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StudioLive

™

AI-Series Mixers

Digital Mixing System with Active Integration

™

Owner’s Manual

www.presonus.com

English

Summary of Contents for AI-Series

Page 1: ...StudioLive AI Series Mixers Digital Mixing System with Active Integration Owner s Manual www presonus com English...

Page 2: ...annel Presets 32 4 1 11 Channel Presets Library 34 4 2 Metering 35 4 2 1 StudioLive Fat Channel Metering Controls 35 4 2 2 Subgroup and Main Meters 36 4 2 3 A Quick Note About dBu and dBFS 36 4 3 Inpu...

Page 3: ...3 6 Quick Scenes StudioLive 32 4 2AI only 71 5 3 7 AutoStore 73 5 4 Graphic Equalizers 73 5 4 1 The GEQ Menu 74 5 4 2 Saving and Loading Graphic EQ Presets 75 5 5 System Menu 77 5 5 1 Firmware Update...

Page 4: ...iv...

Page 5: ...e LED metering mixer save recall channel strip save recall copy paste talkback and more StudioLive breaks new boundaries for music performance and production All you need is a compatible computer with...

Page 6: ...ion setting suggestions and are included to help you get the most from your StudioLive mixer Thank you once again for buying our product We are confident that you will enjoy your StudioLive 1 3 Summar...

Page 7: ...rding software Studio One Artist digital audio workstation with more than 6 GB of plug ins loops and sounds 1 4 What is in the Box In addition to this manual your StudioLive package contains the follo...

Page 8: ...lume Do not allow your inputs to clip Watch the level meters when the LEDs near the Clip mark the top LED will illuminate indicating that the analog to digital converters are in danger of being overdr...

Page 9: ...you re using passive speakers connect them to your power amplifier using speaker cable 4 Bring down all the faders on your StudioLive to the setting 5 Make sure that the Mic Line knob on Channel 1 is...

Page 10: ...our microphone requires phantom power engage the 48V button on Channel 1 of your StudioLive 8 Turn on your amplifier or powered monitors 9 Press the Input button in the Meters section 10 Speak or sing...

Page 11: ...djust the Channel 1 trim knob until a little more than half of the green LEDs are lit The red LED at the top of the meter should never light up 12 Press the Select button on Channel 1 13 Raise the Cha...

Page 12: ...g Procedure StudioLive 32 4 2AI Owner s Manual 15 Bring up the Main fader until you can comfortably listen to your microphone through your speakers 16 With Channel 1 selected you can use the Fat Chann...

Page 13: ...NG Phantom power is required for condenser microphones but can severely damage some dynamic mics especially ribbon mics Therefore switch phantom power off for all channels where it is not required Pow...

Page 14: ...nel s gain control but before the digital bus The return goes straight to the digital bus So if you insert a de esser on your vocalist s channel you will be sending an unprocessed amplified signal to...

Page 15: ...ee Auxiliary Digital Sends in the StudioLive AI Series Software Library Manual for details Talkback Mic Level This is the trim control for your talkback microphone It adjusts the gain of the talkback...

Page 16: ...These outputs are post gain pre insert and pre A D converter Only the microphone preamps and line level inputs are available through the direct outputs The digital returns cannot be patched to the di...

Page 17: ...ve from virtually anywhere This is especially useful when your wireless control devices iPad iPhone or iPod touch must be used in a different room from where your StudioLive is installed or if there i...

Page 18: ...grams WARNING Power down unit before removing option card front of house speakers laptop running Capture 2 0 subwoofer wireless router StudioLive control surface iPad running SL Remote AI USBWireless...

Page 19: ...15 3 Hookup 3 3 Typical Band Setup Diagrams StudioLive 32 4 2AI Owner s Manual wireless in ear keys wireless in ear lead vocals floor wedges sidefill drum monitor drum kit bass DI electric guitar amp...

Page 20: ...s Manual 3 4 Typical Church Setup Diagrams dvd player keyboard DI piano lead vocal backup vocal mics podium mic hanging choir mics acoustic guitar DI WARNING Power down unit before removing option car...

