PreSonus StudioLive Series III

[Richard Rupert]

Hi all,

Has anyone used the StudioLIve Series III with SAWStudio as a record/mix USB interface? If so, how well does it work? (Is the PreSonus USB protocol compatible with SAW?)

TIA

[Angie]

Hi all,

Has anyone used the StudioLIve Series III with SAWStudio as a record/mix USB interface? If so, how well does it work? (Is the PreSonus USB protocol compatible with SAW?)

TIA

I don't have the answer. But if you are considering a purchase, my advice is to look elsewhere. My experience with PreSonus boards is that there is a very steep learning curve. Most digital boards in that price range are not very intuitive, but PreSonus seems to be the worst.

[Richard Rupert]

Thank you for your reply, Angie. However, I do hope someone has had hands-on experience with the Series III and can comment. I'm at the very early stages of consideration, so will definitely look at all options. I may even decide not to buy any physical mixer and use SAC. So many options these days...

[mr_es335]

Richard,
I have purchased and used PreSonus equipment in the past and if anything, their customer un-service is second-to-none!

There is absolutely no way of contacting them by phone and their email system is extremely poor.

This being said, I cannot really see any issues with any USB driver. If at all possible, see if you can rent one! Then you would know for sure.

I may even decide not to buy any physical mixer and use SAC. So many options these days...

... These are two excellent options are are both strongly recommended!

[Ian Alexander]

Would the mixer simply serve as a routing and monitoring device? Do you have another interface serving as your AD and DA for recording? If so, I like your idea of using a software mixer. If you already have SAC, that would be easiest, I think, because it's familiar and looks/acts a lot like SS. I don't have SAC, but have had great success using the mixer applets that came with my Lynx cards and later, with RME interfaces. I have saved settings for all the typical sessions and can set up for any of them in a few clicks. Perhaps a digital mixer can do the same thing via the USB connection. But if you don't have to buy one...

[Cary B. Cornett]

Would the mixer simply serve as a routing and monitoring device? Do you have another interface serving as your AD and DA for recording? If so, I like your idea of using a software mixer. If you already have SAC, that would be easiest, I think, because it's familiar and looks/acts a lot like SS. I don't have SAC, but have had great success using the mixer applets that came with my Lynx cards and later, with RME interfaces. I have saved settings for all the typical sessions and can set up for any of them in a few clicks. Perhaps a digital mixer can do the same thing via the USB connection. But if you don't have to buy one...

I do have SAC, and it is very different from the mixer apps that come with the sound interfaces. Things like TotalMix, etc., do strictly level and pan with mute buttons, and in the cases I know about, the mix processing is done in the interface hardware, which makes the latency a low as you can get without staying in the analog domain. SAC is far more powerful, with features like multiple BIG analog consoles tied together, only more transparent sonically than any analog mixer I ever worked with (even the old school Neve, or SSL boards). The downside is a bit more latency, though not enough of it in most instances to bother anyone, and certainly excellent for any live PA situation.

I will say that, for input monitor for a vocalist headphone feed in a studio recording setting, I still stay with an analog monitor path for vocal mike to headphones. Not all vocalists can hear the difference, but I can absolutely hear it. I ran careful comparison tests years ago to prove this.

[Richard Rupert]

Would the mixer simply serve as a routing and monitoring device? Do you have another interface serving as your AD and DA for recording? If so, I like your idea of using a software mixer. If you already have SAC, that would be easiest, I think, because it's familiar and looks/acts a lot like SS. I don't have SAC, but have had great success using the mixer applets that came with my Lynx cards and later, with RME interfaces. I have saved settings for all the typical sessions and can set up for any of them in a few clicks. Perhaps a digital mixer can do the same thing via the USB connection. But if you don't have to buy one...

Yes, Ian, I have two Frontier Designs converters that I've been using for many years. My current mixing console is a 1977 Tangent 24 channel/16 buss board that is looking and acting a bit... uh, "tired", so was thinking of sprucing up the rig. I cater mostly to bands and groups of up to 20 members (bell choirs for example), and sometimes solo artists. So I do need several channels of input potential.

I actually have both SAWStudio full and SAC, and experimented with the combination for a couple days (with a volunteer "test specimen"). I really had a considerable amount of difficulty with the touch screen not consistently responding to my

commands. Sometimes I'd have to attempt the action several times. And I don't think it was because I needed more practice with it. It just didn't recognize different gestures or touches dependably (this was with a 3M monitor). That's primarily why I was looking into a digital hardware interface. Your points are well taken though... I don't want to buy something if it's either unnecessary or doesn't function well. Thanks for replying.

[Richard Rupert]

Richard,
I have purchased and used PreSonus equipment in the past and if anything, their customer un-service is second-to-none!

There is absolutely no way of contacting them by phone and their email system is extremely poor.

This being said, I cannot really see any issues with any USB driver. If at all possible, see if you can rent one! Then you would know for sure.

... These are two excellent options are are both strongly recommended!

Thanks Dell. Unfortunately, I live in a small town and have found NO dealers within 100 miles the even carry the StudioLive. I was thinking of just taking a laptop with SAW installed and try it in the store. So far, no stores.

[Kent F]

Glad to help where I can. And yes, it looks like it should work... and again, it did briefly. I wonder if somehow the necessary driver resources to make it happen are getting tied up somehow, but were "free" in that moment. I'm not a techie so I can only speculate... and am probably not even close.

Maybe someone else along the way will be able to shed light on what's happening... and then maybe a solution. It's a great board. And of course we're here and talking about this because of how powerful and sensible SAW is to use. Regardless of success with interfaces, SAW is my editor.

Kent

[Richard Rupert]

Glad to help where I can. And yes, it looks like it should work... and again, it did briefly. I wonder if somehow the necessary driver resources to make it happen are getting tied up somehow, but were "free" in that moment. I'm not a techie so I can only speculate... and am probably not even close.

Maybe someone else along the way will be able to shed light on what's happening... and then maybe a solution. It's a great board. And of course we're here and talking about this because of how powerful and sensible SAW is to use. Regardless of success with interfaces, SAW is my editor.

Kent

I agree with you Kent; SAWStudio is THE software.
But I don't think the "tied up" driver resource theory is what's happening. Whatever, it is frustrating not to know unequivocally that the mixer will work. As I said, I can't return the unit if I buy it from my nearest dealer, who has been a steadfast promoter of my business. The board is on sale until the end of the month ($2299.95 from my dealer for the 32 input version), so I hope to get this figured out soon.
You've been immensely helpful Kent... until you tried, I had no way of knowing that the audio would go either way, and would have given up on the purchase. PreSonus has not been helpful, but thanks to you I at least know audio is getting IN to the computer.
So, many thanks for your efforts.