Advice on starting over...

[Bruce Weldy]

Just want to make sure you have all the facts.......and yes, I'm a cheerleader for the StudioLive boards. I truly believe it's the best digital option for weekend warriors that need more than a handful of inputs.

That may be the case for now, but both Behringer and Soundcraft are shipping 16 channel units (as well as larger) which are going to put the Presonus quite to bed.

Competition is good for all of us. Behringer has to prove themselves.....no matter how good it is, it will have to be out there awhile for them to regain trust in their mixers.

Soundcraft is proven in the analog world for sure....they should offer some real competition.......which of course, means:

Lower prices for us!

[BrentEvans]

Soundcraft is proven in the analog world for sure....they should offer some real competition.......which of course, means:

Lower prices for us!

This is the gospel truth. The new Si Expression series are rebadged Si Compacts and they're on the boat as we speak. Prices are in the same ballpark as the Presonus but they have motorized faders and digital snake capability.

[gzc_stageTech]

......Presonus.....and yes, I'm a cheerleader for the StudioLive boards....

I am too. It's the 'feels like analog' and is digital with all the swell features. great price too. Ric Naqvi is quite the salesman as well. great customer support.

Another old fart here who still likes to push the sliders.

[dheafey]

I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I'm in a similar situation. I play in a similar band as yours but with the added "noise" of a very loud keyboardist. 1 guitarist runs the sound onstage and is VERY attuned to his volume in the overall mix. He's painstakingly gone through all his patches and leveled them so that the volumes are +/- 1 db. For solos, he has a 3 db boost button. The other guitarist and keyboardist have not. Their patches are all over the map making it a nightmare to keep things under control.

Regarding the guitarists and separate mixes, think of your IEM's like a normal monitor system. If they want a separate mix in a wedge, it'd require a separate AUX and amp channel. IEM's are no different. If they want a separate mix for the IEM's, they need individual transmitters.

Here's what I'd do: Have them equalize their patches, put their amps on stands angled up a bit, and ideally put their amps on the side of the stage facing in. This may allow them to hear themselves a little better if you can't spring for separate transmitters.

[Zack Brock]

1 guitarist runs the sound onstage and is VERY attuned to his volume in the overall mix. He's painstakingly gone through all his patches and leveled them so that the volumes are +/- 1 db. For solos, he has a 3 db boost button. The other guitarist and keyboardist have not. Their patches are all over the map making it a nightmare to keep things under control.

OP, based off what you wrote about the different and varying volumes from the guitar pedals your guitarists are using, what dheafey references above is what each of your guitar players needs to do.

Adjust and normalize every patch they use.

There is no way around it and it will go a long way toward making sure everyone on the stage, guitarists included, hear what they need to hear to play confidently and not feel like they are killing everyone with their volume as they change patches.

[bmf]

One quick way to solve stage volume problems is to backfire the amps (at least on small stages). In other words don't set the amps behind them but in front of them blowing right back in their faces. This works best when you have someone FOH to mix. A lot of guitar players have the amps blasting away because they are aimed at the backs of their legs and they just don't hear them. But everybody else does and at a very high level. I've done this with a couple of different bands that had high stage volumes and it had an instant impact on everybody hearing what they want. No piece of gear has a level below "off" and turning everything else up to keep up just turns the sound to noise. Point is if you can't get stage level under control you will never be happy no matter what equipment you use.

OOPS! Should have paid closer attention "dheafey" already mentioned this