Page 21: ...I Owner s Manual wireless router iPads running SL Remote AI iPhones running QMix AI drum kit bass DI electric guitar amp rhythm electric guitar amp lead floor wedges wireless in ear lead guitar wirele...

Page 22: ...ts buses each of the subgroups both auxiliary inputs and the main output bus Each of these buttons serves exactly the same purpose to access the available Fat Channel parameters for its channel or bus...

Page 23: ...Mic Solo Bus 4 1 3 Fat Channel Dynamics Processing and EQ The main function of the Fat Channel is to provide dynamics processing and filtering for every input and output on the StudioLive The rotary e...

Page 24: ...noise gates are used almost identically The main difference is that an expander is smoother and more gradual so that it is easier to set the attack and release times correctly Gate Key Listen Button 3...

Page 25: ...se an audible click All gates have the ability to click when opening but a properly set gate will never click Gate Release Sets and Displays the Rate at Which the Gate Closes on the Selected Channel T...

Page 26: ...immediately when a signal exceeds the threshold You can set the attack from 0 2 to 150 milliseconds Compressor Release Sets and Displays the Compressor Release Setting for the Selected Input Channel o...

Page 27: ...h is inversely proportional to the Q so as you raise the Q you narrow the bandwidth 16 4 2AI users can access the variable Low EQ Q Control from VSL AI and SL Remote AI Low EQ Gain Control Sets and Di...

Page 28: ...or the Low Mid Frequency Band This button will narrow the Q of the Low Mid Band to 2 0 to provide more exact control By default the Low Mid Q is set to 0 55 As previously mentioned fully variable Q co...

Page 29: ...lays the Gain Attenuation or Boost at the Center Frequency This encoder sets and the meter displays the gain cut or boost at the center frequency of the High Mid band The level of the center frequency...

Page 30: ...gh shelving EQ is like a treble control knob on a stereo In this mode the Center Frequency control selects the shelving frequency Limiter On Off Turns on the Limiter for the Selected Input Channel or...

Page 31: ...hem sound even better it will not correct timing issues and will actually exaggerate them if your bass player and drummer aren t in the pocket For this purposes of this Tutorial we will be sidechainin...

Page 32: ...an verify that a new Fat Channel setting is better than it was before you started tweaking To A B Fat Channel settings 1 Select a channel and create a Fat Channel setup 2 Press the Alt EQ Dyn button T...

Page 33: ...nd 4 Channels 25 and 26 32 4 2AI only A stereo link can be enabled when either channel in the pair is selected When the Stereo Link button is illuminated all dynamics settings except Polarity Invert s...

Page 34: ...y selected channel will begin to flash The Select button for the selected channel will not illuminate You can copy a Fat Channel setting from any channel or bus to any combination of channels and buse...

Page 35: ...e selected channel onto which the preset will be loaded Use the Value encoder to scroll through the preset library You can also press the Next button to scroll through preset categories You can choose...

Page 36: ...ss the Fat Channel s Save button 1 You will notice that the LCD will display the Channel Preset Save menu Use the Value encoder to scroll to an empty position in the Channel Preset library 2 Press the...

Page 37: ...with uppercase and lowercase letters as well as a selection of numerals and punctuation marks You can insert a space by simply pressing the Tap button 6 Once you are satisfied with your changes press...

Page 38: ...KEY Piano Warm 05 DRM Kick Hip Hop 31 KEY Piano Jazz 06 DRM Kick Jazz 32 KEY Piano Electric 07 DRM Snare 1 33 KEY Piano Electric 2 08 DRM Fat Snare 34 KEY Vibes 09 DRM Snare Crackalak 35 HRN Trumpet 1...

Page 39: ...that the meters simply overlay the selected Fat Channel state For instance if you have Channel 16 selected and then press the Output button in the Meters section the knobs and buttons in the Fat Chann...

