Imagine it’s the 1980s and you’re either a PA hire company, an aspirational band or a small venue you’re looking for a live console which has professional features at an affordable price. Oh, and it was all housed in its own flight case too! Undoubtedly, the Soundcraft Series One is a landmark live console. There was even an ELCO connector to accept a multichannel stage box loom. Look hard at the Soundcraft Series One, and you’ll notice more features we take for granted: Switchable phantom power on each channel with balanced XLR microphone inputs. This was studio-style mixing brought to the live arena… Up to sixteen individual channels with faders rather than rotary knobs and an optional four-channel mix-bus. It would probably be a stretch to say this was the first “modern format” live mixing console, but it’s a strong contender. Only three or four years separate the Soundcraft Series One and the WEM Audiomaster, and yet anyone used to a modern mixing desk would feel at home on the Series One. Picture Courtesy Chris Hewitt – CH Vintage Audio Undoubtedly, The WEM Audiomaster is the genesis of the live mixing console. Individual gain trims for each channel, multi-band equalisation, monitor foldback, and even reverberation. It may look naive to you and me in 2020, but importantly the WEM Audiomaster pioneered all the mixing console essentials we take for granted. At the heart of his revolution in live sound systems was the WEM Audiomaster. Alongside pioneering instrument amplification and guitars, we consider Charlie as the inventor of the modern PA system. You may never have heard of Charlie Watkins, but in many ways, he was Britain’s version of Leo Fender. Watkins Electrical Management or WEM as it’s better known was founded by Charlie Watkins. We’ve chosen consoles which were genuinely “game-changing”, whether through price-point, performance or both! WEM Audiomaster It should be noted that our choices don’t necessarily represent “the best” live consoles ever made. We’ve deliberated long and hard and settled on our pick of the consoles which have changed the industry. This got us wondering what are the most important live consoles ever made? Undoubtedly, the development of the live mixing console was fundamental to live sound as we know it. You may not believe it, but the idea of the modern PA system is now around half a century old.
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