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With the rapid move toward digital
mixing in the live arena, it may
seem to some that Allen & Heath
is late to the party. But keep in mind that
this company put out its first digital mixer
almost a decade ago — a small-powered rig
called the ICON — that is still being used
for smaller applications today. The iLive is a
huge jump forward and moves A&H firmly
into the fray, giving them a fighting chance
in the digital mixing market.
The Gear RT
A&H has developed a user-friendly architecture
— the iDR10 stage rack system.
FOH setup is a breeze and took approximately
30 minutes. The control surface on
the console was amazing and quite easy
to figure out if you have any computer and
mixing experience at all.
Each of the 64 input channels has a
gate, parametric EQ, compressor, limiter
and delay. All your shows can be stored in
the console and saved to a USB key. The
engine room of the mix has all the power
and processing for 64 input channels and
32 mix outputs. You can patch dynamics,
third-octave graphic EQ and delays on each
of the 32 mixes and put together a virtual
rack of effects processors. Unlike some systems
where you have a set number of, say,
EQs to spread throughout your outputs, all
processing is available all the time.
The “processing-strip” interface on these
systems has the feel of analog consoles,
which makes it easy for old salty analog
users like me. They have a one-knob-perfunction
rotary control with switches and a
display that gives the engineer a quick look
over all the settings at a peek of the screen.
Everything can be displayed on the
touch screen. You can also add an external
touch screen via the VGA input for those
of us with big fingers! The touch screen is
no smaller than any other digital consoles.
With that said, the industry needs to get hip
to all of us mixing animals with one eye and
big paws. I would like a 32-inch please!
Channel processing is comfortable offline
and online with the system manager
software, which can run on your laptop. This
is all transmitted via TCP/IP over Ethernet.
Both the surface and the iDR10 Mix-Rack
are equipped with hubs, making it easy to
use the network. You can access the chan-
26
Road Test
Allen & Heath iLive Digital Mixing System
By NortJohnson
nel mix processing like EQ, delay, etc., to set
up the system from a laptop. The preamp
mic/line controls are like you would find on
any analogue console.
There’s a peak indicator, and all the
preamp parameters can be remotely controlled
from the desk and stored in the
scene memories. If the channel is assigned
to a digital input, then the gain gives you
a +/-24 dB trim. This was the highlight of
the day for me. The preamp sounded clean
compared to other digital systems I've experienced.
We liked the control layout — it makes
the dynamics very easy to use. The signal
level is played behind the threshold setting,
and the gating point is easy to find. You can
listen to a side chain to check the key filter
frequency.
The four-band, fully parametric EQ with
HF and LF bands are all selectable for shelving
and bell response. The display quickly shows
you the overall picture — just glance at the
touchscreen and the values are displayed.
Delay is included on all input and mix
channels for time-alignment, and input delay
gives you the ability to align the speakers.
This enables you to pull out a key stage
source like a guitar rig, percussion, etc. This
works for better clarity in venue reinforcement.
Parameters are also displayed for
time, distance and temperature compensation.
The delay is accessed from the channel
thumbnail view of your screen.
You can have a compressor on every input
channel and mix master that shows its
own set of controls. There’s a similar layout to
the gate, also a side chain filter and a signal
level display behind the threshold setting.
The third dynamic processor can provide
a limiter to each input channel and mix master.
The input limiter can be switched to become
a de-esser, giving the operator a compressor
and a de-esser on key vocal channels. Every
dynamics processor is instantly available.
Insert points can be assigned to any input
or mix. There is an insert on indicator
and an IN switch to toggle the inserted processing
either in or out.
You can press any SEL key to bring up
the page you want on the Touch-Screen.
Press and hold to PFL the signal at any point
in the signal chain or hold with the COPY,
PASTE or RESET the keys to edit if you like.
The system has a high pass filter that,
JANUARY 2008 www.fohonline.com
Allen & Heath iLive Digital Mixing System Jay Phebus at FOH
The “processing-strip” inter face on
these systems has the feel of analog
consoles, which makes it easy for old
salty analog users like me.
when deployed, you just dial in the frequency
from 20 to 400 Hz. This eliminates
unwanted low-frequency pops and noises…a
nice touch.
Up to 32 equalizers are available, and
the 25 bands provide standard ISO frequencies.
Settings can be adjusted via the screen
or moved to the faders for quicker response
and more precise control. When you ring out
the system, the fader view presents all bands,
the mix master and level control. Frequencies
are displayed on the strip LCDs, which
automatically change in color to indicate the
EQ mode. An EQ fader’s “off key” will change
the faders back to normal mode.
The iLive has two FX engines. Internal
“short” stereo FX returns can be assigned to
channel strips on the desk surface without
using up input channels, giving you up to
68 sources feeding the mix. Up to four more
FX engines can be assembled from a DSP
processing option for a total of eight.
Up to eight user passwords are available
on the iLive for covert restricted access. This
enables system protection from critical configuration,
communication and parameter
data being accidentally erased by users.
The Gig RT
I met up with the crew mixing blues
boy Joe Bonamassa at the House of Blues in
Chicago. I have worked shows at this venue
since its inception in the mid-90s and have
known the current E.V. system since the install.
I am very familiar with the house.
What a treat to go to this venue to see a
young rockin’ blues icon like Bonamassa to
check out the new Allen & Heath iLive System. I
expected a huge learning curve like all the other
digital desks I have road tested. This was not
the case. I met Jay Phebus (tour manager/FOH)
at load in, and just a few short hours later, after
a great tutor by Phebus, I was confident in my
ability to work with this system. Phebus opened
up on the quick with an enthusiastic sermon.
“The nice thing about this desk is everything
is here. All your processing becomes
immediately digitally accessible and extremely
accurate and easy to work with,”
he says, as we look through his wares. “The
coolest thing about this console is that
your gate, compressor and your limiter all
have LEDs. As soon as you dial it and connect,
you start getting gain reduction. It’s
the most accurate gate, compression and
limiter I have ever seen. Even beyond how
accurate it is, these desks sound amazing.”
Phebus tells me that in a festival situation,
engineers for each act can be given
permission to store input channel names
and colors, along with all associated processing,
and that includes sound-check or
on-the-fly prepping. This gives you total
recall for each engineer. This is done by using
the Scene Manager software program
without changing the system fader-strips,
bus structure or graphic EQ settings.
There is a lot more to this system than
space allows. I guess Phebus put it best —
“How easy is this!”
What It Is: Digital Mixing System.
Who It’s For: Touring and regional soundcos, festivals and larger installs.
How Much?: MSRP, as reviewed, $49,999.
Pros: Very easy to use with a short learning curve. Excellent sound. Plenty of processing
horsepower.
Cons: Backlighting on touchscreens could be a little brighter, and a bigger screen would
be nice for those of us with big fingers.