PreSonus StudioLive 16.4.2 16-Channel Digital Mixer with FireWire Interface

Shape your band's live sound with 16 XMAX mic pres and Fat Channel effects on the PreSonus StudioLive digital mixer -- then record 32 channels via FireWire.

Overall User Ratings (based on 57 ratings)
  • Overall:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Sound:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Features:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Ease of Use:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Quality:
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Value:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Manufacturer Support:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
  • The Wow Factor:
    4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
(57) (see rating details)
Submitted May 26, 2011 by a customer from mascocabinetry.com

"Little Board - Huge Professional Features!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Great Product that is easy to use for any sound engineer. Sound wise, is as good as boards costing thousands more.
Sound
Absolutely clean sound. It is a digital board that sounds warm. Just be sure to use your gains and faders correctly, any clipping is major bad! The effects, gates, limiters, eqs and more are very, very good and sound as good as, if not better than any outboard gear.
Features
The fat channel is where everything happens! The included Capture software is great and allows you to record all 16 tracks live with the push of one button. I suggest the 16 channel (especially for the price). If you need more channels than that, you can daisy chain up to 4 of these together using firewire, giving you 64 tracks (and additional gates, eqs, etc.). Awesome!
Ease of Use
In the digital world on this board ... everything must be assigned. Think of it as a road map. You plug in a guitar to the board, you assign it to channel 1, then you assign channel 1 to your choice of sub (1-4), then you assign the sub to the main output. You then can assign channel 1 to any of the aux. Same goes for effects and the fat channel. If you remember that you must assign everything ... you are 90% home free! Great Product!
Quality
I have had no problems with any of my Presonus gear and don't expect any from this product either. It is a mixing board ... and if you travel with it, it does need a sturdy protective case.
Value
Worth the selling price for the 16 Channel. The 24 Channel could be priced a little less.
Manufacturer Support
Firewire can be tricky ... just make sure you are using a computer with the TI chipset and 400 firewire compatable. If you have questions, log in to Presonus website, forum, and they will help. I called them 6 times, never waited more than about a minute, always got a REAL PERSON on the phone, and they are incredibly knowlegeable.
The Wow Factor
Sex Appeal???? My wife is sexier!

Musical Background:

35 years in the business!

Musical Style:

all systels
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Submitted April 2, 2012 by Adam Dexter

