Members StratGuy22 Posted October 19, 2015 Members Share Posted October 19, 2015 I had a StudioLove 24.4.2 which was 4 years old. It was getting a bit long in the tooth. I was looking to upgrade. I ended up getting the CS18AI. I was comfortable with mixing via iPad. When my band played though, I realized that the iPad mini or laptop were a little tedious to use in the heat of battle "can I get a little more ______ in my monitor please" I was planning on getting a surface tablet (a Dell XPS18 in fact) which would give me a bigger surface, more faders on the screen etc to work with. I was getting ready to pull the trigger when Presonus announced the CS18AI, a control surface that would work with the RM32AI. It uses Cat5 or Cat6 to connect, it has moving faders, etc etc. Perfect. So I ordered one and it just arrived this weekend, perfect for next weekends gig. The gig is in the next town and so I was able to set up this weekend for it. I was able to put it in place with my mixer, just to get a feel for it. The gig is at an acreage so I didn't have the time or WIFI to update all the firmware etc etc. The setup: Mission Control: So I brought the RM mixer, the CS controller, my laptop etc and got everything working and playing nice together. Pretty stoked!! I took a little video, playing around with a song we played at a gig, recorded live with the Presonus Capture software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dookietwo Posted October 21, 2015 Members Share Posted October 21, 2015 This seems to be the way things are going. Nice thing is you can bring just the rack/mixer for small shows and rack/controller for for larger shows. The down side is $2000 for just the controller is kind of steep. I'd like to see the controller in the Sub $1000 range. You have around $3800 into the setup. That is the same price as a stand alone Behringer X32 and the S32, 32 channel stage box released this month. The down side is its a big board!Does the controller have any Mic pre's ?Nice rig! Let us know how its going as time goes by. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 21, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2015 Yeah I just was never a fan of Behringer. The StudioLive AI series of mixers were interesting, I liked the mute groups and the fat channel A/B, and just a router for mixing, no computer but not enough to make me want to replace my original SL24.4.2 which was paid for vs the SL32AI which was around $4k at the time. i was mixing via iPad all the time which was kinda fiddly having the mixer a laptop and then router. I started looking into a possible upgrade. And as I was checking things out the RM32AI came out. I liked the small footprint, iPad only was fine with me, hook up a router and you're good to go. I picked one up and was using it immediately for bigger shows and even smaller ones since it was pretty handy. Playing in a band though, that's when the iPad mini was a little fiddly as I said. So that's how I ended up with the CS18AI. The preamps are all on the mixer. There's a bit of I/O, a pair of XLR's, a pair of line in's.bit gets sound back to the CS18AI via AVB. First gig is this weekend, then next weekend when we play halloween. Should be a great time, I'm stoked to use it soon!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dookietwo Posted October 21, 2015 Members Share Posted October 21, 2015 Best of luck this weekend and be sure to post an update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2015 For sure! It's a shop party at my buddies. So I should be able to snag some video of it in action!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted October 22, 2015 CMS Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Interesting setup, I agree that the price seems a bit steep, but if it turns out to be a solid and reliable platform, the value will be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 22, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2015 I think the price was similar to an X32 & stage box, a QU24 & stage box, cheaper than a GLD80 with a stage box as well. At $2k the price was right for the RM32AI. I was hanging onto my SL24.4.2 for the odd sound tech that preferred faders. Myself, I never used it again. So I ended up selling my SL24.4.2 for $1400 with an ATA case. The CS18AI will cover those gigs, and a Cat6 snake will be a lot easier to hang then the old multicore. I'll be selling my 100' 24x8 snake for $400 (probably take $300) soon. So that paid for over half of the $2600CAD the CS18AI cost. ($2000USD = $2625CAD) Probably a bit overkill for my band, but it's also for my sound company, and I have to spend so much a year for write offs/depreciation etc. so it all works out. I didn't get a whole lot for my SL24.4.2, but I've used it over the last 4 years and its more than paid for itself. I'll give you guys a rundown of how it goes this weekend! Really looking forward to using it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WynnD Posted October 23, 2015 Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 I'm doing a Senior's variety show this weekend with a Mackie DL1608. It's an ipad only control mixer and while I'm fine with the channels and functions, I would love to just have 16 physical faders. There are a lot of people going onto and off of the stage constantly and I DON'T want the performers muting their own mics. If someone would just make a bluetooth 8 or 16 channel fader to control the ipad. You would also need to be able to put two or more of them together on a single ipad to control up to 32 channels. I find myself using two ipads to control this group of rowdy seniors and wishing I had a third one too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 23, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 23, 2015 I hear ya. The CS18AI can control all 32 channels on the RM32AI. In the new year you will be able to cintrol 2 RM32AI's for a total of 64 channels. The faders will make life a bit easier on stage when we are playing. I could have used my original SL24.4.2 but what the hey. are the mutes on the DL1608 itself or is there an iPad attached to it? How are the people muting their own channels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 26, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2015 The party was a blast. It was a Back to the Future themed party. So we went as "The Doc Browns" it was a fun night and everyone dressed up! There was a gang of The Tanner Boys from the Wild West, lots of other costumes. My favorite was the person who came as the Tanner gang from the Wild West Along with others Here's the hosts with my favorite costume, The ClockTower Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sventvkg Posted October 29, 2015 Members Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hey Strat, looks like we've decided to go with a whole Presonus AI system. The RM32AI, The CS18AI controller, and the Speakers. I believe this is an incredible system! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted October 29, 2015 Members Share Posted October 29, 2015 Strat very cool thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hey Strat' date=' looks like we've decided to go with a whole Presonus AI system. The RM32AI, The CS18AI controller, and the Speakers. I believe this is an incredible system! [/quote'] Nice! I'm sure you'll really like the setup! I make scene for each venue, then 90% of the work is done for the next time! I'm interested to hear how the speakers work. QMix is really handy for IEM's (Apple only is the only thing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 29, 2015 Strat very cool thanks for sharing! For sure!! This weekend we are playing a Halloween party, we will be dressed as Gilligans Island lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted October 30, 2015 Members Share Posted October 30, 2015 Are you the skipper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StratGuy22 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2015 Are you the skipper? I've been working on my physique for the last 2 years for my Skipper costume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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