Page 40: ...alue cannot be determined dBFS or decibels relative to full scale is used to measure amplitude levels in digital systems that have a maximum peak level the point at which the A D converter will clip W...

Page 41: ...input provides power for condenser microphones and other devices requiring continuous phantom power This power is supplied at a constant level to prevent any signal degradation Digital Return Button T...

Page 42: ...ls cannot be wiped off To clean the scribble strip use a lightly damp cloth to remove the writing 4 4 Aux and FX Buses The aux bus provides outputs to create auxiliary mixes that are separate from the...

Page 43: ...tton will mute or unmute its internal effects FX bus It will illuminate red when the bus is muted 4 4 3 Aux and FX Bus Channel Sends In addition to setting the dynamics for each channel and bus and me...

Page 44: ...send positions for each Aux and FX mix Pre 1 Sends each channel to the Aux bus after the polarity invert high pass filter and gate Pre 2 Sends each channel to the aux bus after all Fat Channel proces...

Page 45: ...mixes you are creating using your headphones or your control room monitor by simply soloing the aux and selecting Solo as the source in the Monitor section 4 4 6 Creating Internal FX Mixes There are...

Page 46: ...l s level is in the effects mix the more processed wetter it will sound Let s say that you are using reverb to liven up a relatively dead room You might send a little bit of each input to the reverb b...

Page 47: ...ocessor This section will detail how to use an external effects processor with your StudioLive In this example we will use Aux 1 to feed an external effects processor 1 To begin connect the Aux 1 outp...

Page 48: ...o set the send levels for each channel to the effects processor the same way you used them to create a monitor mix As with creating an internal FX mix the higher a channel s level is in the FX mix the...

Page 49: ...stments for a Subgroup As previously described in Section 4 1 1 the Select button routes its subgroup through the Fat Channel allowing you to add dynamics processing EQ panning etc or to patch a subgr...

Page 50: ...nel 3 Snare Bottom Channel 4 Floor Tom Channel 5 Tom 1 Channel 6 Tom 2 Channel 7 Overhead Left Channel 8 Overhead Right Channel 9 Hi Hat We will create a stereo subgroup by linking Subgroups 1 and 2 1...

Page 51: ...s is especially useful when employing specialty or signature effects For instance a typical vocal mix for an electronic band dramatically trails off in a wash of reverb whereas a reggae band usually h...

Page 52: ...r Detail page This will display every parameter available for the preset that was loaded and you can adjust its parameters to taste See Section 5 1 for complete operating instructions 5 Next decide wh...

Page 53: ...r and you can use it to season the reggae band s performance The Tap button allows you to go one step further and set the tempo of the delay to match the tempo of the song 4 6 Main Output Bus Main Sel...

Page 54: ...a preconfigured mute group that includes every channel and bus with a Mute button Pressing this button activates every mute on the StudioLive mixer Press it again to unmute them If you unmute a channe...

Page 55: ...You also can patch processed return signals from an external effects processor using Aux Inputs A and B Power User Tip Aux Inputs A and B can also be used as stereo line input channels for line level...

Page 56: ...ed and unassigned to multiple Aux buses at once each Aux mix provides its own individual level control for the talkback via Aux Flip mode See Section 4 4 3 for details Talkback Button Turns the Talkba...

Page 57: ...nel or bus routes that channel to the Solo bus and has no effect on the main or subgroup mixes PFL soloing is not available for the subgroups Aux bus soloing is always PFL regardless of whether this m...

Page 58: ...patch one input or bus to the monitor bus at a time Latch Solo and Radio Solo modes allow the Monitor bus to function as a summing amp See Section 4 10 for details 4 9 3 Solo Clear To clear all solos...

Page 59: ...e on stage is picking up the bass signal To determine the cause solo only the aux send in question and again select the Solo button for the monitors headphones You can now listen to exactly the same m...

Page 60: ...ork from the bottom up so press the Solo button on your kick drum mic channel Notice that all the other channels on your StudioLive have been muted and the kick drum channel is selected 5 The Fat Chan...