"THIS IS THE ONE YOU WANT! Worth Absolutely Every Penny & Easy to Learn!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
NOTE- I HAVE ONLY USED THIS BOARD IN A LIVE SOUND SETTING, MY REVIEW DOES NOT COVER ANY OF THE STUDIO/RECORDING SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THIS BOARD.So let me put this in context a bit. I minored in Audio Engineering in college, I've always been a kind of gear head with audio stuff but I'm not behind a DAW or mixer every day and until this mixer, I hand't seriously used a mixer in about 2 years. Up until this mixer I had always used analog gear, frankly, I just never gave the time to get the hang of digital boards finer points. I needed a setup primarily to mix live sound in a venue that I was building in the basement of my office. My original proposed setup was going to be the A&H 16ch with a bunch of rack mounted gear (compressors, reverb and delay units, 31 band eqs, etc). My good friend who runs his own production company and helped me design the setup lobbied for this PreSonus board, day and night for a week. I was skeptical of digital and nervous about the learning curve because I didn't have the luxury to learn it over a few weeks, I was having a show that next week. I finally started watching the videos about the 16.4.2 and decided to give it a try.To say I've been impressed is an understatement. I actually get a giant sh*t eating grin every time I go to use it, it's that good and that pleasant to use. There was NO outboard gear to setup besides a power conditioner. It has aux send delays, compressors, FXs, gate, visual 4 band EQ and (with firmware update) 31 band eq for EVERY SINGLE CHANNEL STRIP, including aux, main and sub groups. I was rocking out on it in less than a few hours after touching it for the first time. As soon as you wrap your head around the way the FAT Channel works (which isn't that hard), it's easy sailing from there on in.The FAT Channel is genius, the iPad interface with the firmware update is INSANELY convenient. I had to setup the mixing board shotgun, just off stage right. The iPad lets me mix and do monitors from anywhere in the room!I never write reviews, which is why this is so long, sorry...but I have literally become a PreSonus 16.4.2 fanboy after getting it.
Sound
Sounds great. The effects sound natural, not super digitally and are easy to tweak. The mic pres are awesome and modeled well. I have this pushing out to a full room of Yamaha DSR series speakers (also highly recommended).
Features
The FAT Channel. Gate, Compressor, full sweepable 4 band EQ, FX, sends for ALL 16 channel strips. TRUE 16 channel mic/line ins with XLR/ 1/4" - REMOTE IPAD CONTROL! (note, the faders are not motorized, so the iPad interface won't actually move anything on the board, but it does control it.)Saving scenes is also really nice, i can preset all the channel strips and main out EQ for certain types of performances and/or gear. I could also hypothetically have a EQ profile saved for each room I use the board in.The only thing keeping it from a full 5 stars is that none knob/pot controls (aside from the soft buttons and the LED) are backlit, so when still learning the board (if you are in the dark at a show like I am) you either need a lamp or the iPad to know what is what. I think they could also improve the way some of the FAT Channel controls display when you turn the knobs, for example, when you are setting gain for EQ, there's no light that stays on in the middle, so (again, in the dark) its hard to tell how many units above or below the default/middle you are. Once you get the hang of it though, it's like typing, you don't even need to really look at it.
Ease of Use
If you've used a mixer before and you can navigate the settings panel on your smart phone, this will be a breeze. If you've never touched a piece of digital gear in your life it still won't be that bad.
Quality
Feels very well made. Good weight but not crazy heavy. Enclosure is plastic, but it's very sturdy. I wouldn't throw it against the wall like you can with a Mackie, but it's a nice piece of gear.
Value
Replaced so much outboard gear and hassle, it saved me about $300 in gear and endless $ in time to setup and use. The remote iPad interface alone probably saved about $500 in extra cables, snakes and racks I would have needed since I could leave the board on the side of the stage instead of wiring it to the center of the room. Not to mention opened up that space for people to watch, listen and dance!
Manufacturer Support
N/A - The website is well organized and I was able to find firmware updates and software easily.
The Wow Factor
People at the shows always get a kick at looking over my shoulder when I'm mixing on the iPad. The fact that all the FXs/EQs are onboard gets a few raised eyebrows as well.
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Submitted May 6, 2011 by a customer from mascocabinetry.com

"Worth much more than what you paid! Excellent Board, Incredible Sound"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This is a great board. In fact, I am going to buy another one to daisy chain them together using firewire to get 32 channels. I bought this from ZZ Sounds and they are great. Ordered it on a Friday and had it the following Friday. ZZSOUNDS is AWESEOME.
Sound
Excellent sound. Just remember, do not clip or distort the channels ... clipping is major bad in the digital world. This board has tons of headroom. Use your channel gains and faders correctly ... as outlined in the manual. I own numerous boards and do live concert sound. The pres in this board rival those of 50k boards.
Features
The fat channel is incredible. Recoding now adays, is done using computers ... this is basically a large computer that lets you make changes as if it were analog. This will replace a rack full of outboard gear.
Ease of Use
Works like analog but if you are familiar with sound shaping or computer music it will make things easier. There are tons of on-line forums that explain just about anything. There are also presets that are very useful. For instance, you are miking a drum set. You can pull up a preset for the snare, toms, kick, etc. This gives you a great starting point to get a great sound. Just tweek them to your liking and you're done. SWEET.
Quality
I have had no problems with any of my presonus gear. I expect the same from this board.
Value
For all the presets, effects, compressors, gates, limiters, EQs, and on and on that you get with this board it is a fantastic buy. The mic pres alone are worth the price. The compressors are built after the famous ACP88 ... great!
Manufacturer Support
I use StudioOne Pro recording software and numerous other presonus gear. I have called presonus numerous times and have always gotten the answers ... and always talked to a real person with minimal waits. I have even left a phone number after hours and they called me back the next day! Excellent Service.
The Wow Factor
It is a digital mixing board .... cool, awesome, looks great and works flawlessly ... but sexy??? Nope, I think my wife is sexier!

