Recording - December 2017 - 40

PreSonus
StudioLive AR12 USB
Mixer/Interface

Affordable and powerful mixing and
recording to a DAW, even on a tight budget
REVIEW BY MIKE METLAY

hen the first PreSonus StudioLive mixers came out
in 2008, they raised a lot of eyebrows with what
were, at the time, pretty much unprecedented features for mixers under $10,000. They connected to laptops
via FireWire and allowed for easy storage of scenes and
settings offline from the mixer, to say nothing of being able to
record entire multitrack sessions over a single cable thanks to
tight integration with the Capture and Studio One software.
In the near-decade that's passed, a lot has changed, including
the StudioLive lineup, which is now shipping version 3 with
greatly advanced features. Just as significant, however, is the
fact that PreSonus hasn't lost sight of the folks that might not
need a full-on digital console but would still like to enjoy the
benefits of the laptop/mixer/interface system in an affordable
and easily approachable manner. "Why can't we have a mixer
that just, you know, works like a mixer, but lets us do some of
the cool DAW stuff at the same time?"
PreSonus responded with a new ecosystem: The StudioLive
AR-Series, four mixers with built-in 24-bit/96 kHz USB interfaces
and recording features optimized for today's technologies. I lived
with the StudioLive AR12 USB for several weeks, replacing my
studio's regular mixer/interface with it, and found it an eminently
practical evolution of the StudioLive paradigm. A walkthrough of
the AR12 USB will suffice to introduce the entire AR-Series, and
the PreSonus website explains the differences between models.

A tour (with commentary)

The StudioLive AR12 is very solidly built, with controls that
have a smooth and reassuringly professional feel to them. It
offers up to 20 channels of input-12 inputs that also go to
USB, plus up to 8 channels summed in the Super Channel)-
as well as three Aux buses, comprehensive monitoring and
soloing, and some nice extras. These include a built-in 24bit/44.1 kHz stereo SD card recorder for the main output
(which works like a champ) and a built-in stereo digital FX
processor, whose 16 presets offer basic reverbs and delay/
modulation effects designed to cover the bases for practical
40

RECORDING December 2017

applications, and do so very well. (The FX bus can also feed
an external reverb or delay; plugging one in switches off the
internal processor.)
The first two inputs are no-holds-barred mono inputs; each
one features an XLR mic input with new Class A preamp, 1/4"
TRS input for balanced line signal with a Hi-Z switch for direct guitar input, and 1/4" TRS inserts for outboard compressors and
the like. I found that the Hi-Z inputs didn't mess with my guitar
and bass tones, so they're a viable choice for direct-to-laptop
tracking (especially for bass-no DI needed). The next two
inputs are identical to the first, but remove the inserts and
Hi-Z buttons.
EQ is semiparametric, with High and Low at 12 kHz and
80 Hz and a sweepable Mid (140-3500 Hz), ±15 dB on all
bands. The EQ is very musical, with an interesting dual Q-
it's gentle when you boost, but surgical when you cut, making
it suitable for both general tone shaping and problem-solving.
This is especially evident when sweeping the Mid band.
There's also a Low Cut button to kill rumble; with a 100 Hz
corner frequency and a steep 18 dB/octave slope, I found
it quite aggressive. I'd advise using the Low EQ instead for
instruments like piano, bass, and kick drum.
Next are four mono/stereo channels, each with a single
mic preamp or 1/4" TRS jacks for stereo line-level signals; for
these channels, the EQ has a fixed Mid at 2500 Hz, a good
compromise for many sources. The last mono/stereo channel
can route its signal to USB inputs 11/12, or play back USB
outputs 3/4 as inputs to the main mix.
All of these inputs have three Aux send controls-two prefader for monitor mixes, and one postfader for the FX processor/
send. While the dual Monitor buses are great for giving bands
what they need, I would have liked to have one of them be
switchable pre/post, which would make it a bit handier for
studio tasks beyond tracking basics.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2017