Lokesh Pilots Fully Loaded Soundcraft Si3 As Indian Air Force Shows Its Firepower

Soundcraft’s compact Si3 digital desk continues to be put through its paces in the Indian sub-continent by New Delhi-based rental company, Dhawan Electricals Pvt Ltd — most recently in front of the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil.

Owner Yogesh Dhawan reports that Vayu Shakti 2010, a 3-hour spectacular which took place in the remote desert location of Pokhran, Rajasthan, was attended by the Indian President and other dignitaries, including the chiefs of all the armed forces.

The show included bone chilling air acrobatics, mid-air dog fights, supersonic aircrafts shelling targets, Air Force helicopters dropping tanks, and so on … all to the accompaniment of a 65-piece orchestra whose music filled the air with emotion, in recognition of the brave soldiers who fight for the country.

The view from the mixer bridge may have been somewhat different than from the air traffic control tower, but for Yogesh Dhawan and sound engineer Lokesh Dhawan, this show represented the first time that all 64 inputs on their Soundcraft Si3 had been deployed, with mic feeds from the orchestra as well as the live commentators, who guided the audience through the proceedings.

Building up production in such a remote location brings its own problems. Pokhran is around 50 km from the nearest city and 60km from the Pakistan border (it was the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation). Being a desert area there is scarcity of water, mobiles rarely work, newspapers don’t reach the area and neither does television.

Vayu Shakti, which means ‘air power,’ was designed to provide a demonstration of the Indian Air Force’s latest warfare technology, with the show running through the daytime and after dark.

All of which provided an exacting task for the Si3 (and its audio pilot). Lokesh Dhawan had to mic seven commentators (each a specialist in the different fighter aircrafts), with two mics for the VIP podium and one for the officer who provided a target briefing to the president — all assigned to Bank A of the desk.

The input division of the 65-piece symphony orchestra of the Indian Air Force, consisting of brass, jazz and Indian instruments, was also assigned to Bank A, with Bank B containing the rhythm section, Bank C all the wind instruments, and Bank D the strings, which used a further eight mics.

The next four inputs were from line devices (laptop and a CD player) while the other two line inputs were connected to the wireless receivers which took the commands of the aerobatic team commanders, for broadcast to the public. The final four inputs were for the Lexicon reverbs, which were used on the band.

As for outputs, feeds were sent to the L/C/R line array, with eight aux for the band monitors and two for side fills. From the output matrix the video set-up received four feeds, there was a 9-camera production unit, which recorded the entire event and fed the live telecast as well as about 50 TV channels and radio. 

Two matrix outs were also used by Lokesh to feed the audio break-out boxes for all the electronic media — another matrix out fed a special monitor which had been provided for the Indian President in case she decided to sit in a covered enclosure specially built for her, and the final matrix provided a feed to the ATC, situated a mile away, so that they knew what was going on. 

Despite the scale of this event, the ease of programming and configuring the Si3 meant that Lokesh Dhawan was able to set up the entire band in four hours. “We had to do this early in the morning because during the daytime the temperatures were 45°C and it was impossible to work. Once balanced, all I had to do was check once, do a little fine tuning and then save the program.”

“I had absolutely no difficulty of any kind, whereas with an analogue mixer it would have been impossible,” he says.

The show was such a success that Dhawan Electricals has already been put on standby for next year’s event. Says Lokesh: “And this was all because, thanks to the Si3, we managed to deliver!”

DBAM Installs Soundcraft Si3 In Capellia Cultural Centre

The aim of the Capellia Cultural Centre is to enable the town of La Chapelle-sur-Erdre to work every day to promote artistic and cultural education for all, allowing people of all generations to take, renew and revive their talents in harmony with each other.

To achieve this, the Cultural Centre’s entertainments team creates demanding programmes and spectacles in a number of disciplines — song, dance, circus, choreography, comedy, music and theatre (including for young audiences).

“With such a wide range of events, we needed a digital console that could be easily and quickly adapted to a number of configurations, and at the same time be able to offer a high level of audio quality,” explains Yann Vaslin, technical director of Capellia. “At the same time it needed to offer a fast and intuitive experience for the sound engineer.”

“When I discovered the Soundcraft console I immediately saw all these unparalleled advantages afforded by its incomparable ergonomics … such as display parameters in either Global or Channel mode, allowing access to all the section parameters horizontally, without needing to refer to a central screen."

Thanks to the spectacular encoder and OLED displays, the Soundcraft Si3 offers unparalleled comfort and ease of use. By integrating all the processing electronics and I/O’s in a single frame, it simply replaces any standard analogue console without necessitating any modifications in the cabling and installation.

“Of course, sound quality was our more important selection criterion,” Yann Vaslin continued. “With the Si3, Soundcraft has remained faithful to its reputation by providing a high quality analogue interface, complemented by internal processing — BSS graphic EQ’s and Lexicon FX processors. This means that without having to find additional budget, we can make the necessary dynamic corrections and achieve even better technical and more creative results.”

The Soundcraft SI3 was installed by the company DBAM which also has a Soundcraft Vi6 digital console in its rental fleet.

For more information on DBAM, please visit www.dbam.fr

For more information on the Capellia Cultural Centre, please visit www.capellia.fr

From Concerts To Corporate Events, Soundcraft Si3 Drives Live Performances For Atlantic Pro Audio

Atlantic Pro Audio is a versatile A/V company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida with a wide variety of clients and strict requirements for its audio equipment. Offering services for corporate events, theatrical productions and music festivals, Atlantic Pro Audio needs a versatile system that is easy to use, affordable and able to handle complex audio setups with extensive I/O; and with the Soundcraft Si3 digital mixing console, that’s exactly what they got.

The Soundcraft Si3 is designed for live use on both touring sound systems and fixed installations, which made it the perfect fit for Atlantic Pro Audio. With 64 Mic inputs, four stereo Line inputs, and 24 Aux/bus, eight Matrix and LCR outputs, Atlantic Pro Audio was easily able to use the Si3 at a number of concerts and corporate events featuring national acts.  The company is continuously hearing back from satisfied users about the excellent Mic Pre’s, high audio quality and ease of use.

“We’re able to hook up the console, take 10 minutes to show guest engineers some tips and tricks and hand it over,” said Craig Beyrooti, Owner of Atlantic Pro Audio.