Musical Background:

Active MUsician, Recording & Live Sound Engineer

Musical Style:

all styles
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Submitted February 27, 2009 by a customer from dygytyl.com

"StudioLive...Hands Down It's A 10!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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This review has been selected by our experts as particularly helpful.
It will be many years before I consider another mixer. The StudioLive has a lot to offer and to grow with. Plus, the firmware updates will keep the mixer up to date with changes and improvements.
Sound
By in large, I do mostly voice recordings for advertising and entertainment. The majority of my work falls on other critical ears and I have had nothing but kudos regarding the sound of the StudioLive. The mic pres are priceless! There's a pristine quality about the sound, yet not the edginess of digital. The StudioLive offers the warmth of analog without the noise floor. An engineer in Burbank that does the final mix on my files asked what kind of mic pre, EQ and Compression I was using. When I told him, "None," he nearly fainted! I'm using a Rode NT-1 mic with the mic pre and phantom power from the StudioLive and running everything flat with no compression. It's that superb!
Features
The StudioLive is packed with the infamous FAT channel. This is a piece of cake to use. Simply select the mic channel input and you've got a "rack full" of equipment at your fingertips. You also get the Capture software that allows multi-track recording and playback via FireWire. There are so many features packed in...and PreSonus is working to add even more. Like daisy-chaining two StudioLive mixers together. The PreSonus folks are very reachable. In talking with their planning engineers, there's a downloadable firmware update in the works that would put even more tools at your disposal. The StudioLive is well designed, well-thought out and well-built. The metering and switches, indicators and buttons feel expensive. That's because they ARE quality materials. This is the star of my studio and will be for years to come.
Ease of Use
This mixer has the feel, features and sound of a mixer well into the five or six-figure price range. Seriously. I've worked on far more expensive mixers that are a "menu nightmare." The StudioLive is very straightforward, that even an old analog guy like me was able to figure it out in short order. No in-depth menus. Scene recall. A lockout feature. A user's manual that is well-written. Plus, the support and forums of PreSonus will allay any fears up stepping up to this affordable, digital FireWire MEGA mixer! By in large, I do mostly voice recordings for advertising and entertainment. The majority of my work falls on other critical ears and I have had nothing but kudos regarding the sound of the StudioLive. The mic pres are priceless! There's a pristine quality about the sound, yet not the edginess of digital. The StudioLive offers the warmth of analog without the noise floor. An engineer in Burbank that does the final mix on my files asked what kind of mic pre, EQ and Compression I was using. When I told him, "None," he nearly fainted! I'm using a Rode NT-1 mic with the mic pre and phantom power from the StudioLive and running everything flat with no compression. It's that superb! However, when using the StudioLive for live gigs, it's packed with the infamous FAT channel. This is a piece of cake to use. Simply select the mic channel input and you've got a "rack full" of equipment at your fingertips. You also get the Capture software that allows multi-track recording and playback via FireWire. There are so many features packed in...and PreSonus is working to add even more. Like daisy-chaining two StudioLive mixers together. The PreSonus folks are very reachable. In talking with their planning engineers, there's a downloadable firmware update in the works that would put even more tools at your disposal. The StudioLive is well designed, well-thought out and well-built. The metering and switches, indicators and buttons feel expensive. That's because they ARE quality materials. This is the star of my studio and will be for years to come.
Quality
The StudioLive is well designed, well-thought out and well-built. The metering and switches, indicators and buttons feel expensive. That's because they ARE quality materials. Built by really smart audio engineers for demanding audio engineers.
Value
PreSonus has redefined "WHAT A BARGAIN!" The StudioLive packs so many tools into this one package that going to gig means not having to carry racks of gear.
Manufacturer Support
The PreSonus folks are VERY reachable. In one instance I needed a question answered and I got right to a PreSonus engineer without voice mail and messages. They answered my question immediately.
The Wow Factor
The layout and design make it easy to right to the section you're looking for. Sections are color-coded, LEDs are easy on the eyes and metering is awesome.

Musical Background:

Recording Engineer
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Submitted March 2, 2009 by a customer from telstarbdg.com

"It's a winner. I would highly recommend it to any band."

