The Solo Bus; Using The Solo Bus For Monitoring; Destructive Soloing; Using Solo In Place (Sip) To Set Up A Mix - PRESONUS StudioLive 24.4.2 Owner's Manual

8 Tutorials
8.8

The Solo Bus

5. Solo your first channel and turn the trim to the desired level on the meter. Be
careful not get the signal above 0 dBFS. You do not want to clip the analog-to-
digital converters!
When all else fails, remember: button, button, knob, button, knob, button, knob.
8.8
The Solo Bus
The StudioLive features an independent Solo bus. This feature is extremely
useful in setting levels for monitor mixes, dialing in dynamics processing on each
channel, and fixing issues during a live show without interrupting the main mix.
The Solo bus has three different modes: AFL (default), PFL, and SIP.
AFL (After-Fade Listen). AFL sends the channel or subgroup signal to
the Solo bus post-fader so that you can control the level of the soloed
signal with the fader. This is the StudioLive's default setting.
PFL (Pre-Fade Listen). PFL sends the channel or subgroup signal to the Solo bus
before it reaches the fader, so the fader does not affect the soloed signal.
SIP (Solo In Place). This is also known as destructive solo. When channels are
soloed in this mode, every channel that isn't soloed will be muted, and only the
soloed channels will be sent to their assigned outputs. While useful in dialing in
dynamics during soundcheck, this mode is dangerous during a live show. We
recommend that this mode be turned off when mixing live events.

8.8.1 Using the Solo Bus for Monitoring

When mixing live, or when recording multiple musicians at once, it is often
necessary to quickly listen in on just one instrument or group. The Solo
and Monitor buses can be used together for this purpose. It is important to
note that if you wish to monitor with speakers, rather than headphones, it
is necessary to connect the speakers to the Control Room outputs on the
back of your StudioLive rather than to one of the main output pairs.
First decide whether you want to listen to your soloed channels before or after
the fader setting. If you'd like to monitor before the fader level, press the PFL
button in your Solo bus section. Next, press the Solo buttons on the channels
and subgroups you want to monitor. Turn the Cue knob in the Solo section to
about 12 o'clock. Finally, select the Solo button in your monitor bus and dial in a
comfortable listening volume for you headphones or monitors. You can increase
the overall volume of the Solo bus using the Cue knob in the Solo section.
This feature can also be used to listen in on a monitor mix that is being routed
to an aux send. Let's say your vocalist on stage is complaining that there is too
much bass in his monitor, but you are confident that no bass is being sent to that
particular aux send. You could be mistaken, but most likely an open microphone on
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PreSonus StudioLive ™ 24.4.2 Owner's Manual
stage is picking up the bass signal. To determine the cause, solo only the aux send
in question and, again, select the Solo button for the monitors/headphones. You
can now listen to exactly the same mix as your troubled vocalist and fix his monitor
mix quickly. This application is also useful in heading off a feedback problem.

8.8.2 Destructive Soloing

Destructive Soloing or Solo in Place (SIP) is a great way to tune each channel's
dynamics individually in live mix situations or do some surgical editing in the
studio. SIP mode mutes every Channel and Bus that is not soloed in the main
bus (that is, if Channel 3 is soloed, you will only hear Channel 3 in your Mains).
This makes a great fine tuning tool but it can quickly destroy a live mix. We
highly recommend that you drop out of this mode once the show has started.

8.8.3 Using Solo in Place (SIP) to Set Up a Mix

In Section 8.7, we discussed a quick and easy way to set up the input
levels for your StudioLive, ensuring that you have the highest possible
input level without clipping your analog-to-digital converters. The
next step is to set up your mix by dialing in the dynamics, EQ, and
fader settings for each channel. Enter Solo In Place (SIP).
As discussed earlier in Section 8.7, most engineers start with the drums and
work from the bottom up. To begin, bring all your faders down and raise your
main fader to unity gain. Press and hold the SIP button in the Cue section until
it illuminates and press the Solo button on your kick-drum mic channel. Notice
that all the other channels on your StudioLive have been muted. Bring up the
fader on the kick-drum channel and press the channel's Select button. The Fat
Channel will display the dynamics processing, EQ, output routing, and pan
settings for the kick drum. Using the encoders and meters in the Fat Channel,
set up the compressor and EQ for this channel. Once you are satisfied, bring the
fader back down, and press the Solo button again. Next, press the Solo button
on the snare-mic channel and repeat this procedure. In this way continue with
each drum mic and then move on to the other instruments that are connected
to your StudioLive. When you have finished with all the instruments, press
the SIP button again and slowly bring up your faders to set up your mix.
Tutorials 8
The Solo Bus 8.8
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