The Si3’s ease of use was recently demonstrated when the company sponsored a church production of  “Jesus Christ Superstar Junior” that featured 16 wireless lavs, 8 area microphones and computer playback.  According to Beyrooti, he was able to dial in the board and leave the mixing for the entire show to his 14-year-old son as this production featured actors and technicians from the youth of the church.  The 12 DCA’s are a huge help to mix engineers and this certainly was the case this time around.

Nowhere was the console’s versatility more evident than at St Mary Magdalen Church’s fall festival: a 3-day and 2-night concert that took place last year. There, several engineers and volunteers took turns mixing for a variety of performances that included single dance groups, CD playbacks, one-man acts and full rock bands. Not only were there multiple engineers mixing on the console, but the performance requirements were different from day to day and act to act.  The huge I/O capability meant that no re-patching was required as all the inputs from each act, for each day, had dedicated channels. The split channel layout of the console also enabled two engineers to EQ and tweak at the same time and thus dial everything in that much quicker.

“Anything you could possibly do on a gig was done on the console,” Beyrooti continued. “There, versatility and specifically I/O capability were of paramount importance. Again the Si3 answered our needs with its excellent feature set, which was fantastic.”

In addition to the Si3, it also uses some JBL loudspeakers, Crown Amplifiers and AKG microphones, which allows it to easily integrate all of its audio systems.

Audioco of Mexico Adopts Soundcraft Si3® Console

Professional audio systems provider Audioco of Mexico City recently purchased a Soundcraft Si3 console, and has since deployed the Si3 for a variety of events and different size venues.

According to Jose Antonio Chapa, President of Audioco, the Si3 boasts a variety of attractive features and functions. “The EQ is very precise and powerful, and the gates and compressors are incredible,” Chapa says. “The preamps are powerful but silent. The FaderGlow™ feature makes it easy to tell where you are working, and with the OLED screens you will never get lost.”

Audioco’s first deployment of the Si3 was at the Metropolitan Theater in Mexico City, where pop artist Maria Jose performed to a capacity crowd of 3,500. After the concert, Maria was complimentary of the Si3: “Awesome, very commendable,” she said.

Even more importantly, the engineers using the Si3 on a constant basis have been very pleased. “I’ve noticed that all the engineers really like the OLED screens,” Chapa notes. “Since you have all the information you need right above each fader, it’s very easy to understand all the information.”

Chapa also finds a distinctive advantage in the Si3’s “Both Rows” feature. “Having all 24 aux sends together allows me to send any channel to multiple mixes with one hand, in no time,” he says. “Additionally, having the 35-bus graphic EQ, always ready on every single output, makes mixing very simples. The built-in Lexicon effects are simply perfect. It’s like a 480 studio effects processor at your fingertips. And now, with the new software, the Si3 is now able to manage analog and digital inputs. With this, the Si3 is getting more versatile and powerful.”

Soundcraft Si3 Console To The Rescue At Mapleview Community Church

Looking to provide tremendous versatility in a cost-effective manner, systems integrator AV Communications recently installed a Soundcraft Si3 console as the centerpiece for its audio system design at the new Mapleview Community Church in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

Housed in a former sports arena, Mapleview Community Church currently seats up to 900 people, and is part of a much larger campus that eventually will include sports facilities, a daycare center and other recreational areas. In addition to the requirements for customary SPL, dynamics, and Percentage of Articulation Loss of Consonants, there were two requirements for this installation: It needed to fit within the designated budget and it needed to include a digital console. The console needed to handle 32 channels of mixing and a dozen auxes, and it had to be flexible enough to handle day-to-day presentations by members of the church, in addition to presentations by other members of the community who had already rented out the facility in advance. With the Soundcraft Si3 console, not only did Mapleview get the necessary flexibility and scene recall that’s unmatched in other mixing desks, but AV Communications also completed the entire installation within budget.

“Not only did the Si3 fit all of the requirements for the project, but the learning curve was so short that we knew the sound crew would be up and running in short order,” said Gerry Harbridge, President of AV Communications. “After a short rehearsal, we were ready to go much faster than we would have been if we had just dropped in an analog desk.

“Our client was just elated with the finished design,” continued Harbridge. “Top to bottom, the system is exemplary, and they are thrilled and actually amazed that we pulled it off within their budget, which we wouldn’t have been able to do without the Si3.”

Three, Two, One, Go! Soundcraft’s New Si1 Digital Console Expands Si Series Range

POTTERS BAR, England – Today, a third member joins the very successful Si Series family—the even more compact Soundcraft Si1 digital live sound console.

In just nine months, Soundcraft has now launched three models in this range, picking up no less than five industry awards in that time commending the Si console on its ease of use and simplifying the transition from analogue to digital.

The new Si1 has a very compact footprint of just 1200mm width, meaning it fits nicely into space-restricted areas such as theatres, small venues, and Houses of Worship, and of course comes at an extremely competitive price.

As standard the Si1 has 32 mic inputs mapped on 16 faders, and with four dedicated Stereo Line channels, four dedicated FX Returns from the four stereo Lexicon FX processors can mix up to 48 inputs. Eight balanced insert sends and returns are provided, along with the same bus structure as the Si2 and Si3 of 24 Group/Aux busses, eight matrix busses and a full complement of monitor talkback and main bus outputs. These buses may be freely assigned to any of the 16 physical XLR connectors in addition to the dedicated mix and monitoring output XLRs. Every bus has a dedicated 30-band BSS Audio graphic EQ, permanently patched in with no additional drain on DSP resource. Three option card slots are provided for further expansion such as recording of all the channel direct output feeds or increasing the number of channels to mix.

Such is the power and topology of the Si Series that the separate DSP and control engines allow you to make any system or function changes live with no interruption in the audio.

Like the Si3 and Si2, the Si1 uses a combination of rotary encoders and OLED screens on every channel so the engineer mixes at source, without recourse to a central screen, an interface welcomed by many engineers since the Si3’s launch last year. Using the center section and channel encoders, it is possible to simultaneously monitor and control input EQ, input dynamics and output EQ. Four assignable on-board lexicon effect engines supplement four stereo inputs to provide a really powerful mix package in a width of 1.2m for a UK list price of under £14,000. Soundcraft’s offline editor program, Virtual Si, can also be used to setup and manage complete shows offline, for later download to an Si1 console through a USB memory key.