Page 61: ...ignal from the tape inputs tape returns to the monitor bus The level for this input is controlled by the knob in the 2 Track In section Main Mix Monitor Button Assigns the Main Mix to the Monitor Bus...

Page 62: ...The Headphone output is located on the front of the mixer below the main fader Control Room Monitor Level Control Adjusts the Overall Level of the Control Room Monitor Outputs on the Rear Panel This k...

Page 63: ...nu for your StudioLive Pressing the FX Scene System or GEQ buttons will open their respective menus When no other menu button is enabled the Channel Info page will be visible Please Note When an FX bu...

Page 64: ...assigned to FX A bus Effect B is assigned to FX B bus Effect C is assigned to FX C and Effect D is assigned to FX D Use the Next and Prev buttons to navigate through the screen To change a preset use...

Page 65: ...ur custom effects library The factory presets can be altered renamed and overwritten Create an FX preset using a factory preset as a jumping off point or start from scratch with an FX type of your cho...

Page 66: ...e the currently selected preset 8 Press the Next button to navigate to the first letter of the preset name 9 Turn the Value encoder clockwise or counter clockwise to change the letter The StudioLive a...

Page 67: ...st modern music production reverb decay times of between one and three seconds are prevalent A reverb setting with strong early reflections and a quick decay are a great way to create a stereo effect...

Page 68: ...that effect Once the Tap button has been used to control the Time parameter on FX buses C or D it will always control the time of that particular delay no matter what page you are currently viewing T...

Page 69: ...reteFloors R26 Cathedral R11 SMALLHALL RadioBooth R27 Gymnasium R12 SmallClub R28 Arena R13 BigClub R29 PLATE PlateVerbShimmer R14 BRIGHTHALL BrickHouse R30 PlateVerbThick R15 LinoleumRoom R31 PlateVe...

Page 70: ...lt 50 0 Range 10 0 100 0 Early Reflec dB Default 30 0 Range 40 0 20 0 Gated Hall T7 Reverb Decay s Default 1 00 Range 0 59 1 79 Predelay ms Default 40 Range 5 00 80 0 Large Hall T8 Reverb Decay s Defa...

Page 71: ...A N A NULL N A SOLO BUS NULL N A N A N A N A N A N A AFL MONITOR BUS NULL N A N A N A N A N A N A MAIN TAPE IN NULL N A N A N A N A N A NULL NULL Each GEQ will be flattened and returned to its defaul...

Page 72: ...n to its Zero Out setting 0 dB 5 3 3 Creating a Scene Creating a scene requires simply dialing in a mix that you would like to use at a later date and saving it This has obvious benefits for both stud...

Page 73: ...ks Press the Tap button to quickly insert a space 4 Continue this process until you are satisfied with your changes and then press the Store button It will illuminate while the scene is being written...

Page 74: ...In assignments Talkback assignments and talkback on off EQ and Dyn All Fat Channel dynamics processing filter parameters and pan positions for every channel and bus Aux Mix All aux mixes parameters i...

Page 75: ...s at the top right of the StudioLive will display the recalled positions for their respective faders Power User Tip While in Fader Locate mode the faders on your StudioLive will not be active until th...

Page 76: ...scene to the button Recalling a Quick Scene To recall a Quick Scene press and hold a Quick Scene button The scene stored to that position will be recalled according to the Recalling Filters See Sectio...

Page 77: ...you should not make drastic amplitude adjustments to any particular frequency band Instead make smaller incremental adjustments over a wider spectrum to round out your final mix To assist you with th...

Page 78: ...how Band field in the GEQ menu the meters will flip StudioLive 16 4 2AI Bands 9 through 24 are controlled by encoders 1 16 respectively When Band 8 or 25 is selected in the Show Band field in the GEQ...

Page 79: ...he Value encoder to scroll to an empty position in the GEQ Preset library 2 Press the Next button again to navigate to the first letter of the preset name 3 Turn the Value encoder clockwise or counter...

