Is an SC-48 Overkill?

[Limelight]

We are going thru the process as we speak to purchase an SC-48 and wanted some opinions on whether or not this desk is overkill for what I need. I am the FOH engineer for a 14 piece corporate/private party band in the DFW area. I have 6 vocalists, full horn section, and a compliment of other standard instuments. I use 29 input channels (would use more if I had 'em) and 12 outputs. I also mix monitors from FOH to 6 ear packs and 2 wired feeds. Stereo mix as well. I currently have 4 effects returning to channels on my LS-9 and do not use any additional inserts other than GEQ's on a few things. Basic JBL SRX dual 18's per side and 2 active QSC full range tops per side all processed through a EV DC-One. I do run wireless on events where I am forced to setup on the side of stage, so that amenity is a necessity for me. OK, enough with my setup:

My question is this: we are looking to upgrade our console from the LS-9 to ???? Am I buying too much console in the SC-48? Should we be looking at maybe an M7-CL 32 or something else? I like the flexibilty of plug-ins available with the Venue systems, the VCA spill, flex channel, etc. Some opinions on this and helpful comments would be much appreciated. Thanks!!

[BradLyons]

Is it overkill? In a word..... how can something that offers a phenominal sound quality be overkill? By the way where are you purchasing your Venue console from? There are some really good dealers out there, and quite a few that aren't to be honest in terms of support......

The SC48 is way more expensive than the other boards for certain, but it's in a whole other league in features as well as sound quality. I'm a big fan of the Venue line of consoles, use a DShow myself. I've used nearly every console out there and none sound as good as the Venue in terms of clarity, even the SC48. Really, the SC48 is a smaller version with the same sound quality. But the advantage to have TDM plugins, although only 20-of them, is a HUGE HUGE HUGE advantage. You really won't know how awesome that is until you use them, get used to them, and then don't have them. Using REVIBE for live verb or having several channels of 1176, it's incredible. I recently was helping to run sound for Casting Crowns, we used an SC48 for FOH.

[digidesigner]

The bad thing about starting to use a Venue is that you simply don't ever want to use anything else anymore ever. You will feel physically sick when you think about using LS9 again. I know this cause some clubs here have really small mixing booths and right now I know there will be a gig I need to pull with LS9 in a couple of weeks and I'm already feeling sick when thinking about it

[Kenmillerjr]

Limelight:

Brad really hit the nail on the head in his response. The fact that in my opinion that the VENUE series sounds the closest to an analog desk compared to some of the consoles out there, was a big selling point for me. TDM plug-ins, just great. The major touring bands really like this, because the same compressor can be used that was used in Post-Production of their album (as long as it is available to VENUE). The fact that the VENUE consoles fit hand-in-hand with ProTools is another selling point.

Funny story, my first experience with a VENUE was with the Profile...I won't lie, I was kind of scared of it. The little mushroom knobs...pretty colors. Once I did a show or two on them, I was wondering how I ever worked without it! Long story short, I would recommend highly to you to go with the SC-48. While mixing on it, I just feel right at home. When using other consoles and navigating through the menu's and whatnot, it takes me out of the creativity of being an audio engineer. With the VENUE line, I am able to focus solely on the mix from a musical point of view. I do believe that a good audio engineer can make their musicians sound good with any console he has, but the learning curve on the VENUE is very slim. For me, it is just easiest on the VENUE series. The consoles are laid out just right. Everything is in an easy to reach space. One of my favorites of it is when you select a channel, you see all channel parameters. Aux sends, EQ's...on board dynamics. It is something you just have to experience for yourself. As digidesigner said, once you get accommodated to the VENUE line, you may find it hard to mix on anything else =)

My recommendation is to go ahead and pick one up, if your budget allows for it. Hope this gives you some insight!

-Ken

[Live Sound Audio]

The sound of the desk and workflow are alone worth the money. Consider the plugins a bonus.

[Denny Jagard]

Is the SC48 much more $ than an M7?
I had an M7, which is very quick for simple duties, but is not near as capable or interesting as an Avid console. Some advantages:
HISTORY, unlike the M7's "undo" feature, if you really make a mistake, you can look at the clock and remember when things were okey dokey. Then restore your system to that time. That right there is worth the price of admission!

Sound quality, it sounds great. If you think it doesn't sound as good as an XL4, try adding an external word clock. OK, it's still not an XL4, but pretty sweet anyhow.

Easy to use scenes/recall/safe modes... like all digital consoles, it takes some getting used to. But this one is pretty slick... for example, if the agenda changes and your scenes are out of show order, just grab the scene you want to move, slide it to the new spot. Done. Saving saves everything, you don't have to wonder if you saved the pre-amp libraries. USB stick friendly.

Unlike Yamahas, the gain level is saved/recalled separate from the pre-amp hole. So if you have to repatch due to a stage cabling issue, you can change holes, but recall the gain that was on the channel. Unlike the Yamahas, one file works on all consoles... change control surfaces and you are pretty close to where you left off.

Plug ins. Very cool processing that can be bypassed with a button.

etc. I gotta run, but I wanted to mention a few reasons why I love the Avids.
denny

[soloan]

Venue is super easy to use. I dont even need to read the manual before I did my first show on it. The layout is clear and most importantly the wordings are not confusing. I really hate "CH JOB" this kind of wordings. Sorry. The sound is clean and punchy. Even without any plugins, the on board Compressors and EQs sound great too.