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I have had a great deal of respect for Presonus products for a long time. This board may be their best effort.
Sound
Crystal clear and quiet. This is my first digital board so I was a little concerned about sound quality. Presonus has great mic-preamps so it's no surprise that the unit sounds so good. I play live with the board and also have a small studio. I will start routinely recording our live performances with Capture to improve our performances and also possibly record some golden moments. It's incredibly easy with Capture. I also connected StudioLive to Sonar with no difficulty. Independent signals to the front of house, monitors and the computer are easily configured.
Features
This board does it all. The Fat channel is very graphical and easy to use. Intuitive is a good word. If you have a group that plays out and you also want to record, this is the perfect system. Six auxes plus the internal effects auxes give you plenty of sound paths to work with. By the way, the effects are the best I have used.
Ease of Use
Easy, easy, easy. Don't be intimidated. This board does so much, but everything makes sense once you start working with it. I'm not an engineer but I feel like one when I can make the things happen that I want to happen. It took me one reading of the documentation, which is very good to jump in and be effective. I really like the layout of the work surface.
Quality
The unit is solid. Good feel to the sliders and knobs.
Value
For the money, it's an unbelievable value. Rich in features, excellent audio quality and easy to use.
Manufacturer Support
I called with a question and got a quick response. I have dealt with Presonus in the past and their support is very good.
The Wow Factor
It's a great lookin unit. Very modern looking. Every control on the board is back-lit which makes it easy to use in low light environments.

Musical Background:

Active musician and recording engineer

Musical Style:

Americana guitar player
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Submitted October 26, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Awesome...Thank you Presonus!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
This unit was one of the best investments I ever made.
Sound
First of all, the one idiot who gave it a bad review doesn't own it...I do and let me say this. The guy has had little to no experience with the StudioLive so why review it? This board is a solid workhorse. It has everything but the kitchen sink. As a digital mixer alone it is awesome but when you consider the quality of the preamps, the recording interface and many other things you realize real quick that this unit is worth a lot more. I don't think the idiot who gave it a bad review has a clue of what he is talking about. This was not meant to be a studio unit but rather a live unit with the tools to record your shows. Presonus has said this from the start so why is this knucklehead reviewing it as it is just a studio tool? Who cares if it has word clock or ADAT? It was not meant for that purpose. I don't understand some people. This is the best sounding board I own. (I have four). And let me tell you that it records awesome. I don't understand why this guy is so negative. It's only $1999.00. For all the features he's talking about, this console would end up costing in the 5,000 to 7,000 range. I don't think this unit can be touched for the money and I DO have experience with it.
Features
What more can you ask for...the kitchen sink?
Ease of Use
Even a novice can use it. I have gotten awesome live sound and I have also gotten some very nice recordings. Very user friendly.
Quality
So far, all I see and hear is quality. Amazing sound. I don't think you can do better for the price even if you bought used gear.
Value
How could you possibly get more bang for your buck? It packs a rack full of gear and for the money can't be touched.
Manufacturer Support
They are very helpful at Presonus and I think they are on the cutting edge of becoming industry standards in many categories. A great bunch of guys.
The Wow Factor
I am very happy with it and in fact I may buy another so I can daisy chain them together.

Musical Background:

Pro musician, Recording Artist

Musical Style:

Coun try
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Submitted February 25, 2009 by a customer from hotmail.com

"Just got the StudioLive and this thing rules"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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I'm blown away by how much you get with this board. It's a great value.
Sound
I was blown away by how extremly detailed sounding the StudioLive is. This absolutely makes my old Allen and Heath sound harsh. The preamps are quiet and have plenty of gain. The compressor, gate EQ is powerful.
Features
I really love having the Fat Channel on all of my auxes as well. I literally won't have to bring eq's for the monitors any more.
Ease of Use
I was wondering if a digital console would be a lot slower to get around on. I was pleasantly surprised that it is actually FASTER in many ways.
Quality
This thing is built like a tank. The lights and metering is stunning in a dark club. We have used it on 3 gigs and I have always had people comment on how cool this thing looks.
Value
When I think about how much money (and back pain) I'm going to save by not hauling around extra compressors and EQ's, I'm blown away. Not to mention this thing records awesome.
Manufacturer Support
No problems yet so I can't say much about the support.
The Wow Factor
This board is over the top. It's the best purchase I've made in a while.

Musical Background:

Active Musician

Musical Style:

Rock
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Submitted May 19, 2011 by a customer from AbstractVirtue.net

"The Studiolive is possibly the best console and firewire interface at its pricepoint."