Page 80: ...GEQ button and page down to the desired GEQ From the Fat Channel press the Load button You will notice that the LCD now displays the GEQ Load menu Use the Value encoder to locate the preset you would...

Page 81: ...n setting i e Post fader sends will mute in the bus Pre1 Pre2 sends will not Network Press the Pg Dn button to access the Network page The StudioLive AI series mixers ship with a USB wireless adapter...

Page 82: ...ions or providing limited access to just a few aux mix functions In most cases one iPad will be configured to control front of house FOH and the others will be configured to control aux mixes When set...

Page 83: ...ront of the stage a pair in the rear of the auditorium and a pair at the front of the balcony You will need to delay the rear speakers so that the listeners closest to them will hear the audio from bo...

Page 84: ...StudioLive to a computer Please review Enabling Lockout Mode in the StudioLive AI Series Software Library Manual for more information on this feature Firmware Version The last page of the System menu...

Page 85: ...StudioLive firmware folder The folder will be named with your mixer s model number and the new firmware version e g SL3242AI_v4733 4 Depending on your system preferences the firmware folder may not a...

Page 86: ...y so no formatting is required If your computer does not detect your thumb drive verify that it is formatted correctly 7 Select all five firmware files and either copy paste or drag them to the root o...

Page 87: ...xt step 12 Press the System button 13 Press the Pg Dn button until you reach the last page of the System Menu Page 9 14 Press the Recall button 15 You will be instructed that the mixer is reading the...

Page 88: ...s Manual 17 Power down your mixer 18 Remove the thumb drive 19 Insert your USB LAN adapter if you want to connect wirelessly to your router and power your mixer back on Note Be sure that your speaker...

Page 89: ...for studio recording Grand Piano Place one microphone above the high strings and one microphone above the low strings Experiment with distance the farther back the more room you will capture This tech...

Page 90: ...ragm condenser microphones See drum overheads picture on the next page Bass Guitar Direct and Speaker Plug the electric bass guitar into a passive direct box Connect the instrument output from the pas...

Page 91: ...or 8 feet above the floor or drum riser Experiment with height This technique can be used in live applications as well Snare Drum top and bottom Point a dynamic microphone at the center of the snare m...

Page 92: ...This setting allows the first transient through and compresses the rest of the signal giving a hard snap up front and a longer release THRESHOLD RATIO ATTACK RELEASE 2 1 dB 3 5 1 78 ms 300 ms Left Ri...

Page 93: ...range for easier placement in the mix THRESHOLD RATIO ATTACK RELEASE 3 3 dB 2 5 1 1 8 ms 50 ms Stereo Mix Stereo Limiter Just as the name implies this is a hard limiter or brickwall setting ideal for...

Page 94: ...2 3 kHz Tinny 5 kHz and above Sparkle 200 Hz Boomy 125 Hz Full Electric Bass 1 kHz Thin 600 Hz Growl 125 Hz Boomy 80 Hz and below Bottom end String Bass 600 Hz Hollow 2 5 kHz Sharp attack 200 Hz Boom...

Page 95: ...electric guitar attack lower piano register attack vocal clarity decrease muddiness in vocals and mid range instruments decrease long bass overtones in cymbals enhance background vocal breathiness dis...

Page 96: ...n Snare LOW ON OFF LOW SHELF LOW FREQ Hz LOW Q LOW GAIN LOW MID ON OFF LOW MID FREQ Hz LOW MID Q LOW MID GAIN ON OFF 130 0 6 4 ON 665 0 5 4 HIGH MID ON OFF HI MID FREQ kHz HIGH MID Q HIGH MID GAIN HIG...

Page 97: ...2 HIGH MID ON OFF HI MID FREQ kHz HIGH MID Q HIGH MID GAIN HIGH ON OFF HIGH SHELF HIGH FREQ kHz HIGH Q HIGH GAIN ON 2 0 0 3 0 ON ON 6 0 N A 4 Distorted Electric Guitar LOW ON OFF LOW SHELF LOW FREQ Hz...

