Live Sound
I used to do quite a bit of live sound mixing in large concert formats. I still do a few events now and then. Some small and some large. There is always something inherently challenging about live sound. One chance to get it right. And with limited automation, using a board means that you really need to know how to effectively drive a rig to get the best possible sound.
One of my favourite boards is the ATI Paragon. A recent model is pictured below. What a delight to work this rig.
When I first apprenticed as an assistant engineer in a studio, I was taught that the proper care and maintenance of the equipment was absolutely critical to ensure optimum performance. I was taught to keep the work areas clean and ordered.
The top live sound companies share a similar philosophy. As a byproduct, the systems are well ordered and well maintained.
I have never walked into a quality recording studio or a quality live rig where the equipment and the work area was not in excellent condition. My observation? If someone cares about their system it is always in great shape and it shows.
Are these not in the $100,000US range? For that amount of coin, there had better be a lot of buttons, knobs and dials to tweak!
At a glance, seems this one has about 100,000 knobs and buttons and dials available for the engineer, so at a buck a pop, probably a good deal.
Whew, I wouldn’t know where to begin! Where’s the on switch?
🙂
The Paragons are fairly expensive. The II Series production console is roughly $120,000 USD although you can pick up used frames in good condition from about $35,000 USD.
I have logged a lot of hours on various SSL and Neve consoles. Brand new those desks ran several hundred thousand dollars. Lots of buttons. I still have my G series cheat sheets.
But, if you have to ask where the on switch is, the Paragon is likely not the board for you 😉