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
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If I need more channels, I will buy another 16ch or a 24ch and chain them for 32 or 40 respective channels... I can see that being a VERY efficient setup for either live OR studio. To make up for the lack of DAW control, buying a Mackie Universal Control would be awesome.
Sound
The StudioLive sounds great for what I need it for. The pres are real solid and from the month or so experience I've had with them, they're true workhorses. A lot of people are criticizing this board and relating its sound to things like analog mixers and 2" tape machines, neither of which it is. I have only used it in a home studio setting, never for live sound, but knowing what I do about analog live sound, this board would work great for front of house kinda stuff. I work regularly on both SSL and Trident large format analog mixers, and yes, they sound wonderful. Their price point, however, is nowhere /near/ the 2000 asked for the Studiolive.. and for the money, I think this board is the best one that I could have purchased. In short, do the mic preamps sound like a 9,000 dollar Neve tube pre? No. But there are 16 of them and I only paid 2k for the board. Think about it.
Features
Ah.. the features have been accurately described by the other reviewers here on zZounds. Fat channel is great, albeit a bit cumbersome until one gets a feel for it. On board reverbs are surprisingly awesome sounding, and can be routed to a new track in your DAW so you have dry vox then a second, 100% wet verb channel so that you may do what you will with it. The dynamics processors are good, once again.. do they sound like an LA2A? No. But I have 16(+) channels worth of them all at once and I didn't pay 3,000 for my compressors. I wish it had midi, but it was easily daisy-chainable to my old Firestudio Mobile [which has midi in and out] and after a bit of messing around, syncs perfectly now. I can even use the Firestudio as an additional headphone "amp". It'd be nice if it had motorized faders, though at the same time would make it less useful for "analog" live sound mixing.. and would have more stuff in it to break. The "fader recall" is a bit clumsy, but does the job a bit more conveniently than a binder full of fader position scribbles.
Ease of Use
I gave it an 8, using the perspective of 'if I were a friend of some dude who was running live sound for a show, and he /realllly/ had to go to the bathroom and asked me to "jump on the board just for like, you know, a few minutes man", how easily would I be able to run the show?' Well, if all I had to do was mess with faders and maybe panning for a few minutes, I'd probably fair pretty well. If some reverb started sounding wacky or a gate on one of the channels was jittering... well... maybe not so much. The manual is great, very informative and laid out well... it's just that you have to read it a few times to really get all there is to get out of the Studiolive.
Quality
I have been using Presonus products ever since I first got interested in audio... starting with my oooold Firebox. They have always been solid, dependable products that do what they state they will do. Nothing more, nothing less. It's sleek, solid, and feels like a /mixer/, not a toy as some of the low-end Mackies, Tascams, etc do. One might think "military grade ultraquick-touch super-whatever-button" is just a buzz-word, but the buttons truly make a difference in being able to easily and efficiently work your way around the board (they also look super sexy in low-lighting). The rotaries are smooth and the faders pleasant to handle.
Value
For the money? Buy this. Will it make an SM58 sound like a Neumann U87a or make up for complete lack of ability or talent? No. Will it do what they say it will in the advertisements? Yes.
Manufacturer Support
I have had no experience with Presonus support (since I've never really had anything go wrong with their stuff) but I hear they're a pleasant to work with company that takes care of their customers.
The Wow Factor
I wanted it so bad that I bought it. It's very to not only the ears, but the eyes.

Musical Background:

Aspiring Professional Musician, Audio Engineer, and Producer.

Musical Style:

Folk Rock, Americana, Experimental Crossover, Alt. Rock, etc.
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Submitted September 20, 2012 by a customer from yahoo.com

"Studiolive 16.4.2"

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The easiest and simplest way the record in your personal home studio! Awesome piece and so easy to use with the fat channel access!

Musical Style:

Christian recordings and TEJANO music recording. MAESTROS STUDIOS
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Submitted December 8, 2013 by Ron R in Mokena , IL

"Presonus Studio Live 16.4.2 Rocks!"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
There is a small learning curve, but with lots of online video tutorials, learning the board was quick and easy. This board is filled with all sorts of great features! And the remote access via Ipad or Iphone makes running this a cinch!

Musical Background:

Full time pro musician

Musical Style:

classic rock
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Submitted December 29, 2013 by Bud D in CLIFTON PARK, NY

"Presonus 16.4.2"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
Excellent Product very happy with my digital console, (being an old analog guy).Presonus made it easy to switch! zZounds.com is THE BEST! I refer all my Musician friends and audio guys to this site!

Musical Background:

Professional Audio Engineer

Musical Style:

With a regional Country band
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Submitted May 19, 2010 by a customer from gmail.com

"This product is friendly good,dig it!"