With a wealth of input and output connections and power supply on board, the Si1 can simply drop in where an existing analogue console sat, utilising existing copper cable snakes and splitter systems.

Soundcraft Vi6 and Si3 Live At Peabo Bryson’s Performance In Malaysia

When GRAMMY Award winner Peabo Bryson performed for a charity gala dinner at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia last June, the Soundcraft Vi6™ and Si3 consoles were used for front-of-house and monitor mixing. The R&B and soul sensation dazzled the crowd with a variety of songs at the High Networth Summit and Pride Foundation Charity Gala Dinner, both of which were set up by former Malaysia Prim Minister Tun Abdullah Badwal as an initiative to support breast cancer patients.

Bryson enthralled the crowd with his catalog of material, including his Disney hit duets “Beauty and the Beast [Beauty and the Beast]” and “A Whole New World [Aladdin].”

For the event, sound company Show Gear deployed a Soundcraft Vi6 front of house console and Soundcraft Si3 monitor console, which were supplied by Soundcraft distributor Systems Electronics & Engineering Sdn Bhd.

“The Soundcraft Vi6 is easy to set up and repatch, and the usability allows even the most elementary sound engineer to program and run any level event, even on their first use,” said the Show Gear team. “The user interface is very straightforward, with multiple touch screens that allow for quick navigation and control of functions. The bank of faders makes the sound engineers feel that they are working on analogue and the changing fader colors relieve them of the ‘digital panic.’”

The Soundcraft Vi6 and Soundcraft Si3 were also deployed at other high-profile events such as Monsoon Cup Concert, 2009 New Year’s Eve Countdown by Kota Bharu and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation Malaysia’s (MOSTI) official logo launch, according to Show Gear.

Mega Audio Utilizes Soundcraft Si3 Digital Console For Outdoors Celebration In Honduras

The event commemorated the 70th Anniversary of the Evangelical Reformed Church of La Lima.

LA LIMA, Honduras – In an event that highlights the growing adoption of Soundcraft digital consoles throughout Latin America, Mega Audio recently supplied the audio reinforcement system, including a Soundcraft Si3 digital console, for a concert commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Evangelical Reformed Church of La Lima in Honduras. The two-night, one-day Evangelistic Crusade Concert included the participation of Ministers of National Praise, Worship Ministry Children’s Church and Evangelical Reformed Church of La Lima, Lourdes Ministries, Carlos Martinez and Ministry Juda, and Roca Fuerte Shekina.

Based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Mega Audio specializes in the rental of professional audio, lighting and large video systems for projects including conventions, conferences, seminars, concerts and evangelistic religious events throughout Honduras. For this event, Mega Audio needed a system with sufficient flexibility to facilitate seamless and quick transition between the numerous performers. To that end, the company deployed the Soundcraft Si3 digital live sound console at the front of house position. “We chose the Si3 for its exceptional sound quality and for its speed and ease of setup,” says Luis Roberto Lopez Sanchez of Mega Audio.

According to Sanchez, the Si3 played a crucial role in the event’s success. “We had a large number of bands playing at this event, but thanks to the Si3, we were able to make quick and easy transitions between performers,” Sanchez says. “We could also easily make individual adjustments according to the preferences of each musician and singer.“

Boasting intuitive operation and high input and bus counts, the Soundcraft Si3 digital console is designed for live use on both touring sound systems and in fixed installations. Above each fader on the Si3 is a rotary encoder, the function of which changes according to the mode selected. This ‘bank’ of encoders, known as the VCS or Virtual Channel Strip, can be set to control every function of a channel (known as Channel mode), so mic gain, EQ, dynamics, auxes, panning are all controlled in the same manner as an analog channel strip.

“The event was a tremendous success!” Sanchez adds. “The client and the attendees were satisfied with the quality and fidelity of the sound. The Si3 is an indispensable working tool and a great help for my business. I congratulate Soundcraft on their development of this terrific console.”

Salaam Baalak Places Trust In The Soundcraft® Si3 Console

The Soundcraft Si3 console is gaining momentum all over the world and most recently has seen a sharp increase in popularity in India, fast becoming the console of choice for a variety of notable concerts and events in one of the fastest growing countries for live entertainment.

The most recent application of an Si3 was provided by Dhawan Electricals Pvt. Ltd. at a fundraiser in Delhi, organized by The Salaam Baalak Trust, a charitable organization dedicated to the welfare and education of under-privileged children in India.

The crowd of invitees was entertained with styles ranging from Rock and Jazz to traditional Indian, Fusion and Bollywood music by artists including Rene Singh, Sonam Kalra, Shibani Kashyap, Mrigya & Indian Ocean.

According to Yogesh Dhawan, of Dhawan Electricals Pvt. Ltd., who mixed at the front of house position for the evening alongside Sameer Kriplani, who mixed the Si3 for Indian Ocean, “For the event, we used 32 channels on the Si3 and all of its four Lexicon effects and the console’s compressors and gates were also used to a great extent.

“The sound of the Si3 is perfect. You have easy access to all of the controls and parameters and the OLED screens are as clear as the audio,” Yogesh added. “The price point, user interface and inclusion of Harman’s Lexicon processing makes this console a very popular choice for riders on Indian events and we think both the Si3 and Si2 will become favorites here in India.”

Additional Harman components in the main PA system included JBL SRX725 loudspeakers controlled through a dbx DriveRack® 4800 processor.

Soundcraft ® Si3 goes to Church at Thornapple Evangelical Covenant

In a significant audio upgrade project at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the first Soundcraft Si3 digital console sold to a House of Worship was recently installed to help deliver better quality sound for the 750 worshippers who attend services and participate in ministries every week. The church has been established in the Grand Rapids neighborhood since 1979 and continues to uphold the history of The Evangelical Covenant Church.

The church decided to upgrade the audio system after their original analog system started to deteriorate; a 48-channel analog mixing console was originally installed in the church, the digital Si3 replaced it with minimal infrastructure changes, immediately providing 64 input channels.

