio to ensure seamless compatibility and allow single-operator control.
On the video side, Roland Systems Group has been offering integrated audio mixing and video switching for years, and continues to develop a range of products combining the two. A relatively new player, Renegade Labs of Grass Valley, Calif., has developed several mixers that—although not incorporating video internally—are designed to interface with video equipment.
As for lighting, about the time that Harman International acquired the Martin production lighting company, its Soundcraft division introduced the Si Performer, which marries a 32-input digital audio mixer to a DMX 512 lighting controller. It's unique for now, but expect other makers to follow if it catches on.
TREND 8 APPLICATION ADAPTABILITY
Back in the days of fixed analog circuits, consoles were designed for specific applications: live, recording, broadcast, and theater. Now, with the flexibility of digital, it's possible (though not always easy) to have one hardware mixing system serve multiple applications through different software packages. Digico has made notable strides in this respect, with its theater software offering added versatility for churches that stage major dramatic productions. Similarly, Studer's Vista consoles have evolved over the years, initially focusing on broadcast-oriented applications but now moving increasingly into theater, live concert and church production.
TREND 9 ANALOG GOES DIGITAL
Analog gets the last word because, although digital may be at the forefront in technology and total dollar sales, analog consoles still account for most unit sales. One reason for analog's continued popularity is the increased integration of digital technology. Even many sub-$500 consoles now incorporate stereo USB recording and playback along with built in digital effects that, if used judiciously, are quite workable. Most recently, in new MGP Series boards, Yamaha advanced the trend by incorporating a digital “Stereo Hybrid” output section that includes high-resolution dynamics processing, dual digital effects engines, and external control via iPod or iPhone.
Those are the nine dominant console trends as of late 2013. If you're reading this in 2014, there might be one or two more you'll need to look for.
