Question

I guess this could go in the Series III or the AI category but here goes. I am looking at purchasing one of these mixers primary for the Mix Scenes. We are a church that currently uses a 32 channel analog mixer. We have one primary worship leader, but two backup singers who will sing lead on specific songs on an almost weekly basis.  It's a headache for our volunteer sound operators to change Main Mix, 4 Monitor Feeds and Record levels  in the :10 intro to one of our worship songs with the added pressure  being in the middle of our Sunday Service.

I know this is counter-intuitive to skilled sound engineers, but I am looking for a way to accomplish some complex changes quickly in the middle of our service using volunteers with very basic training.  I discovered Mix Scenes in digital mixers and it appears like this could be the miracle cure.

Mix Scene 1=Main Worship Leader Main/Monitor/Record settings

Mix Scene 2=Singer #2 Main/Monitor/Record settings

Mix Scene 3=Singer #3 Main/Monitor/Record settings

Mix Sence 4=Mute group that kills all but the Pastor

All at the push of a button?  That seems too good to be true. 

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS

1. Anyone doing something similar?

2. Does it work smoothly?

3. Are there challenges to that setup?

Thanks so much for your help!

Jeremy W.

Answer 1

Don't underestimate the power of mix scenes. Even seasoned engineers can find a lot of use in them. I cannot remember what engineer it was, but he works with a major band on tour. In an interview, he stated that he used at least 10 scenes per song! In one scene, he changed hundreds of parameters (eq, compression, levels, etc.). So, don't see them as being a tool for only the novice, but as an extension so you can mix instead of worry about setting so many things at once.

My church uses scenes for helping our services run smoothly. During rehearsal, we fully mix each song and store scenes for them. Those become the starting point for Sunday. We have over 40 tracks to mix, as well as 3 stereo monitors, and 4 mono. We are also using DCA groups to our advantage, since the lead vocal changes depending on the song. Scenes will also store the DCA assignments. Scenes for everything, from walk-in music, to songs, to message. It beats having to move 40 faders on multiple layers.

Now, the church is using a much better system than what we can get from PreSonus, but that doesn't mean that we're left out. We can still have all the features of the scenes, except for crossfading. That's the only really annoying part about scenes on these consoles, they instantly jump to their location... not very musical.

If you're currently looking for a console and want expandability, I'd go with the RML32AI and CS18AI. You can cascade two RML32s and have a 64 channel system, but you won't have the ability to use third-party devices on the network.  If you're looking for compatibility with other devices, the Series III might work for you.

Personally, I like scenes.

Answer 2

Hi,

I use scenes quite a bit.  We play a number of repeat locations so it is great to save all the settings when we return.  I have come up with one little trick that has worked great.

I always use channel 1 for my vocals, so what I now do is give channel 1 the same name, (or abbreviated), as the Scene.  This makes it an easy reference the I’ve have the correct Scene pulled up.

Simple, but very helpful!

Answer 3

For those of you using mix scenes, I know how to recall them, I THINK I can put them on a user function button to choose the next scene but HOW are you saving the mix scenes? Does this have to be done from UC or is there a way to save them on the mixer itself? I am using the StudioLive Series III 32 Channel.