“There were a lot of factors that we needed to decide upon prior to purchasing a digital console, however we knew we wanted to upgrade to digital,” said Rick LaPorte, Sound Engineer, LP Consulting Services LLC. “We were very comfortable on analog desks, but our church required a digital console. For us there were three vendors, but Soundcraft had the best price point, ease of installation, convenient user layout, programmability and availability.”

LaPorte and the other engineers at the Thornapple Church are extremely satisfied with the Si3 and they have taken advantage of its ability to store presets from previous sessions. This capability, along with cue and recall settings, are an integral part to any event at the church and helps eliminate sound variances between individual sound technicians preferences and allows flexibility to their FOH engineers to quickly restore audio order if the church service does not follow script.

“We purchased the Si3 console a few weeks before our biggest production of the year,” continued LaPorte. “Once we had the initial programming and audio adjustments for the sanctuary set, we began to program the services and show. Les Ruster, our senior technician, created a different cue for each of the 45 different scenes in the production. On the night of the show, all he had to do was press the next cue button to jump seamlessly between the many different settings that the acts required. These features really made this show our best show ever from a technical perspective,” added LaPorte.

The console is user-friendly and takes minimal time to transition from an analog desk to a digital. “I play drums in the church’s praise band and since the installation of the new console, I finally have a tight, clean and full sound of everything I need to hear,” stated LaPorte. “I have had more joy in playing thanks to the capabilities of the new Si3 console.”

Soundcraft Si3™ Mixes French and Indian Culture

Outdoor concert goers were recently entertained in Delhi by touring French song and dance troupe ‘Breizh Side Soriou’. The 47-member troupe performed through a Soundcraft Si3 digital console and PA company, Dhawan Electrical Pvt. Ltd of Delhi, also supplied a JBL loudspeaker rig comprising VRX932LA compact arrays and SRX 728S subwoofers powered by Crown IT4000 amplification. The onstage monitor system included JBL SRX 712M’s with JBL SRX 725’s in use for side fill coverage.

Yogesh Dhawan, Director of Dhawan Electrical comments, “The troupe’s French FOH Engineer, Mr. Paul Schneiter, found the Si3 to be very user-friendly and he quickly learned the board’s features and was very comfortable mixing in no time. By the time we finished the one-hour sound check, he was very familiar with the entire desk and its features.“

Yogesh added, “The Si3 easily managed the 18 mic inputs for the show and all four onboard Lexicon processors were employed throughout. The mixer is as easy to use as any analogue console and the only difference being that the audio quality is far better than any console I have ever used. Also, the Soundcraft FaderGlow™ and OLED displays make a huge difference for the engineer operating the desk and I sincerely believe that this is a multi purpose desk that can be used anywhere without hesitation.”

Soundcraft Unveils New Mid-price Digital Console – More Inputs, More Technology, and a True Analog Feel.

Soundcraft® Si3 promises to deliver more for less than any other.

Currently riding high with tours and engineers thanks to the incredible success of the Vi Series digital consoles, Soundcraft has launched a mid-market partner console in the Soundcraft Si3.

This new desk is designed for live use on both touring sound systems and in fixed installations and its intuitive operation and high input and bus count makes it a perfect choice for house of worship sound systems. Theatre users will also find the Soundcraft Si3 very applicable in their area.

What is particularly nice about the Si3 is it all comes in one chassis – console surface, all input and output connections, power supply – so it can literally drop in and replace an existing analog desk as almost certainly no additional cabling would be required to install it. This compact footprint desk can directly handle 64 mono inputs, four stereo inputs and has full connectivity for all 35 output busses (24 Aux/Group, eight Matrix and Left/Right/Centre mix buses), something you don’t find often on digital consoles at the price level of the Si3. Add to this four Lexicon® effects processors, 12 VCA groups, eight Mute groups and bar graph metering for all 35 bus outputs and you begin to see what a package the Si3 is.

So what about the operating surface, is it easy to use? The obvious lack of what is now standard fare on most digital consoles, a large central screen, brings hope that cumbersome centralized channel operation is a thing of the past, and indeed when you look at the controls in detail you see it may well be. Although the Si3 does have a small central touch screen, it is really there for console management, cue-lists, labelling etc. All the normal day-to-day mixing operations are carried out adjacent to the channel faders continuing Soundcraft’s philosophy of ‘where you look is where you control.’ An amazingly crisp and bright OLED display clearly shows important channel data for every fader on the desk, while in the centre section, OLEDs provide the same for the output faders.

Soundcraft has revisited the control topology employed on the ground-breaking Spirit 328 and 324 digital consoles, and made it even easier. The model is this - above each fader is a rotary encoder, the function of which changes according to the mode selected. This ‘bank’ of encoders, known as the VCS or Virtual Channel Strip can be set to control every function of a channel (known as Channel mode), so mic gain, EQ, dynamics, auxes, panning are all controlled as if you had a normal analogue channel strip laid sideways in front of you. The VCS also incorporates all the switching you would find on an individual analogue channel strip (48v, Phase Reverse, EQ in etc.). Alternatively, in what is called Global mode, each encoder controls the same function for each channel. So, for example, the encoders could control all the mic gains, pans or a chosen Aux bus (very useful for creating monitor mixes).

The encoder and OLED displays located in the output section are used primarily for output signal controls such as EQ, dynamics, Matrix contributions etc. but also double up as dedicated controls for the four onboard Lexicon processors.

When using the Lexicon processors, you can expand the controls to adjust virtually every parameter available, giving you outstanding control over the effects. Each of the four Lexicon engines can be assigned by the user to any channel. The gates and compressors, as you would expect, draw on the heritage of BSS Audio and dbx, Soundcraft’s sister companies within Harman.

The output encoders and OLEDs can also be assigned to control EQ and Dynamics control for any selected Input or Output channel for those who prefer central control.

Like its bigger sisters the Soundcraft Vi4 and Vi6, the Si3 uses the patented Soundcraft FaderGlow™ system to show what mode your faders are in, whether they are controlling inputs, aux or effects sends, bus outputs etc. For example, when faders are controlling Aux sends, the faders glow yellow, while for VCA’s they glow blue. In fact the colour codings closely follow the Soundcraft Vi6 setup, so engineers moving between consoles will be equally at home with both.

