PreSonus’s StudioLive 16.0.2 mixer met with our approval when it was released in 2001, but with its FireWire 400 interface, it was starting to show its age.
Step forward the revised model, which swaps this out for an 18x16 USB 2.0 interface, which should enable easy connection to your Mac or PC. The mixer isn’t just designed for studio use, though: it can also be use on its own in a live environment.
Features include 32-bit floating-point processing, XMAX Class A mic preamps and 24-bit/48kHz Burr-Brown digital converters with 118dB dynamic range. There are four aux sends and a 31-band graphic EQ on the main bus.
Processing is covered in the Fat Channel section, which includes the likes of a compressor, a limiter, a downward expander and a 3-band parametric EQ. This section also gives you LED metering, mixer save/recall and channel strip save/recall/copy/paste. The pair of programmable, stereo effect processors, meanwhile, come loaded with reverb and delay presets that are assigned to the dedicated FX buses.
Elsewhere, there’s MIDI control of key mixing parameters, and the StudioLive 16.0.2 ships with the PreSonus software suite. This includes the Capture recording software, Studio One Artist DAW and Studio Magic Plug-in Suite for Mac and Windows, the UC Surface control software for Mac, Windows, Android and iPad, and the QMix-UC monitor (aux) control software for iOS and Android devices.
The StudioLive 16.0.2 mixer will ship in August at a price of $1,100. Find out more on the PreSonus website.