Page 98: ...tomPower 2VDC 48VDC Line Inputs Type TRSFemale balancedmono FrequencyResponsetoDirectOutputs atunitygain 10Hz 40kHz 0 5dBu FrequencyResponsetoMainOutputs atunitygain 20Hz 20kHz 0 5dBu InputImpedance 1...

Page 99: ...ge StudioLive32 4 2AIand24 4 2AI 56dBto0dB AttackTime 0 02sto500ms 0 5ms ReleaseTime 0 05sto2s ExpanderAttenuationRange 2 1 fixed GateAttenuationRange 84dBto0dB KeyListenFilter StudioLive32 4 2AIand24...

Page 100: ...InternalProcessing 32 bit floatingpoint SamplingRate 44 1 48kHz A D ABitDepth 24bits ReferenceLevelfor0dBFS 18dBu Clock Jitter 20psRMS 20Hz 20kHz JitterAttenuation 60dB 1nsin 1psout Power Connector IE...

Page 101: ...Live AI Mixers Block Diagrams We ve finally made block diagrams too large for our printed manuals Please visit the following pages on our website for the latest Block Diagrams for all three StudioLive...

Page 102: ...Mic used Notes 6 Instrument Mic used Notes 22 Instrument Mic used Notes 7 Instrument Mic used Notes 23 Instrument Mic used Notes 8 Instrument Mic used Notes 24 Instrument Mic used Notes 9 Instrument...

Page 103: ...4 Notes 11 Notes Monitor Send Monitor Send 5 Notes 12 Notes Monitor Send Monitor Send 6 Notes 13 Notes Monitor Send Monitor Send 7 Notes 14 Notes A Notes B Notes AUX SENDS AUX LEVEL AUX SEND AUX LEVE...

Page 104: ...Mic used Notes 7 Instrument Mic used Notes 8 Instrument Mic used Notes 9 Instrument Mic used Notes 10 Instrument Mic used Notes 11 Instrument Mic used Notes 12 Instrument Mic used Notes 13 Instrument...

Page 105: ...UX LEVEL AUX SEND 1 Notes AUX LEVEL AUX SEND 6 Notes 2 7 3 8 4 9 5 10 Monitor Send Monitor Send Notes Notes Monitor Send Monitor Send Notes Notes Monitor Send Monitor Send Notes Notes Monitor Send Mon...

Page 106: ...c used Notes 6 Instrument Mic used Notes 7 Instrument Mic used Notes 8 Instrument Mic used Notes 9 Instrument Mic used Notes SUBGROUP MAIN ASSIGNMENT ROUTING MATRIX 10 Instrument Mic used Notes 11 Ins...

Page 107: ...ne Date AUX INPUTS AUX LEVEL AUX IN A SOURCE A Notes AUX LEVEL AUX IN B SOURCE B Notes AUX SENDS AUX LEVEL AUX SEND 1 Notes AUX LEVEL AUX SEND 4 Notes 2 5 3 6 Monitor Send Monitor Send Notes Notes Mon...

Page 108: ...hannel is assigned to the main output in the Assign section of the Fat Channel Fader Movements Have No Effect on Audio Verify that your StudioLive is not locked by navigating to Page 8 Lockout in the...

Page 109: ...nd properly packaged PreSonus reserves the right to update any unit returned for repair PreSonus reserves the right to change or improve the design of the product at any time without prior notice This...

Page 110: ......

Page 111: ...1 quart of chicken broth and bring to a low boil stirring constantly 6 Transfer roux mixture to a soup pot and bring to low boil Do not cover the roux will settle on the bottom of the pot and burn 7 A...

Page 112: ...Part 820 SL0015 D StudioLive AI Series Mixers Digital Mixing System with Active Integration Owner s Manual 18011 Grand Bay Ct Baton Rouge Louisiana 70809 USA 1 225 216 7887 www presonus com...

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