Complete desk settings may be stored as snapshots, as you would expect on a digital console, and these can then be sequenced from a Cue list on the central touch screen and controlled with dedicated snapshot automation buttons. Global snapshot filtering is also available.

Under the hood of the Si3 is an array of new technology, most notably EMMA, a single-board digital mixing console with an embedded operating system. This compact pcb holds not only the processing and DSP to run the mixer with its EQ and dynamics, but also four Lexicon AudioDNA chips to provide the Si3 with arguably the best effects available in the pro audio world. The team of developers at Soundcraft was responsible for the entire development and coding of this new mixing core which is also the base core of further new console designs already in development.

But how does it sound? Needless to say with the wealth of experience in digital platform development that Studer and Soundcraft have with the Vista and Soundcraft Vi Series, the Si3 has inherited the same sound quality pedigree, and coupled with Graham Blyth’s talents in mic pre-amp design and the extensive development of the integral dynamics and gates and Lexicon FX, sound quality is a given.

On the rear of this highly-featured console are all the I/O connectors you’ll need. Sixty-four XLR’s for the mic/line inputs, four stereo line level inputs, 24 bus output XLR’s, eight matrix output XLR’s Left/Right/Centre mix output XLR’s, Left/Right/Centre monitor output XLR’s and comprehensive internal and external talkback and Oscillator connections. There are also eight analogue insert connections, which allow outboard processing to be inserted into any input channel output bus.

The power supply for the Si3 is integral to the chassis, and a secondary PSU module can be fitted for total redundancy. There are also four spare slots for other optional cards such as MADI interfaces or AES/EBU inputs.

Of course, the Si3 has been developed with Harman’s HiQnet™ networked audio system in mind, and connection to the HiQnet network is included.

To make preparation of the console setup easier, Soundcraft is also planning to release an off-line editor for the Si3. This self-contained suite runs on a PC or laptop, and allows configuration of the console which can then be downloaded to the desk, saving precious on-site setup time. Just like with the Virtual Vi software for the Soundcraft Vi Series (www.soundcraftdigital.com), engineers can move between different consoles and take their shows and settings with them.

The Soundcraft Si3 is bound to appeal to regional tour sound companies and regional theatres, medium sized houses of worship and corporate event sound companies.

Soundcraft Unveils New Mid-price Digital Console – More Inputs, More Technology, and a True Analog Feel.

Currently riding high with tours and engineers thanks to the incredible success of the Vi Series digital consoles, Soundcraft has launched a mid-market partner console in the Soundcraft Si3.

This new desk is designed for live use on both touring sound systems and in fixed installations and its intuitive operation and high input and bus count makes it a perfect choice for house of worship sound systems. Theatre users will also find the Soundcraft Si3 very applicable in their area.

What is particularly nice about the Si3 is it all comes in one chassis – console surface, all input and output connections, power supply – so it can literally drop in and replace an existing analog desk as almost certainly no additional cabling would be required to install it. This compact footprint desk can directly handle 64 mono inputs, four stereo inputs and has full connectivity for all 35 output busses (24 Aux/Group, eight Matrix and Left/Right/Centre mix buses), something you don’t find often on digital consoles at the price level of the Si3. Add to this four Lexicon® effects processors, 12 VCA groups, eight Mute groups and bar graph metering for all 35 bus outputs and you begin to see what a package the Si3 is.

So what about the operating surface, is it easy to use? The obvious lack of what is now standard fare on most digital consoles, a large central screen, brings hope that cumbersome centralized channel operation is a thing of the past, and indeed when you look at the controls in detail you see it may well be. Although the Si3 does have a small central touch screen, it is really there for console management, cue-lists, labelling etc. All the normal day-to-day mixing operations are carried out adjacent to the channel faders continuing Soundcraft’s philosophy of ‘where you look is where you control.’ An amazingly crisp and bright OLED display clearly shows important channel data for every fader on the desk, while in the centre section, OLEDs provide the same for the output faders.

Soundcraft has revisited the control topology employed on the ground-breaking Spirit 328 and 324 digital consoles, and made it even easier. The model is this - above each fader is a rotary encoder, the function of which changes according to the mode selected. This ‘bank’ of encoders, known as the VCS or Virtual Channel Strip can be set to control every function of a channel (known as Channel mode), so mic gain, EQ, dynamics, auxes, panning are all controlled as if you had a normal analogue channel strip laid sideways in front of you. The VCS also incorporates all the switching you would find on an individual analogue channel strip (48v, Phase Reverse, EQ in etc.). Alternatively, in what is called Global mode, each encoder controls the same function for each channel. So, for example, the encoders could control all the mic gains, pans or a chosen Aux bus (very useful for creating monitor mixes).

The encoder and OLED displays located in the output section are used primarily for output signal controls such as EQ, dynamics, Matrix contributions etc. but also double up as dedicated controls for the four onboard Lexicon processors.

When using the Lexicon processors, you can expand the controls to adjust virtually every parameter available, giving you outstanding control over the effects. Each of the four Lexicon engines can be assigned by the user to any channel. The gates and compressors, as you would expect, draw on the heritage of BSS Audio and dbx, Soundcraft’s sister companies within Harman.

The output encoders and OLEDs can also be assigned to control EQ and Dynamics control for any selected Input or Output channel for those who prefer central control.

Like its bigger sisters the Soundcraft Vi4 and Vi6, the Si3 uses the patented Soundcraft FaderGlow™ system to show what mode your faders are in, whether they are controlling inputs, aux or effects sends, bus outputs etc. For example, when faders are controlling Aux sends, the faders glow yellow, while for VCA’s they glow blue. In fact the colour codings closely follow the Soundcraft Vi6 setup, so engineers moving between consoles will be equally at home with both.

Complete desk settings may be stored as snapshots, as you would expect on a digital console, and these can then be sequenced from a Cue list on the central touch screen and controlled with dedicated snapshot automation buttons. Global snapshot filtering is also available.

Under the hood of the Si3 is an array of new technology, most notably EMMA, a single-board digital mixing console with an embedded operating system. This compact pcb holds not only the processing and DSP to run the mixer with its EQ and dynamics, but also four Lexicon AudioDNA chips to provide the Si3 with arguably the best effects available in the pro audio world. The team of developers at Soundcraft was responsible for the entire development and coding of this new mixing core which is also the base core of further new console designs already in development.

