FRONT OF HOUSE
MIXING CONSOLE FORMATS | Kent Morris
Twenty-five years ago , most church mixing consoles employed sixteen or twenty-four inputs with an occasional thirty-two channel mixer installed at the largest church in town . It was a rare sight to see a forty-eight or sixty-four channel desk outside the few megachurches of the day . The need simply didn ’ t exist for anything more than two dozen inputs .
When Maranatha and Integrity songs filled the sanctuary , drums occupied roughly six channels with single channels each for bass , acoustic , electric , perhaps two for keys and then maybe four vocals and one playback channel . Today , with Mav City and VOUS setting the standard , even small congregations max-out an X32 with stereo stems , multiple stereo media channels and dedicated effects processing . Let ’ s look at how formats determine mixers .
Small format live sound mixers are usually analog in nature while large format consoles are universally digital . When dealing with eight inputs , the economy of scale does not exist to allow those few channels to support ADC ( Analog to Digital Converter ) circuitry . However , when the channel count expands , the cost of digital ’ s input ADC and DAC output circuits become viable as the expected retail price of the product rises to a point where it makes economic sense to make the console digital . At that crossover point , mixers become digital and stay that way for the live market through the high-end large-format choices . While large format analog studio desks do exist , they are extinct in the general market on the live production side of the industry due to the lack of parts availability , the dearth of engineers left in the field who understand their requirements and sufficient demand from buyers .
Mid-range live consoles , which make up the lion ’ s share of the market , tend to be digital with scaled down features of their upmarket counterparts squeezed into a cost-effective frame and operated via a small touchscreen and iOS remote capability . They usually have stage box connectivity , but may not support the brand ’ s highest version or more than two boxes which must each be home-run to the board . They tend to go through succeeding generations with updated features and controls based on the same architecture until the core chipset becomes obsolete , requiring the process to repeat itself . Their transport protocol is typically native brand specific with an option for a card to employ Dante , MADI or AVB .
Generally , large-format refers to an expandable ecosystem with available channel counts in excess of one hundred , modular construction for customization with variable input / output ( I / O ), extensive programming with an eye toward stability and constant updates , instant access via phone or email to dedicated factory techs and consoles and boxes with multiple card slots and DSP expansion options to fill a bewildering array of requirements from clients as diverse as broadcast award shows and bluegrass festivals .
Because of the expensive and lengthy development cycle involved , large format digital desks tend to remain in production for many years , necessitating the above mentioned firmware updates to not only fix bugs , but add features and even expand I / O over time . Customers in this arena need comprehensive counseling on the best path forward and solid answers to serious questions . How will the product tie into monitors and broadcast ? How robust is the power supply ? What options are
available now or in the near future to address pending needs or wants ? What is the support experience like from the factory ? How rider friendly is the brand in general and this console specifically for visiting artists ? Will monitor and broadcast / livestream control surfaces integrate smoothly with the FOH model ? Is this console currently on the front or rear slope of its lifespan ? What does the used market look like for this product ?
For churches nearing the end-of-life for their original “ drop-in replacement ” first generation digital board , the key to a successful replacement is to focus on stability of operation , comprehensiveness of options and depth of support . Most consoles in a price range sound similar ; the differences are in usage and seamless upgradability . By uncovering which mixer will work best in a specific environment with unique needs , the best decision can be made .
Kent Morris Kent is a 40-year veteran of the AVL arena driven by passion for excellence tempered by the knowledge digital is a temporary state .