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
as i said before,if a product is good don't change it enhance it without getting rid of it's original beauty and performance. if i need to buy another one, i will buy the same; the same with some enhancement or one similar to it,ok. this is my opinion about this product.thank you for letting me express myself.
Sound
the product is fantastic. the sound is excellent, but when you add too many sounds in one recording section, you cannot perceive some of them, specially the string sounds. i do not recomend to try to enhance it,what i do recomend is to use it as it is obtaining the best results.
Features
a good sound system will improve the overall sound and will add sorounding to the recording.
Ease of Use
the product is easy-friendly to use,but not everything is in the manual. your experience will make the difference.
Quality
the integrity of the product is 10. if you take good care of it and give the correct maintenance periodically you will have no problem, it will be ready to use at all time.
Value
the one that i use in the mini-recording studio is good no doubt about it.i does the same that other ,more expensive equipments do. i work in a small scale of work and i have no complaint; the price is ok but the performance is great.
Manufacturer Support
no question about it. the company representative and customer service are always there to help you,to recomend action to be taken on any problem and they also help you get offers in spare parts and ascessories.
The Wow Factor
if a product is considered to be good, do not try to change it. it's original aesthetic appearance,give this product the confidence and confortability the user need in a recording studio.

Musical Background:

christian composer,singer and musician, music cd producer

Musical Style:

pop rock and reggae
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Submitted October 3, 2012 by bob c

"16.4.2"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
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Simple, powerful, easy to use. VU Meters on every channel, pre or post fader. You will never want to be without it again.

Musical Background:

Pro Sound, TV and live sounds
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Submitted December 11, 2013 by a customer from comcast.net

"Excellent product"

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
The mixer is very intuitive, so impressed with the studio one daw. Really enjoying the whole set up. Top notch.

Musical Background:

40 years`
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Submitted January 30, 2012 by Jason M in Phoenix, AZ

"Great Hardware Unless You Need Support"

Overall: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I bought a 16.4.2 and couldn't wait to run my first show and record! So I set up the board for the event. It had a surge every 30-40 minutes that would make the whole audio system pop. After trying to contact Presonus for three days they authorized a return at the place of purchase due to it being under 30 days. All went good so I bought another unit. A few months went by and the board jammed whenever plugged into the firewire port. I couldn't get an answer from Presonus on the phone or on their ticket system. The way I got an answer is through their forums and someone else answered with this issue. Now I have to constantly switch from firewire ID 0 to 1 and then back to 0 to work right. Presonus only sent out their general optimizing your computer for digital audio as an answer. Products work great if you don't need their support. If you do, you are boned! I had one device RA'd once, got it back, still failed, tried calling with no answer for over 9 hours and got an answer through the forum. I am now having to send it back again on the same issue. Worst support ever!!!

Musical Background:

20 years of playing and live and recording engineering

Musical Style:

Alternative
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Submitted February 19, 2009 by a customer from yahoo.com

"Close, but no Cigaro."

Overall: 2.5 out of 5 stars
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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.
I won't buy it, but I like the idea, just released too early, and without necessary items bringing it into the semi pro home studio market
Sound
I think it sounds alot more analog than most digital products out there, so it is really a kudos to Presonus for trying to get the analog sound back into a digital product via some good old fashioned plug in style mimickry
Features
I have to say that it has no ADAT, it has no wordclock and it has no MIDI. How do you sync it to anything? At this pricepoint, those features are a VERY SERIOUS ommission o n the part of Presonuse. Furthermore, you cannot use its faders to mix your DAW, so aside from 'scenes' which take snapshots of your mix positions, it really is underpowered in the mix area considering most controllers out there will mix your DAW tracks prior to them coming back into your mixer.
Ease of Use
Very easy, no submenu hell to deal with
Quality
Made in China, but at least there is metal in there.
Value
I have to say that due to the serious shorcomings in MIDI and ADAT implementation along with the fact that you cannot mix your DAW with its faders, it is a little too pricey when you can pick up a ZEDR16 from Allen and Heath that really shines in that area, plus has 16ADAT, Midi, etc
Manufacturer Support
They are really great people over at Presonus, they go the extra mile for their customers (at least they did with me) so I really give them credit when it comes to customer service and satisfaction. Not many audio companies will even answer the phone. They got on the forum, immediately and returned my email inquiries, immediately.
The Wow Factor
Really good looking and colurful unit

Musical Background:

semi pro

Musical Style:

Techno,..
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