But how does it sound? Needless to say with the wealth of experience in digital platform development that Studer and Soundcraft have with the Vista and Soundcraft Vi Series, the Si3 has inherited the same sound quality pedigree, and coupled with Graham Blyth’s talents in mic pre-amp design and the extensive development of the integral dynamics and gates and Lexicon FX, sound quality is a given.

On the rear of this highly-featured console are all the I/O connectors you’ll need. Sixty-four XLR’s for the mic/line inputs, four stereo line level inputs, 24 bus output XLR’s, eight matrix output XLR’s Left/Right/Centre mix output XLR’s, Left/Right/Centre monitor output XLR’s and comprehensive internal and external talkback and Oscillator connections. There are also eight analogue insert connections, which allow outboard processing to be inserted into any input channel output bus.

The power supply for the Si3 is integral to the chassis, and a secondary PSU module can be fitted for total redundancy. There are also four spare slots for other optional cards such as MADI interfaces or AES/EBU inputs.

Of course, the Si3 has been developed with Harman’s HiQnet™ networked audio system in mind, and connection to the HiQnet network is included.

To make preparation of the console setup easier, Soundcraft is also planning to release an off-line editor for the Si3. This self-contained suite runs on a PC or laptop, and allows configuration of the console which can then be downloaded to the desk, saving precious on-site setup time. Just like with the Virtual Vi software for the Soundcraft Vi Series (www.soundcraftdigital.com), engineers can move between different consoles and take their shows and settings with them.

The Soundcraft Si3 is bound to appeal to regional tour sound companies and regional theatres, medium sized houses of worship and corporate event sound companies.

Dale Hanson Drives The Soundcraft® Si3 Around Bedford All Night

Hanson is the FOH Engineer for The Story’s, Elton John’s recent Tour Support Band

Dale Hanson took time off the road to handle eight different acts at The Bedford in London and mixed the evening away on a Soundcraft Si3-its first public, commercial gig. Along with the other Si3 beta testers covering theatre, touring and house of worship applications in Europe and the USA, Dale has taken the Si3 through its test paces but this gig was the ultimate beta test! In typical pro fashion, Dale was calm and collected. "The show was a bit like live TV with eight acts performing a couple of songs each during the evening without any change over time at all really. Not many digital consoles can cope with that type of challenge but the Si3 worked really well. I found that you can use so many different functions at the same time to be really useful. Having control of EQ, Dynamics, Bus Sends and Effects without having to reassign anything was great."

The Si3 is Soundcraft's latest 'mid range' addition to its growing digital family. It follows the Studer Vista 5 SR (Tours including: Celine Dion, Rascal Flatts, Billy Joel, Katie Melua, Keith Urban) and both Soundcraft Vi6 and Vi4, which were just announced with upgrades to 96 and 72 inputs to mix at PLASA (Tours: Bob Dylan, The Feeling, Deep Purple, Diana Krall and Rufus Wainright).

"Although we label the console mid-range in terms of price, that certainly doesn't limit its capabilities. It's a large format console at a mid-size console price point," added James Shears, Soundcraft's Si3 Product Manager. "Amongst many other new features, it has 64 inputs, 24 group busses, Lexicon processing and Distributed Display Technology.”

Very analogue in feel, the Si3 follows the company's digital operational philosophy of 'where you look is where you control' established by Studer on the Vista and OnAir ranges and continued on the Soundcraft Vi Series. Soundcraft has eliminated the need for a large, central screen and instead put the information screens right where you went them; next to the controls. Shears adds, "This console is perfect for users growing out of their smaller digital consoles and looking to upgrade at a sensible price and especially suitable for current analogue users who haven't yet made that switch. That's why we've designed the user interface to be so 'analogue familiar.’ Basically, just take your analogue console out and drop the Si3 in it's place - simple!"

"The pre amps sounded really nice and had plenty of headroom,” Hanson adds. “I found that I needed minimal EQ on the night, which is always a good sign. The dynamics were easy-to-use and sounded smooth. I particularly liked the Lexicon reverbs, as they sounded great. The fact that the FX returns appear as normal channels is also great as I could easily send one effect into another; for example; very analogue!"

"It was a great feeling to see the Si3 go through its paces in a real life situation," said Shears. "We'll be running a series of Si3 gigs to provide engineers the chance to come and play with it after the launch at PLASA."

The Soundcraft® Si3 project – The Next Step In Our Strategy.

Andy Trott, President of Soundcraft and Studer explains his digital console strategy and vision

For any Business leader, one of the most thrilling experiences is to reshape a good business into a great one. That’s very much the challenge my team and I took on when I joined Harman a little under six years ago as President of Soundcraft.

At the time we were a well-respected manufacturer of very good analogue consoles, ranging from the small, 4 channel Spirit Notepad up to the flagship touring desks, the Soundcraft Series 5 and MH series. But our markets were changing, demands for new digital technology was increasing, offshore manufacturing was in transition, and the economic dominos started to wobble all around the world.

We faced the same challenges that so many technology-based businesses face: ‘change or die’ – so over the following few months we developed a strategic ten year roadmap and set ourselves an aggressive target of remodelling every part of our business in order to compete with the very best digital technologies emerging in our markets, and our parent company, Harman International, backed us all the way.

Our first step was to merge with our sister-console company Studer, based in Regensdorf, Switzerland. That marriage brought together the best live-sound brains at Soundcraft, Potters Bar near London and the best digital console brains in the business at Studer. Not without our own internal challenges, we started to work together.

We had to combine Marketing and Product Management spanning Potters Bar and Regensdorf in order to deliver specifications that benefited from the expertise in both camps, then Production and all the other functions necessary to deliver new products. Within two years, we launched the Vi Series, now riding high on many of the worlds biggest tours including Deep Purple, Bob Dylan and Diana Krall and installed in some of the most prestigious theatres and broadcast studios around the world. A year later the Studer Vista 5 SR launched and was immediately placed on tour with global acts including Celine Dion, Billy Joel and Rascal Flatts.

Now another year on we’re rolling out the next phase of our digital strategy, the Soundcraft Si3 which follows hotly on the heels of the hugely successful Vista 5 SR and Vi Series in our live sound range.

Although users will see lots of similar design cues across these families, there are differing levels of technology under the bonnet in order to meet differing price points, but there are two things they all have in common, and it’s something we pride ourselves in being world leaders in – sound quality and ‘Mix Ergonomics’, the whole science and development of advanced user interfaces..

‘Mix Ergonomics’ is something that is common across all our range from the smallest Soundcraft analogue mixer, to the most advanced Vista 8 from Studer; at any new product meeting we always insist that the ‘user experience’ HAS to be the best a customer can expect and that it makes his or her job, to deliver great audio, easier, faster and more enjoyable.

Whilst the advantages of the Vistonics™ user interface employed on the Vista and Vi Series has been well documented, the Si3 approaches the market with some new twists.

First of all, this is a console! That may sound a strange statement to make when it’s pretty obvious what it is, but pre-launch visitors have made this comment, expressing delight that at last someone has brought in a mid-range priced desk, complete with a large amount of integral I/O and new features, that looks and feels EXACTLY like an analogue user interface … here’s the new enhancements.

Firstly, we’ve used Soundcraft FaderGlow™, the same as we use on the high-end Vi6 and Vi4 enabling the engineer to, at the glance of an eye, see exactly which faders are in which mode through a colour-coded, illuminated display located within the fader track.

Secondly, we’ve used what we call Distributed Display Technology to emulate the ‘where you see is where you control’ philosophy pioneered by Studer on radio and TV broadcast consoles. Through ultra-high definition OLED displays, located right at each channel, we’ve been able to eliminate the need for a large central touch screen which takes the operators attention away from the control surface, and provided local information sources instead and a small touch screen which exists for console management, cue-lists, labeling etc.

Thirdly, we’ve revisited and enhanced a much-loved feature our customers urged us to re-use, it’s what we call VCS (Virtual Control Strip) as used on our ground-breaking Spirit 328 and 324 digital consoles, and made it even easier for the operator to use.

And all this is based on a proprietary technology platform that we’ve developed specifically optimized for mixing, we call it EMMA (Embedded Multi-processor Mixing Architecture), there’s more on this in the Technology appendix, but in short, it’s a hugely powerful, flexible, configurable DSP engine that provides 80 audio processing channels with ultra-low latency offering us the option to deliver variants of the Si3 based on the same platform.

But we’ve not been blind to the fact that sometimes a ‘not quite so new’ previous design may be the best around, so we’ve built in the industry renowned GB30 mic pre-amps, developed by our founder and Technical Director Graham Blyth, to deliver that ‘Soundcraft sound’.

So, back to the strategy.

We’re now a very different business to what we were five or six years ago.

One organisation, with a single goal, delivered under the Harman family through two of the finest brands in the audio world; Soundcraft and Studer. We have projects currently engaged on researching and developing new digital mixing solutions at every key price point across all our markets. I’d like to say it’s been a great journey, but that suggests we’ve arrived at our destination - and we’re not even halfway there - remember that ten year plan I mentioned at the beginning? Well it’s still a ten year plan, just rolled on a few years.

We’re now looking at technologies no one could have dreamed of at the start of this journey…. Just watch this space!

Andy Trott is President of Soundcraft and Studer, part of Harman International. Andy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics. He’s a self-confessed Beatles addict, a keen guitar player, songwriter and home recordist.

Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”

The Soundcraft® Si3 – A Marriage Of Technology And People

A Big Team Effort Delivers Soundcraft’s Latest Digital Console Platform

“The launch of the Soundcraft Si3 is the culmination of a real ground-up research programme – an Engineers dream opportunity,” according to Stefan Ledergerber, Vice President of R&D for Soundcraft and Studer. “The console is completely new - new DSP, new light-weight surface materials, new user interface with newly developed - distributed display technologies, all designed to meet a new lower price point, whilst providing the customer with more new features.”

James Shears, Product Manager (whose track record includes the hugely successful Soundcraft GB Series and LX7ii) added, “When we started the Si3 project, our initial objective was to develop a technology platform that would provide us the flexibility to spin more models out downstream. Having secured a significant market position with the Vi Series and at the very top-end of the market, the Studer Vista 5 SR, we wanted to launch the first Si Series into the mid-low range price point but offer ‘more than the rest’.”

Shears continues, “Our intention is to provide engineers still using analogue consoles an easy transition to digital through simply switching to the Si3. This is a single box solution – you take your old analogue console out, and drop this one in its place – simple! The user-interface is precisely designed to align with current user interfaces and engineers’ ‘comfort zones’. We see it perfectly positioned for installations, touring and particularly suitable for house of worship applications. In fact we carefully selected beta test users to specifically represent these markets just to ensure we’ve designed into the specs what these type of customers need.”

Matt Rowe is the R&D Project Manager for the Si3. Matt transferred from the BSS team to lead the engineers developing the Si.

Rowe describes in a bit more detail about what’s under the bonnet (hood!). “Inside the Si3 is a totally new DSP engine – we call it EMMA which stands for ‘Embedded Multi-processor Mixing Architecture’. Being custom designed and using embedded software provides us the absolute maximum processing power with minimal latency all on a single board – in other words - it’s designed to mix audio, and only audio - unlike many processors that are designed for general pc activities.”

He continues, “We structured the team in such a manner as to enable as much concurrent engineering as possible. Cross functional groups were given individual responsibilities for various parts of the programme; there’s the EMMA team, surface design and styling (incorporating Studer frame design techniques), screen design, GUI and software writers. At various stages we went through an integration phase where we connect it all together and see how it looks and works.

All of this is managed on our web-based Product Lifecycle Management system (PLM) which ensures we’re driven through review-stage-gates involving the management of every function of the company.

Production and service departments have been heavily involved from day one and at all stages of the process to ensure we’re firstly following our DfM (Design for Manufacturing) rules guaranteeing that this is a product we can manufacture to high quality standards, and secondly, that we have designed in all the features to make it serviceable and simple to provide routine maintenance for our distribution partners.

Contributing to this, we pioneered a new knowledge-based tool for PCB rule checking that speeds up our time to production for new boards. The system is interfaced to Harman’s Global component libraries which gave us confidence in the new designs and maximum benefits on price and supply.”

Ledergerber concluded, “I’m looking forward to the team being there to see the launch and hear the customers’ comments first hand. We’ve had a number of pre-launch visitors come to see it at the Potters Bar factory and they have left very excited. But we all have to keep focused as digital consoles enable us to develop new software features over and over, so we’ll be back in the office the next morning developing even more features!”

Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com).
Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”

Soundcraft Unveils New Mid-price Digital Console – More Inputs, More Technology, and a True Analogue Feel

Soundcraft® Si3 promises to deliver more for less than any other.

Currently riding high with tours and engineers thanks to the incredible success of the Vi Series digital consoles, Soundcraft has launched a mid-market partner console in the Soundcraft Si3. This new desk is designed for live use on both touring sound systems and in fixed installations and its intuitive operation and high input and bus count makes it a perfect choice for House of Worship sound systems. Theatre users will also find the Soundcraft Si3 very applicable in their area.

What is particularly nice about the Si3 is it all comes in one chassis – console surface, all input and output connections, power supply – so it can literally drop in and replace an existing analogue desk as almost certainly no additional cabling would be required to install it. This compact footprint desk can directly handle 64 mono inputs, 4 stereo inputs and has full connectivity for all 35 output busses (24 Aux/Group, 8 Matrix and Left/Right/Centre mix buses), something you don’t find often on digital consoles at the price level of the Si3. Add to this 4 Lexicon® effects processors, 12 VCA groups, 8 Mute groups and bar graph metering for all 35 bus outputs and you begin to see what a package the Si3 is.

So what about the operating surface, is it easy to use? The obvious lack of what is now standard fare on most digital consoles, a large central screen, brings hope that cumbersome centralised channel operation is a thing of the past, and indeed when you look at the controls in detail you see it may well be. Although the Si3 does have a small central touch screen, it is really there for console management, cue-lists, labelling etc. All the normal day-to-day mixing operations are carried out adjacent to the channel faders continuing Soundcraft’s philosophy of ‘where you look is where you control’. An amazingly crisp and bright OLED display clearly shows important channel data for every fader on the desk, while in the centre section, OLEDs provide the same for the output faders.

Soundcraft has revisited the control topology employed on the ground-breaking Spirit 328 and 324 digital consoles, and made it even easier. The model is this - above each fader is a rotary encoder, the function of which changes according to the mode selected. This ‘bank’ of encoders, known as the VCS or Virtual Channel Strip can be set to control every function of a channel (known as Channel mode), so mic gain, EQ, dynamics, auxes, panning are all controlled as if you had a normal analogue channel strip laid sideways in front of you. The VCS also incorporates all the switching you would find on an individual analogue channel strip (48v, Phase Reverse, EQ in etc.). Alternatively, in what is called Global mode, each encoder controls the same function for each channel. So, for example, the encoders could control all the mic gains, pans or a chosen Aux bus (very useful for creating monitor mixes).

The encoder and OLED displays located in the output section are used primarily for output signal controls such as EQ, dynamics, Matrix contributions etc. but also double up as dedicated controls for the 4 onboard Lexicon processors.

When using the Lexicon processors, you can expand the controls to adjust virtually every parameter available, giving you outstanding control over the effects. Each of the four Lexicon engines can be assigned by the user to any channel. The gates and compressors, as you would expect, draw on the heritage of BSS Audio and dbx, Soundcraft’s sister companies within Harman.

The output encoders and OLEDs can also be assigned to control EQ and Dynamics control for any selected Input or Output channel for those who prefer central control.

Like its bigger sisters the Soundcraft Vi4 and Vi6, the Si3 uses the patented Soundcraft FaderGlow™ system to show what mode your faders are in, whether they are controlling inputs, aux or effects sends, bus outputs etc. For example, when faders are controlling Aux sends, the faders glow yellow, while for VCA’s they glow blue. In fact the colour codings closely follow the Soundcraft Vi6 setup, so engineers moving between consoles will be equally at home with both.

Complete desk settings may be stored as snapshots, as you would expect on a digital console, and these can then be sequenced from a Cue list on the central touch screen and controlled with dedicated snapshot automation buttons. Global snapshot filtering is also available.

Under the hood of the Si3 is an array of new technology, most notably EMMA, a single-board digital mixing console with an embedded operating system. This compact pcb holds not only the processing and DSP to run the mixer with its EQ and dynamics, but also four Lexicon AudioDNA chips to provide the Si3 with arguably the best effects available in the pro audio world. The team of developers at Soundcraft was responsible for the entire development and coding of this new mixing core which is also the base core of further new console designs already in development.

But how does it sound? Needless to say with the wealth of experience in digital platform development that Studer and Soundcraft have with the Vista and Soundcraft Vi Series’, the Si3 has inherited the same sound quality pedigree, and coupled with Graham Blyth’s talents in mic pre-amp design and the extensive development of the integral dynamics and gates and Lexicon FX, sound quality is a given.

On the rear of this highly-featured console are all the I/O connectors you’ll need. Sixty-four XLR’s for the mic/line inputs, 4 stereo line level inputs, 24 bus output XLR’s, 8 matrix output XLR’s Left/Right/Centre mix output XLR’s, Left/Right/Centre monitor output XLR’s and comprehensive internal and external talkback and Oscillator connections. There are also 8 analogue insert connections which allow outboard processing to be inserted into any input channel output bus.

The power supply for the Si3 is integral to the chassis, and a secondary PSU module can be fitted for total redundancy. There are also four spare slots for other optional cards such as MADI interfaces or AES/EBU inputs.

Of course, the Si3 has been developed with Harman’s HiQnet™ networked audio system in mind, and connection to the HiQnet network is included.

To make preparation of the console setup easier, Soundcraft is also planning to release an off-line editor for the Si3. This self-contained suite runs on a PC or laptop, and allows configuration of the console which can then be downloaded to the desk, saving precious on-site setup time. Just like with the Virtual Vi software for the Soundcraft Vi Series (www.soundcraftdigital.com), engineers can move between different consoles and take their shows and settings with them.

The Soundcraft Si3 is bound to appeal to regional tour sound companies and regional theatres, medium sized Houses of Worship and Corporate Event sound companies.

Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com). Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”